9th Wonder

9th Wonder
9th Wonder
Born	Patrick Denard Douthit; January 15, 1975 (age 51); Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation(s)	DJ, record producer, music executive, academic
Years active	2003–present
Known for	Lead producer for Little Brother; producing for Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, and others; hip hop educator

Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975), widely recognized by his stage name 9th Wonder, is an American DJ, record producer, and music executive hailing from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He also holds academic positions at North Carolina Central University and Duke University, where he collaborates with Professor Mark Anthony Neal.

Launching his career as the lead producer for the group Little Brother based in Durham, North Carolina, 9th Wonder has contributed to projects by artists such as Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, Jean Grae, Wale, Murs, Buckshot, Erykah Badu, David Banner, Rapsody, and Talib Kweli. Since 2010, he has also ventured into rapping under the alias 9thmatic. His signature production frequently features samples from legendary musicians like Al Green and Curtis Mayfield.

Music career

The year 2003 marked 9th Wonder's rise to prominence with the release of an unofficial remix album of Nas's 2002 project God's Son, entitled God's Stepson. Distributed online, this remix album received widespread critical praise and is credited with popularizing the trend of unofficial 'home-made' album remixes.

Initially gaining acclaim as the chief producer for Little Brother, 9th Wonder was instrumental in crafting their 2003 debut album The Listening. His work caught the attention of Jay-Z’s engineer Young Guru, who facilitated a connection that led to 9th Wonder producing the track "Threat" on Jay-Z’s 2003 release The Black Album. This breakthrough opened doors for him to take on significant production duties on Destiny’s Child’s 2004 album Destiny Fulfilled, where he produced "Girl," "Is She the Reason," along with the bonus track "Game Over."

In 2007, 9th Wonder officially parted ways with Little Brother.

Recent and current projects

In August 2010, Drake showed interest in renewing collaboration efforts with 9th Wonder following their prior work on "Think Good Thoughts" from Drake’s 2007 mixtape Comeback Season. By October of that year, 9th Wonder was slated to contribute production to Drake’s sophomore album Take Care, which was released on November 15, 2011. However, due to complications involving A&R, his contributions did not ultimately appear on the final album.

In mid-2011, singer Chris Brown released freestyle rap tracks over beats produced by 9th Wonder, including "Real Hip Hop #3" and "Real Hip Hop #4" featuring Kevin McCall. These tracks were later included in Brown’s rap mixtape Boy in Detention released on August 5, 2011.

On June 25, 2020, 9th Wonder co-established the supergroup Dinner Party alongside Terrace Martin, Kamasi Washington, and Robert Glasper. The group debuted with their single "Freeze Tag" and followed up with their first album released on July 10, 2020.

Hip hop educator and academic involvement

In 2007, 9th Wonder ventured into the realm of music education when he was named Artist-In-Residence at North Carolina Central University, collaborating with Christopher "Play" Martin of Kid-n-Play. There, he instructed courses on hip hop history within NCCU's Music Department.

He furthered his academic contributions by co-teaching the class "Sampling Soul" alongside Dr. Mark Anthony Neal at Duke University in 2010. He emphasized the importance of teaching young people about hip hop's roots as essential for the genre's enduring vitality. In addition to this, he offered instruction in "Intro to Hip Hop Production" at Duke.

In May 2021, Douthit took on a visiting professorship at the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University, where he provided courses focusing on hip hop history and album production techniques.

Solo albums

2005: Dream Merchant Vol. 1
2007: Dream Merchant Vol. 2
2011: The Wonder Years
2012: Tutankhamen (Valley of the Kings)
2013: Bladey Mae (Grandma's Blades)
2016: Zion
2017: Zion II
2018: Zion III
2019: Zion IV
2020: Zion V: The Ballad of Charles Douthit
2021: Zion VI: Shooting In The Gym
2022: Zion VII
2023: Zion VIII
2023: Zion IX
2024: Zion X
2025: Zion XI

Group albums

2003: The Listening (as part of Little Brother with Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh)
2005: The Minstrel Show (with Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh as Little Brother)
2020: Dinner Party (collaborating with Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington as Dinner Party)
2020: Dinner Party: Dessert (featuring Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington)
2023: Enigmatic Society (with Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper and Kamasi Washington)

Collaborative albums

2003: Shake N Beats (Instrumental LP) (with Spectac)
2003: Legsclusives (with L.E.G.A.C.Y.)
2004: Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition (with Murs)
2005: Chemistry (with Buckshot)
2005: Spirit of '94: Version 9.0 (with Kaze)
2005: 9th Gate (with Access Immortal)
2006: Murray's Revenge (with Murs)
2006: Cloud 9: The 3 Day High (with Skyzoo)
2007: Class is in Session (with Pete Rock)
2008: The Formula (with Buckshot)
2008: Jeanius (with Jean Grae)
2008: Sweet Lord (with Murs)
2008: The Corner of Spec & 9th (with Spectac)
2010: Fornever (with Murs)
2010: Death of a Pop Star (with David Banner)
2012: The Solution (with Buckshot)
2012: The Final Adventure (with Murs)
2013: Where Do I Come From? (with Explicit)
2015: Indie 500 (with Talib Kweli)
2015: Brighter Daze (with Murs)
2017: The Lost Tapes (with Mr. Cheeks)
2019: The Iliad is Dead and The Odyssey is Over (with Murs)
2022: The Don & Eye (with The Musalini)
2023: The Don & Eye 2 (with The Musalini)
2024: The Supergoat (with Hus Kingpin)
2024: One Forty Seven (with Give Em Soul)
2025: Welcome Home (with Reuben Vincent)

Collaborative Mixtapes

2006: Battle of the Beats Round 1–2 (in partnership with The Alchemist & DJ E.Nyce)
2007: 9th Year Freshman (collaborated with CHOPS)
2007: The Graduate (alongside Kanye West, Mick Boogie & Terry Urban)
2008: The W.ide W.Orld of W.Rap (with E.Ness)
2008: Album Mixtape Volume One (teamed up with Cans)
2008: 9 Wonders (NYOIL verses 9th Wonder) (featuring NYOIL)
2009: The R&B Sensation Mixtape (partnered with Tyler Woods)
2009: Back to the Feature (with Wale & LRG)
2009: The Hardy Boy Mystery Mixtape: Curse of Thee Green Faceded (collaboration with Thee Tom Hardy & Don Cannon)
2010: To Hanes Mall (in collaboration with Akello Light)
2010: Album Mixtape Part 2 (with Cans)
2010: The (Free) EP (with Actual Proof)
2011: TP is My Hero (alongside TP)
2012: Hanes Mall 2: Silas Creek Parkway EP (partnered with Akello Light)
2025: Hit Me When You Get Here (featuring Reuben Vincent)

Compilation and Remix Albums

2003: 9th Invented the Remix
2003: God's Stepson – Nas (a remix of Nas's God's Son)
2004: Black Is Back! – Jay-Z (remixing Jay-Z's The Black Album)
2005: The Remix EP (remixes by Smif-N-Wessun)
2009: Wonder Years – 9th Wonder Golden Years Remix LP
2010: 9th's Opus: It's a Wonderful World Music Group Vol.1
2010: 9th Invented the Remix...Again
2010: Loose Joints
2010: Food for Thought
2012: Tutankhamen
2013: Black American Gangster – Jay-Z (a remix of Jay-Z's American Gangster)
2014: 9th Wonder Presents: Jamla Is the Squad
2018: 9th Wonder Presents: Jamla Is the Squad II