For our latest edition of Rhythm Roulette, we got down with Elite, the revered producer of Dreamville fame, at his favorite record store, A-1 Records in the East Village. He was subsequently blindfolded and instructed to pick out three records to sample at random. He ended up with selections from The Supremes, Barry White and Helen Schneider. Not bad, huh?

Elite echoed those sentiments once he reached the studio. “Barry White?” he said while examining the vinyl. “That’s a layup.”

Elite may have several J. Cole and Dreamville gems to his name, but his roots go much deeper. While an intern at Ruff Ryders back in the early 2000s, Elite grinded his way to a Cradle 2 the Grave soundtrack placement and a production credit on Jadakiss’ “Why” remix. Since then he’s helped bolster Cole’s discography with sturdy production, from the mixtapes to 4 Your Eyez Only.