Dizzy Banko is the man behind some of the biggest rap records to hit the airwaves in the past five years. After cranking out beats for New York City's most notable acts, the accomplished producer finally struck gold with his latest creation.
The Bronx native, born Deandre Sumpter, is one of several beatmakers who contributed to Cardi B's new album Am I The Drama? Dizzy Banko was responsible for Cardi's stand-out collaboration, "Principal" featuring Janet Jackson. Dizzy says he cooked up the instrumental back in 2018 alongside fellow producer Omar Grand.
"I'm a person that goes above and beyond," Dizzy tells iHeartRadio.
"I'm in the crib going through samples," he continues. "Oh, what's this? Or it's a classic? Okay, let's see if anyone touched it before. Oh nobody? Copy. If I hear big sounds, I'm always going to call home team. I call [Omar Grand]. He put the keys down and just mad sounds that gave it a fresher feel."
Dizzy created the beat around the time when Cardi B dropped her debut album, Invasion of Privacy. At the time, he decided to keep the beat on the low until the time was right. He sent off the beat to someone from Cardi's team, but he didn't know where it would end up. The only thing he heard from her camp was, "Yo, we got one." That was all he needed.
The instrumental for "Principal" samples Jackson's 1986 single "The Pleasure Principle" from her third album, Control. Jackson's vocals echo in the background as Cardi lays down her fierce verses about the type of man she's looking for. The excitement for the song helped the Queen of Pop make history once again. "Principal" debuted at No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this month, which extended Janet Jackson's five-decade reign on the coveted chart. She joins Cher and Madonna as the only women to have new Hot 100 hits in five consecutive decades. Meanwhile, Cardi B's sophomore album hit platinum status on the day of its release and went double-platinum 10 days later.
"Principal" didn't just help Cardi B and Janet Jackson make history together. It also set Dizzy Banko up for success. He had already released his solo project, Pressure, and worked with a slew of rap artists, from the late Pop Smoke to HDBeenDope. He also received plenty of praise after helping create the beat for Lola Brooke's breakthrough single "Don't Play Wit It." Yet, "Principal" was the song that led to his unexpected friendship with the legendary Kenneth "Babyface" Edmunds.
"We cooking up beats and I get this call from Atlantic. They're like, 'Yo, Babyface want to holla at you,'" he recalled. "When I got on the phone with him, he FaceTimed me, and then we were just talking for hours. He's like, 'Yo, the way you flipped that sample was so good.' I'm just like dope. He was like, Hey, you want to sample one of my records? And boom, that's how I became Grammy-nominated."
In addition to being a multi-platinum and Grammy-nominated producer, Dizzy Banko also has his own noteworthy discography. Following his Pressure album, Dizzy dropped projects like The Vault Vol. 1 (2023) and conducted lyrical exercises with rising New York artists on his Adjustments album series. The first installment holds Dizzy's stand-out hit "Congratulations" featuring Jadakiss' son, JaeWon, and "Only The Clvb" with Tony E, TJ Brown and 9D4 Ju. He followed up with Adjustments 2.0 Deluxe earlier this year, which he says led him to discovering his new muse, Cosi Pari. He teamed up with the singer-songwriter for his Port of NYC EP series in the spring. The two are currently focused on Cosi Pari's new project, Masterpiece.
"I feel like life trials lead to projects," Dizzy says. "If I feel like that's what's happening, it's just like boom, I'm going by this. So Adjustments was what led me to Cozi because I'm pivoting. I'm shifting. I'm like, all right, I'm not doing this no more. I'm over here."
It's taken several years for Dizzy Banko to reach this level in his successful career. He aims to work with the likes of JAY-Z, Drake, Lupe Fiasco, Tyler, The Creator, Jhene Aiko, Brent Faiyaz and more in the future. For now, he's locked in the studio, cooking up beats for the next superstar that hits his line.
"Patience is a mental thing and we usually use our mental for everything that goes on," he says. "Patience is the key and tool to get past all of this."
Listen to Cosi Pari & Dizzy Banko's Masterpiece on iHeartRadio and watch the video for his track "New Business" below.