“But yo cousin Howie Tee and me
Our love is all about making a dope LP
that will crush and sell and bum rush, don’t hush
How we gonna do it How? (Just the two of us!)”

For me there’s no way to discuss Hitman Howie Tee without first talking about Chubb Rock. At a formative period in my teenage years that has now retrospectively been dubbed the golden age of rap, I was introduced to the large and in charge Brooklyn rapper through the song “Treat ‘Em Right.” His nimble flow belied his NFL lineman stature, something he wryly acknowledged with the line “6 foot 3 and maybe a quarter of an inch bigger/than last year but still a unique figure.” It wasn’t just his physical presence or smooth baritone voice that made him stand out though — it was the production of his friend Howard Thompson.

Hitman Howie Tee had been by his side from the beginning, something that the single “Just the Two of Us” acknowledged. We are used to an alphabet soup of producers in album credits these days, but back then one man could and often did do an entire album for an emcee. “The One” remains one of my favorite albums because Howie Tee and Chubb Rock were a perfect duo, like Pete Rock & CL Smooth, or DJ Premier and Guru.

Who is Hitman Howie Tee though? Let’s run it back a little bit. Born February 12th, 1964 in London, England, Howard Thompson was (like his friend the Chubbster) a man with Jamaican ancestry and a passion for music. Chubbs was actually born IN Kingston, but I digress. When Thompson started to pursue his musical career in the states, he found some modest success as part of CDIII, hitting at the same time that songs like “Planet Rock” were vibing to techno-electro funk. What really launched him though was producing Whistle’s top 20 hit “(Nothing Serious) Just Buggin’.” Once he had made his name Select Records hired him as their musical maestro, and when they signed Chubb Rock to a record deal, their musical chemistry was apparent.

To this point Chubb Rock has been the focal point of my piece, but it would be incorrect to label him the biggest or only success Howie Tee had as a producer. “I Got It Made” by Special Ed? That’s the Hitman. “I Wanna Sex You Up” by Color Me Badd? Yes sir, that was the Hitman. When Patra and Yo-Yo made a “Romantic Call” Howie Tee was there, and although it might seem like a silly song looking back, Little Shawn’s “Hickeys On Your Chest” was another Howie Tee hit. He produced so many memorable singles and albums from the 1980’s to the mid-90’s that listing them all here would take far too long.

I wish I knew why he suddenly stopped making music in the 90’s. Maybe he felt like the West coast G-funk had taken over rap and his production style no longer fit in. Maybe he had been played by bad record deals that paid him a flat fee for his work instead of a share of the revenue he helped so many labels generate. Maybe he was just plain burnt out. It’s all idle speculation on my part. Unfortunately what’s not speculative is that Howard Thompson passed on August 2nd, leaving behind a legendary body of work and a reputation as “a nice guy” in a business where you often don’t get ahead being one.

Perhaps that’s why Chubb Rock spoke so fondly of his friend on records, because by all accounts, he’s a pretty nice guy too. Not all rapper producer duos hit it off that well. Pete Rock & CL Smooth only lasted two albums, and Guru’s relationship with Premier was mercurial in nature, to the point you could feel Keith Elam trying hard to establish “a rep” without Primo attached. I’m sure had Howie Tee not suddenly retired from the game he would have worked on “The Mind” too, and it’s perhaps because he didn’t that it’s Chubb Rock’s most forgettable LP (sorry Chubbster). I’m sure he misses his friend today though, and we all do. RIP Hitman Howie Tee.