Bigram John Zayas Jr. (born July 11, 1978), professionally known as DVLP or Develop, is an American record producer, songwriter and disc jockey (DJ). Hailing from New York City, DVLP initially embarked on his career in music as one-half of the production team Doe Boys, alongside his cousin Matthew "Filthy" Delgiorno. Working primarily in the hip hop, pop, and Latin genres, he has produced over 25 songs for American rapper Lil Wayne, including the songs "Fireman" (2005) and "Blunt Blowin" (2011). In 2013, he gained major recognition when he produced the Eminem single "Rap God", which went on to reach number seven on the US ’’Billboard’’ Hot 100 chart.
Early life Zayas was born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents.Ben Detrick, “Develop: Lil Wayne ‘Fireman’,” Scratch, May/June 2006. He never had any formal musical training, although his family is involved in music.Bernard Hacker, “Beat Juggler,” Elemental, June 2006, Issue #74. He first started DJing at the age of 11, using house and freestyle records. He went on to make mixtapes and perform at high school parties.
Career
Turntablism While traveling around the world as a founding member of the turntablist collective The Allies (which also included Craze, J-Smoke, Spictakular, Infamous, A-Trak and Klever), he went by the moniker Develop. His emphasis was on beat juggling. In 1998, he won the ITF Beat Juggling Championship, defeating Total Eclipse of The X-Ecutioners in the finals.DJ Fatfingaz, “Throwback Thursdays: DJ Develop (The Allies) & DJ Total Eclipse (X-Men) ITF 1998 Beat Juggling Championship,” thatsenuff.com, October 18, 2012. In 1999, he won the ITF Team Championship, and he was runner-up at the New York DMC Regional in 1998. In 2000, The Allies released an EP, D-Day.
Beginnings in Production In 2000, DVLP decided to end his career as a competitive DJ, in order to focus on producing and songwriting.Paul W. Arnold, “Doe Boys: Temperature’s Rising,” XXL, April 2006. Shortly afterwards, he began collaborating with Filthy (his cousin, Matthew Delgiorno). The duo were known as the Doe Boys. After taking a few years off to hone his production skills, his first major production work was on the 2004 Grafh song "Damage is Done." He went on to produce four tracks on Juelz Santana's What the Game's Been Missing! (2005), also assisting with recording and engineering.
DVLP has gone on to write and produce for Shells, The Diplomats (aka Dipset), Kelly Rowland, Fabolous, Cam'ron, DJ Clue?, Fat Joe, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, John Legend and others.Anthony Osei, “Tracklist: Rick Ross ‘Rich Forever’,” Complex, January 5, 2012.
Work with Lil Wayne DVLP started working with Lil Wayne in 2005, after Juelz Santana introduced them at his studio.“Will Lil Wayne Really Retire After Tha Carter V?” VH1, March 29, 2013.Kai Acevedo, "Check The Credits: DVLP Speaks On Producing for Eminem, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, and More," Life + Times, July 14, 2014. The Doe Boys produced three tracks on Tha Carter II, including the album's lead single, "Fireman," which reached #10 on the Billboard Rap chartLil Wayne, “Fireman,” Chart History, Rap Songs, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. and #32 on the Billboard Hot 100.Lil Wayne, “Fireman,” Chart History, Hot 100, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. "Fireman" was Lil Wayne's first single following his split from former producer Mannie Fresh.Rob Markman, “Lil Wayne, Gunplay Get ‘A Little Aggressive’ On Human Being II,” MTV, March 26, 2013. After Tha Carter II, DVLP continued working with Lil Wayne; he has produced over 25 songs for him through 2013.
In 2011, he dropped the vowels from his moniker and became DVLP.DVLP, AllMusic. Accessed October 17, 2013. That year, for Tha Carter IV, he produced "Blunt Blowin," which reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.Lil Wayne, “Blunt Blowin,” Chart History, Hot 100, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. Lil Wayne recorded the track on his first day back in the studio after being released from prison.“Meet Lil Wayne’s New Producers,” XXL, September 2, 2011. Other notable tracks DVLP has produced for Lil Wayne include "What's Wrong With Them" featuring Nicki Minaj, from 2010's I Am Not a Human Being,“Lil Wayne – What’s Wrong With Them Lyrics,” genius.com. Accessed October 17, 2013. and "Beat The Shit" featuring Gunplay, from the 2013 album I Am Not a Human Being II.“Lil Wayne Did ‘His Thing’ On ‘Beat The Sh—‘,” MTV, March 26, 2013.
