Just Blaze
Justin Smith, known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Blaze attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue his musical career. His stage name was inspired by the character Blaze Fielding from the Streets of Rage video game series. Blaze is best known for producing many of rapper Jay-Z's songs on his staple albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. His production can also be found on Eminem's 2010 album Recovery. He appears in the video for the third single from Recovery entitled "No Love", which he produced. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. He has also composed soundtracks for video games, and was a character in NBA Street Vol. 2.
His hometown of Paterson honored him in July 2018 with a key to the city in recognition of his "outstanding cultural contribution" to the city.
