Oz (music producer)


Ozan Yildirim, professionally known as OZ, is a Swiss record producer and songwriter of Turkish descent. He has produced for many hip hop artists, including Drake, Future and Travis Scott, including on the number-one hits "Sicko Mode", "Highest in the Room" and "Life Is Good". He has received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song for "Sicko Mode" and "Gold Roses".

Early life

Yildirim grew up in Wattwil, Switzerland, as a son to Turkish parents. He developed an early passion for music, trying himself as a remixer and DJ under the stage name DJ Ladykiller. At 13 years old, he won an international DJ competition, beating out 63 competitors of all ages and winning a prize money of 300 Euros.
His family moved to the small and rural village of Gibswil in the Canton of Zürich, when Yildirim was 15 years old. According to him, there, he was the only foreigner in school and experienced a great deal of xenophobia, leading him to isolate himself and focus on his music.
After school, he completed an apprenticeship in retail and began working as a salesman for washing machines in the Swiss electronics store chain Fust.

Career

He started producing beats in 2005, and later uploaded them on the internet. His career as a hip hop producer began in 2012, after being contacted by Austrian rapper Nazar and subsequently signing a deal with his label Wolfpack Entertainment. A collaboration began and OZ produced large parts of Nazar's albums Narkose and Fakker Lifestyle.
Starting in 2014, OZ began receiving placements on tracks by US rappers. He would contact rappers via social media and e-mail and send them selections of his beats. According to OZ, he contacted American record producer The Beat Bully on Twitter and paid him 250 Swiss francs for rapper Meek Mill's e-mail address. In a similar manner, he managed to find out rapper Travis Scott's email address online. Both times, a placement was the result: in the case of Meek Mill, OZ ended up producing the songs "Been That" and "Cold Hearted" on the rapper's 2015 album Dreams Worth More Than Money and in the case of Travis Scott, he produced the song "Backyard" on his 2014 mixtape Days Before Rodeo.
At the same time, OZ became more known within German hip hop, producing top-tier artists such as Bushido or Ufo361 and befriending rapper Shindy. He has produced multiple songs on all of Shindy's albums since then and in 2020 recorded the track "Morning Sun" with Shindy, where OZ can also be heard singing.
In 2018, OZ produced his first number-one single by supplying the second part of the beat to the song "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott.
In 2020, he produced both "Popstar" and "Greece" by DJ Khaled featuring Drake. Although uncredited, he also supplied the original lyrics and vocal melody to the latter song.
He also solely produced Drake's number-one hit "Toosie Slide".
His recording studio is located in Wald, Zürich.

Production discography

Charted songs

Production credits

2013

  • Nazar - OZ Interlude

    2014

  • Fabolous – "Ball Drop" from The Young OG Project
  • Travis Scott – "Backyard" from Days Before Rodeo
  • The Game – "Really" from Blood Moon: Year of the Wolf
  • Summer Cem – "Nike Airs" from ''HAK''

    2015

  • DJ Khaled – "How Many Times" from I Changed a Lot
  • Meek Mill – "Been That", and "Cold Hearted" from Dreams Worth More Than Money
  • G-Eazy – "Random" from When It's Dark Out
  • Chinx – "Hey Fool" from Welcome to JFK
  • Logic – "I Am the Greatest" from The Incredible True Story
  • Jeremih – "Giv No Fuks" from ''Late Nights: The Album''

    2016

  • K.Michelle – "Ain’t You" from More Issues Than Vogue
  • Drake – "U With Me?" from Views
  • Ali Bumaye – "Best Friends" and "Missgestalten" from Rumble in the Jungle
  • Meek Mill – "Offended" and "Outro" from DC4
  • Dreezy – "See What You On" from No Hard Feelings
  • Travis Scott – "the ends" and "outside" from Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight
  • Shindy – Dreams
  • Gucci Mane – "Drove U Crazy" from The Return of East Atlanta Santa
  • 6lack – "Rules" from ''Free 6lack''

    2017

  • Khalid – "Saved," "Let's Go," and "Keep Me," from American Teen
  • Travis Scott & Quavo / Huncho Jack – "Dubai Shit" from Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho
  • Bushido – "Moonwalk"
  • DRAM – "I Had a Dream," "Crumbs", and "Eyeyieyie," from Big Baby DRAM
  • G-Eazy – "Shake It Up"

    2018

  • Nav – "Champions" from Reckless
  • Logic – "Contra" and "Wizard of OZ", from Bobby Tarantino 2
  • Trippie Redd - "UKA UKA," "BANG!," "Shake It Up," "Gore," and "Missing My Idols," from Life's a Trip
  • 6lack – "Cutting Ties"
  • Smokepurpp & Murda Beatz – "Big Dope" from Bless Yo Trap
  • RIN – "Avirex," "Burberry/SuperParisLight," "Oldboy," "XTC," and "Outro" from Planet Megatron
  • Lil Baby – "Bank" from Harder Than Ever
  • Travis Scott – "Sicko Mode" from Astroworld
  • Tory Lanez – "FeRRis WhEEL" from Love Me Now?
  • Trippie Redd – "Can't Love," "Love Scars 3," "A.L.L.T.Y. 3", "Emani Interlude", "Wicked", "Loyalty Before Royalty," and "1400 / 999 Freestyle" from A Love Letter to You 3
  • Meek Mill – "24/7" from ''Championships''

    2019

  • Shindy – "DODI"
  • Zacari – "Midas Touch"
  • Tory Lanez – "Freaky"
  • Shindy – Drama
  • Nav – "To My Grave" from Bad Habits
  • Drake – "Omertà" from The Best in the World Pack
  • Dreamville – "Got Me" from Revenge of the Dreamers III
  • Rick Ross – "Gold Roses" from Port of Miami 2
  • Trippie Redd — "Throw It Away", "Be Yourself", and "Lil Wayne", from !
  • Travis Scott – "Highest in the Room"
  • Young M.A. – "Bipolar"
  • Killumantii - "Kill Em"
  • Tinashe - "Story of Us" from ''Songs for You''

    2020

  • Future - "Life Is Good"
  • Drake - "Toosie Slide"
  • Shindy - "What's Luv" and "Sony Pictures"
  • UFO361 - "Bad Girls, Good Vibes"
  • Drake - "Time Flies" from Dark Lane Demo Tapes
  • Drake - "Losses" from Dark Lane Demo Tapes
  • DJ Khaled - "Greece"
  • DJ Khaled - "Popstar"
  • Gunna - "Relentless" from ''Wunna ''

    2023

  • Jack Harlow - "Lovin on Me"