Mike Dean (music producer)

Michael George Dean is an American record producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his synthesizer-heavy instrumentation and audio mixing for high-profile music industry artists. Beginning his career in 1992, he was first credited on releases for Texas-based rappers Scarface, Willie D, and Geto Boys, though he has since worked with hip-hop and pop artists including Kanye West, the Weeknd, Beyoncé, Kid Cudi, Travis Scott, Jay-Z, Drake, Madonna, Selena Gomez, Playboi Carti, and Lana Del Rey, among others. As a non-performing lead artist, Dean has released six solo studio albums: 4:20, 4:22, Smoke State 42222, 4:23, 424 and 425.

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Career

In the 1980s, Dean started doing collaborations with numerous Texan artists, including Selena, for whom Dean served as musical director and producer. He began his career in hip-hop while producing two albums as a part of the Houston-based group, Def Squad, along with group member Norris Burse and Kenny Bomer under the Mr. Henry/ Ichiban labels. Dean first became widely known for pioneering the Dirty South sound in the 1990s, particularly in work for artists from Rap-A-Lot Records. Dean has most notably worked alongside Scarface of the Geto Boys, Do or Die, Tha Dogg Pound, Yukmouth of the Luniz, C-Bo, Nate Dogg, Tech N9ne, UGK, Z-Ro, Devin the Dude, Outlawz, and 2Pac.
Dean went on to mix, produce, and master widely throughout American hip-hop. He has become known for producing work with Kanye West. After initially contributing to the mixing of West's albums The College Dropout and Late Registration, Dean contributed as producer on West's albums Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Yeezus, The Life of Pablo, Ye, and Donda. He also co-produced with West on his collaboration album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne. Dean was an additional producer on "Mercy" and "Higher" on GOOD Music's 2012 compilation album Cruel Summer. Dean has made particularly heavy contributions on West's last albums and is credited on most tracks. Despite a fallout in 2022 with West, Dean is credited to have worked on at least the first of West's expected 3 studio albums after a musical hiatus with the song "Back to Me" on Vultures 1 featuring Freddie Gibbs.
In recent years, Mike Dean has served as a regular guitarist and keyboardist for West and Travis Scott at their live performances, headlining numerous music festivals, the Watch the Throne Tour, the Yeezus Tour, and Scott's Birds Eye View Tour as well as the Astroworld – Wish You Were Here Tour. Dean has also been a frequent collaborator with Scott. Dean's production has appeared on every one of Scott's musical bodies of work since 2013. In 2016, Dean mastered Frank Ocean's visual album Endless, wrote and produced tracks on Desiigner's mixtape New English, and produced Desiigner's single "Tiimmy Turner".
In May 2017, Dean announced he was launching a record label by the name of M.W.A. When asked what made him decide that now would be the best time to unveil his new record label, Dean responded: "Just a lot of new young artists that's been asking to get down with me and have me work on their projects and help them get deals. I figured I'd start a label and sign some new acts. Seems like a good time to start it. I got a studio out here and I'm able to meet a lot of new artists." When asked the meaning of M.W.A, Dean answered: "That's just what I call myself when I DJ. Mexican Wrestling Association. It's something that I've done with the merch, so I just figured I'd keep the name going." He also revealed Dice Soho the first artist he signed to M.W.A: "One of my homies Gustavo Guerra brought to me. I think he's gonna be the next wave out of Houston. I picked him up. Dice has a nice swag."
He released an instrumental mixtape, 4:20, on April 20, 2020. On May 20, 2021, Lana Del Rey's single "Wildflower Wildfire" was released, which was produced by Dean. In an interview with Anthony Fantano before the song's release, Dean said that he was "planning on working with a lot".
Since 2022, Dean has had several further collaborations with the Weeknd, who Dean has worked with on the Weeknd's 2014 promotional single "King of the Fall". In 2015, Dean collaborated with the Weeknd on "Tell Your Friends" from the album Beauty Behind the Madness, on which he co-produced and played guitar, as well as his single "Where You Belong" for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Dean contributed live arrangements to the Weeknd's co-headlining performances with Swedish House Mafia at the 2022 Coachella festival. Dean has since been an opening act on the Weeknd's After Hours til Dawn Tour, during which his arrangements have been included in the Weeknd's shows. Dean also created a remix for the Weeknd's song "Starry Eyes" from his album Dawn FM, which Dean has performed live in his opening sets on the tour; he has become a touring musician for The Weeknd since the European and Latin American legs of the tour and onward. He plays synthesizers and saxophone. Dean contributed the musical arrangements for the "After Hours Nightmare" Halloween Horror Nights haunted houses at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood. In 2023, Dean contributed live arrangements to Metro Boomin's performances at Coachella, during which the Weeknd appeared as a special guest; Dean also appeared as a guest musician during 070 Shake's performance during the second weekend of the festival. He co-wrote and produced the Weeknd's single "Double Fantasy", "Popular", "The Lure, "Devil's Paradise," "A Lesser Man," "Take Me Back," "One of the Girls", "Jealous Guy," "Fill the Void," "Like a God," "False Idols," "Dollhouse" ", and "My Sweet Lord" for the soundtrack of the Weeknd's HBO series The Idol, which Dean is part of the starring cast of, and premiered on June 4. Dean released his fourth mixtape, 4:23, which the Weeknd co-produced, on April 29. Since 2024, Dean has co-written and produced "Young Metro," "We Still Don't Trust You," "All to Myself," and "Always Be My Fault" by Future and Metro Boomin featuring the Weeknd from the respective albums We Don't Trust You and We Still Don't Trust You, on which Dean is also credited with producing "Beat It." On the Weeknd's 2025 album Hurry Up Tomorrow, Dean co-wrote and produced the tracks "Wake Me Up," "Cry for Me," "São Paulo", "Until We're Skin in Bones," "Baptized in Fear," "Opening Night," "Reflections Laughing", "Enjoy the Show," "Given Up on Me," "I Can't Wait to Get There," "Timeless", "Niagara Falls," "Take Me Back to LA," and "Big Sleep".