Christopher Pope (born May 3, 1970) is an American record executive and record producer from Boston, Massachusetts. Pope served as co-executive producer on Kanye West's album Yeezus (2013), and co-producer on Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998). He was president and chief operating officer (COO) of West's record label GOOD Music from 2012 to 2015, and won Album of the Year at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards for his work on the latter album.
Pope was credited with co-production on West's Grammy-nominated 2013 single "Bound 2", and executive production on GOOD Music's compilation album Cruel Summer (2012). He is also the founder of Wrkshp Media.https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestheculture/2022/01/12/multiplatinum-music-producer-partners-with-billionaire-dan-gilbert-to-launch-music-artist-services-company/
Career
Pope entered the music industry in 1994 upon signing to Teddy Riley, after Riley was introduced to Pope's instrumentals via a mutual friend. In 1995, Pope relocated to New York where he began producing for Wyclef Jean and his group, the Fugees. He also contributed to Jean's production works, which included the hit singles "No, No, No Part 2" by Destiny's Child, "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" by Pras, and "Gone Til November" by Jean himself. While working with Jean, Pope was introduced to Lauryn Hill, who invited him to produce and write with her on several projects including Aretha Franklin's "A Rose Is Still A Rose", Carlos Santana's "Do You Like The Way", The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and more. Pope's production on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill earned him his first Grammy win. Due to improper crediting and compensation, several lawsuits stemmed from the project. Pope and his then co-producer opted not involve themselves in the ongoing litigation surrounding the album, but parted ways with the production team to pursue independent efforts.
After his time working with Hill, Pope produced projects in both domestic and foreign markets. In 1999, he became Vice President of A&R at Warner Bros. Records. Pope later moved to Los Angeles to explore film composition, and was hired by composer Hans Zimmer as a staff producer. This led to credits on several films, television shows and commercials.
Pope was then introduced to Dr. Dre through a mutual friend, and subsequently offered a position on the latter's immediate production team, with whom he collaborated for eight years. Pope worked on projects for Afterrmath artists including Eminem and 50 Cent. In an interview, Pope estimated that he had produced over 1,000 unreleased tracks for Dre and Aftermath during his tenure with the label.
In 2012, Pope joined GOOD Music as a partner, as well as head of A&R. In addition to his administrative work for the label, Pope continued to produce for the label's signed artists. In 2014, he was named Chief Operations Officer of the label. Pope also established the initial collaborative relationship between West and apparel company Adidas, the then-distributor of the Yeezy clothing line. Pope co-produced ASAP Rocky's song "Jukebox Joints", which appears on Rocky's album At. Long. Last. ASAP (2015) and the Weeknd's single "Tell Your Friends" that same year, which appears on the latter's Beauty Behind the Madness. Both songs were co-produced with West.
Production credits
1990s
1997
Wyclef Jean - The Carnival M People - Fresco Destiny's Child - "No, No, No Part 2"
1998
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Aretha Franklin - A Rose is Still a Rose Pras - Ghetto Supastar
1999
Santana - Supernatural Mary J. Blige - Mary
2000's
2002
Beverly Knight - Who I Am
2004
Eminem - Encore Eminem - "Ass Like That" Eminem - "Just Lose It"
2005
The Game - "Hate It or Love It" The Game - The Documentary 50 Cent - The Massacre Vivian Green - Vivian
2006
Mobb Deep - Blood Money Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang Jay-Z - Kingdom Come India.Arie - Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
2008 Bishop Lamont - The Confessional RZA (as Bobby Digital) - Digi Snacks
2009
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II
2010s
2010 Stat Quo - Statlanta
2011 Game - Purp & Patron Game - Hoodmorning (No Typo): Candy Coronas
2012 G.O.O.D. Music - Kanye West Presents: G.O.O.D. Music - Cruel Summer exec prod responsible for "Mercy"
2013
Pusha T - My Name is My Name Kanye West - Yeezus exec prod Kanye West - "Bound 2"
2014
Teyana Taylor - VII
2015
The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the Madness A$AP Rocky - At. Long. Last. A$AP. Pusha T - King Push — Darkest Before Dawn: The Prelude Kanye West - "All Day"
2018
Christina Aguilera - Liberation Teyana Taylor - K.T.S.E. Kanye West - Ye Nas - Nasir
2020s
2022 Brent Faiyaz - WASTELAND - FYTB
2024 ¥$ - Vultures 1 Future - Mixtape Pluto
2025 The Weeknd - Hurry Up Tomorrow Kanye West - Cuck (unreleased) King Combs - Never Stop (uncredited)
2026 Kanye West - Bully (uncredited)
Awards
Grammy Awards YearNominee / WorkAwardResult1999Lauryn Hill - "Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" Album of the year 2014Kanye West - "Bound 2"Best Rap Song2015Kanye West - "All Day"Best Rap Song2015The Weeknd - Beauty Behind the MadnessBest Urban Contemporary Album
References
External links