Work with Eminem DVLP produced Eminem's "Rap God", released October 15, 2013, as the third single off The Marshall Mathers LP 2.“New Music: Eminem – ‘Rap God’,” Rap-Up, October 14, 2013. DVLP first created the track in 2011, without any particular artist in mind. His manager, Stephen Hacker of Hebrew Hustle, sent the track to Eminem in 2012 after Eminem's management team reached out to Hacker for tracks for his upcoming album. DVLP has since said that he can't imagine any other rapper on the track.Emmanuel C.M., "Producer DVLP Thinks Eminem Is The Only One Who Could Handle The 'Rap God' Beat," XXL, November 4, 2013.Rob Markman, "Eminem Thanks 'Rap God' Producer For One Of The 'Illest Beats' He's Heard," MTV News, October 23, 2013. The song, about Eminem's history and the rappers who have inspired him,Kory Grow, “Eminem Declares Himself a ‘Rap God’,” Rolling Stone, October 14, 2013. was praised as being in line with the quality of Eminem's best offerings.“Eminem – Rap God,” djbooth.net. Accessed October 17, 2013.Per Lijas, “Eminem’s New ‘Rap God’ is Divine,” Time, October 15, 2013.Jim Farber, “Eminem’s ‘Rap God’ is throwback to rapper’s playful prime: music review,” New York Daily News, October 15, 2013. It reached #1 on the Billboard Rap chartEminem, “Rap God,” Chart History, Rap Songs, Billboard. Accessed November 6, 2013. and #7 on the Hot 100 charts.Eminem, “Rap God,” Chart History, Hot 100, Billboard. Accessed November 6, 2013. At the inaugural YouTube Music Awards in 2013, Eminem shot a live video for "Rap God." An official music video for the song, shot in Detroit, was released in November 2013.B.J. Hammerstein, "Eminem offers rare look inside his world as release of 'MMLP2' nears," Detroit Free Press, November 5, 2013.
Pop Work DVLP has collaborated with producer RedOne on records by a variety of pop artists. They co-produced Paulina Rubio's 2012 single "Me Gustas Tanto,"“Paulina Rubio – Bravisima!” Discogs. Accessed October 17, 2013. which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chartPaulina Rubio, “Me Gustas Tanto,” Chart History, Hot Latin Songs, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. and #2 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart;Paulina Rubio, “Me Gustas Tanto,” Chart History, Latin Pop Songs, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. and Pitbull's 2012 single "Get It Started" featuring Shakira,“Pitbull Featuring Shakira – Get It Started,” Discogs. Accessed October 17, 2013. which reached #28 on the Billboard Latin Pop Songs chart,Pitbull, “Get It Started,” Chart History, Latin Pop Songs, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. #89 on the Billboard Hot 100,Pitbull, “Get It Started,” Chart History, The Hot 100, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. and was certified gold in Canada.“Get It Started,” Gold Platinum Database, Music Canada. Accessed October 17, 2013. In 2011, as a member of the DJ duo The WAV.s (with Bilal the Chef), DVLP worked on Enrique Iglesias's single "I Like How It Feels" featuring Pitbull,“Enrique Iglesias featuring The WAV.s and Pitbull – I Like How it Feels,” Music Joining Apparel, October 1, 2011. which reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs chart,Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull & The WAV.s, “I Like How It Feels,” Dance/Club Play Songs, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. #74 on the Billboard Hot 100,Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull & The WAV.s, “I Like How It Feels,” The Hot 100, Billboard. Accessed October 17, 2013. and was certified platinum in Canada“I Like How It Feels,” Gold Platinum Database, Music Canada. Accessed October 17, 2013. and gold in Australia.ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Singles, ARIA. Accessed October 17, 2013. DVLP and Bilal the Chef were featured in the song's video, directed by Iglesias.
In 2010, DVLP formed the band Mad Ave Boys, now known as Dameht, producing their debut EP Electric Tape. He also played bass and synth on the release.“Bigram Zayas: Developing the Sounds of Tomorrow,” Rap Dose, March 2, 2011.
Reggaeton Around 2015, DVLP began producing Latin music for artists including Fuego, J Balvin, Justin Quiles, Matt Hunter and Jencarlos Canela.Isabelia Herrera, "J Blavin's 'Energia': The Artists, Songwriters, and Producers," Remezcla.com, July 27, 2016. He produced two songs on J Balvin's album Energia, which reached number 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chartJ Balvin Chart History, Billboard. Accessed February 19, 2018. and won Best Urban Music Album at the 2016 Latin Grammy Awards."Latin Grammy Winners 2016: Complete List," Billboard, November 18, 2016. DVLP also produced "Ay Mi Dios" by IAmChino, Pitbull, Yandel and Chacal, which reached number 1 on the Billboard Latin Airplay and Tropical Airplay charts.IAmChino Chart History, Billboard. Accessed February 19, 2018.
Transcend.ent In 2017, DVLP launched the record label and management company Transcend.ent, which is partnered with Universal Music Group. Their first signing was Matt Hunter."Matt Hunter Signs Contract With Universal Music Latin Entertainment," boomonline.com, February 15, 2017.
Looplabs DVLP is a partner in Looplabs, a cloud-based music studio collaborative allowing musicians to create and share tracks and compositions. In 2016, Looplabs partnered with Beatport to provide loops, sounds and samples to Looplabs users with Beatport accounts, and to allow these users to publish tracks to Beatport's streaming platform.Leila Cobo, "Looplabs Teams with Beatport for Sounds and Streaming, Eyes Emerging Markets," Billboard, January 21, 2016.
Discography
Production Discography