Mustard

Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (formerly DJ Mustard), is an American record producer. A frequent collaborator of fellow California-based artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign, he began his career producing singles and albums for both rappers, and has since done so for other acts in hip-hop and R&B. He first saw recognition for having produced Tyga's 2011 single "Rack City".

Mustard's production style has been described as up-tempo and club-oriented, but also rudimentary and melodic. Most of his works begin or end with the producer tag "Mustard on the beat, ho!"—a voice sample of YG (who says it at the end of "I'm Good", one of their early collaborations)—and include heavy use of synthesizers, claps, and frequent, reverberated use of a "hey!" voice clip. He has been credited as influential in the sound of both mainstream and West Coast hip-hop productions during the early-to-mid 2010s, a style he refers to as "ratchet music".

Mustard signed with Republic Records and Roc Nation to release his debut studio album, 10 Summers (2014), which narrowly entered the Billboard 200; his second album, Cold Summer (2016), failed to chart. He then signed with Interscope Records to release his third album, Perfect Ten (2019), which peaked within the top ten of the chart and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Ballin'" (featuring Roddy Ricch) and "Pure Water" (with Migos). He produced Kendrick Lamar's 2024 single "Not Like Us", which became his first production to peak atop the Billboard Hot 100, won five Grammy Awards, and foresaw the release of Mustard's fourth album, Faith of a Mustard Seed (2024). He founded the record label 10 Summers Records in 2014, through which he has signed musical acts including British singer Ella Mai, as well as fellow California-based artists Kiana Ledé and RJMrLA.

Early life Dijon Isaiah McFarlane was born on June 5, 1990, in Los Angeles, California. In a 2013 interview with The Fader magazine, he stated that his father was deported when he was young and that his father was currently residing in Jamaica. They were still able to maintain contact with each other.

When McFarlane was 11 years old, his uncle, Tyrei Lacy, who was both a parental figure and a DJ, let him DJ at a family party. Soon thereafter he was spinning records at parties as a student at Dorsey High. He began DJing more as he got older, and became much more skilled at the craft which led to him DJing at the local clubs. McFarlane was baptized when he was 12 and became interested in Christianity.

His stage name refers to the condiment Dijon mustard.

Career

In an interview with Sway's Universe, DJ Mustard described his business relationship with West coast rapper YG. Since YG's second mixtape The Real 4Fingaz, he has produced on all of his mixtapes. "I started making beats for YG; he was one [of] the first people to do my beats. I started with him, so for us to do a mixtape was easy. We created this dancing sound. I feel like we owed it to the streets and we're not stopping."

During late 2011, DJ Mustard produced Tyga's third single "Rack City" from his second album Careless World: Rise of the Last King. The song was released in December 2011, and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number 2 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. It was also certified 2× platinum by the RIAA. According to Mustard, the beat for the song was originally for YG. YG told Mustard that Tyga needed a beat, so he sent the beat to Tyga. and was certified gold by the RIAA, selling over 500,000 copies digitally. Also later in 2012, DJ Mustard produced the song R.I.P. by Atlanta rapper Jeezy that was released as the lead single from his twelfth mixtape It's tha World on February 5, 2013. The song features 2 Chainz, making this the second time he has rapped over Mustard's beats since "I'm Different". The song charted at number 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Mustard has also produced tracks on rapper Bow Wow's seventh album Underrated such as "We In Da Club" which was released as the second single from that album. However, as stated by Bow Wow in 2012, the album has been indefinitely been delayed and he is no longer focusing on it.

On June 3, 2013, DJ Mustard released his official debut mixtape, Ketchup. The mixtape contained guest appearances from artists such as Lil Snupe, YG, Ty$, Joe Moses, Kid Ink, Nipsey Hussle, Casey Veggies, Ca$h Out, Clyde Carson, Dorrough, Dom Kennedy, and Lil Jon. Later in June, Mustard produced Atlanta rapper B.o.B's song HeadBand featuring 2 Chainz, which was released as the second single from his third studio album Underground Luxury. The song has charted at number 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On September 17, DJ Mustard produced West coast rapper Kid Ink's song "Show Me" featuring Chris Brown, released as the first single from his upcoming second studio album My Own Lane. The single peaked at number 1 on the U.S. Rhythmic Billboard Chart. On September 17, 2013, DJ Mustard produced YG's mega-anthem "My Nigga" for his debut studio album "My Krazy Life", which peaked at number 5 on the U.S. Rhythmic Billboard chart. On November 18, 2013, DJ Mustard announced that he had signed to Jay-Z's Roc Nation as an artist, and revealed plans to release his own studio album. On December 18, 2013, he was named the runner-up for producer of the year by HipHopDX. On March 11, 2014, DJ Mustard produced Kid Ink's "Main Chick" also featuring Chris Brown for his second studio album My Own Lane. It peaked at number 3 on the U.S. Rhythmic Billboard chart. During 2014, DJ Mustard produced several other hit singles, including Tinashe’s commercial debut single, "2 On".

In 2016, worked with Trea Fittz on his debut album, released October 11. He released "Don't Hurt Me" with Jeremih and Nicki Minaj on his album Cold Summer. The album included long-time collaborators YG and Ty Dolla Sign.

In 2024, Mustard produced the Kendrick Lamar diss track, "Not Like Us", released as part of the Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud. He also co-produced two tracks on Lamar's 2024 album GNX, "Hey Now" and "TV Off". Lamar's screaming of Mustard's name on "TV Off" became an internet meme. He appeared during Lamar's performance of the song at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show.

On April 1, 2025, Mustard was officially announced as the opening act of the Kendrick Lamar and SZA co-headlining Grand National Tour, with his own set list.

Production style

Mustard's production style has been described as an up-tempo, radio-friendly, club-oriented, catchy hip-hop style which he calls "ratchet music". Most apparent is his producer signature "Mustard on that beat, ho!" which prefaces the beat drop in many of his songs. The tag has also appeared in songs by Ty Dolla $ign, Tyga, Young Jeezy, and Kendrick Lamar. 808 kicks and the use of crisp hand-claps and snap-snares.

Mustard uses the music production software Reason, first using 5, 6 and currently using 6.5. In an interview with The Fader magazine he stated, "With this ratchet music, I'm trying to create my own sound. I want to make this to where it can't leave, this is something that everybody's gonna get used to. Like how everybody got used to Lil Jon or Luke. I don't want it to be something that comes and goes, I want it to be something that's here forever like a real culture." Like many of Mustard's songs, the song includes a minimalist G-funk style synth and samples a layered "Hey" voice chant. He has been compared to rap producers like Dr Dre and many old rappers from the golden age of hip hop.

Personal life Mustard started dating Chanel Thierry in 2009 and they were married on October 10, 2020. They have two sons and a daughter. They separated in 2022 and divorced in 2023. He filed for sole custody of their children in 2024, after which she accused him of attempting to "destroy [her] name" in an effort to avoid paying child support.

In July 2024, Mustard welcomed his fourth child, a daughter, with girlfriend Brittany Stroud.

Production discography

Discography

Studio albums + List of albums, with selected chart positions Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US USR&B/HH USRap AUS CAN NOR NZ 10 Summers Released: August 11, 2014

Format: CD, digital download, streaming 143 20 14 — — — — Cold Summer Released: September 16, 2016

Format: CD, digital download, streaming — 24 14 — — — — Perfect Ten Released: June 28, 2019 Label: 10 Summers, Interscope Format: CD (Limited), digital download, streaming 8 5 3 62 8 25 39 RIAA: Platinum Faith of a Mustard Seed Released: July 26, 2024 Label: 10 Summers, BMG Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 50 11 10 — — — — Perfect Eleven Released: TBA Label: 10 Summers, BMG Formats: Digital download, streaming TBATBATBATBATBATBATBA "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

+ List of mixtapes, with selected details Title Album details Ketchup Released: June 3, 2013 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download 10 Summers: The Mixtape Vol.1 Released: July 23, 2015 Label: 10 Summers Formats: Digital download

Singles As lead artist

RMNZ: 2× Platinum group=upper-alpha|"100 Bands" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number twenty-five on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. BPI: Platinum RMNZ: 3× Platinum UK RMNZ: Platinum My Krazy Life "Or Nah"(Ty Dolla Sign featuring The Weeknd,Wiz Khalifa and DJ Mustard) 2014 48 12 — — 48 78 — — — RIAA: Diamond BPI: Platinum MC: 2× Platinum