Hadi Wael Hassan had spent years chasing the kind of moment most producers dream about. Still, when it finally came, there was no instant confirmation, no guaranteed release date and no promise that the record would ever see daylight.
The 27 year old North Miami Beach producer, known professionally as Product, had spent the past year sending ideas, working records and trying to land something with one of the biggest artists in the world. Those ideas eventually made their way to Drake, who used his production work on “New Bestie” off Maid of Honor and “Ran to Atlanta” off Iceman.
But even with music circulating in the right places, Product still did not know what would make the final cut. By the time the music was released, he found out the way many producers do: in real time.
Years of work can come down to release day. For Product, though, the Drake placement was not luck as much as alignment. He never pretends he simply walked into Drake’s camp on his own.
“I’ve never got in contact with Drake’s team,” he says. “I just really aligned myself with the right people that had the relationship with Drake’s team.”
That relationship came through Smash David, the producer and Product’s current manager. Product speaks about him less like an industry connection and more like family.“He’s like a brother to me and a great friend,” Product says. “But two, it’s a blessing just to work with him.”
That word, relationship, comes up over and over again when Product talks. For him, music is not just files being sent back and forth or beats landing in the right inbox. It is about trust, character and being someone people actually want attached to the record.
Product’s story starts far from those rooms. He began making music around 2013 or 2014, but production did not fully enter the picture until 2016, when another producer gave him FL Studio and told him to learn how to make beats. Product fell in love quickly. He had always gravitated toward rhythm, drums and the architecture of songs.
“I’ve always loved production,” he says. “I always loved how it sounded. I’m always about beats.”
One of his earliest real opportunities came through local Miami rapper Flokid. Product was still searching for artists to work with when a cousin helped connect the two. At the time, Flokid was beginning to build a name in the city, and the session gave Product a chance to take his production beyond personal uploads.
“He was the first person I gave beats to and had a song come out,” Product says. Their first record leaned into a hip-hop sound Product describes as having a J. Cole-type feel. Compared to the major placements that would come years later, it was a small beginning. But Product still sees it as part of the foundation.
“Every person I work with, I learn from them,” he says. “It doesn’t matter where you’re at in your career, there’s something to take away.”
Still, love and career momentum are two different things. Product did not start taking production seriously until around 2019. His first major industry placement did not arrive until 2023, when he landed a record with Pusha T and CyHi the Prynce. Soon after came more work: a T-pop song with Pink Sweats and Ally, a record with Puerto Rican rapper Slayter, and eventually placements connected to Drake and Tory Lanez.
The wait taught him patience. More importantly, it taught him how to handle rejection. “You’re gonna get more no’s than yes,” Product says. “I probably had a thousand no’s and got three yeses. But when you get those yeses, it wipes the slate clean.”
That mindset shapes the way he moves in the studio. Product sees the producer as more than the person who made the beat. He sees the job as knowing what the room needs — emotionally, creatively and technically. Sometimes that means writing. Sometimes it means engineering. Sometimes it means adding one element to a hook, building an intro or simply knowing when not to overdo it.
Part of that adaptability came from being around writers and producers he admires. Product credits BEAM as one of the people who taught him how to really work in a studio.
“It’s not about just making a beat,” Product says. “It’s about really listening to the music and seeing what people need in the room and filling those gaps.”
He also mentions Supa Dups as a mentor, especially when it comes to understanding dancehall. Product grew up loving records like Drake’s “Controlla,” “Hotline Bling,” “Work” and “Too Good.” So when he found himself contributing to a dancehall-inspired Drake record, it felt full circle.
“I’ve always loved dancehall music and dance records,” Product says. “So to be able to produce a dancehall record for Drake, it was crazy.”
Now that the placements are coming, Product is thinking less about chasing names and more about legacy. He still has dream collaborators, Rihanna and The Weeknd are on his list, but the bigger goal is not just another credit.
“I want to break an artist,” he says. “I think that’s pivotal for every major producer.”
He points to partnerships like Metro Boomin and Future, Noah “40” Shebib and Drake, and Timbaland with his era-defining collaborators. Product wants that kind of creative bond, not just to contribute to someone’s song, but to help shape an artist’s world.
“I want to be a face with an artist and build a sound and change music,” he says.
For Product, that ambition also ties back to where he comes from. As a Lebanese producer in an industry where Middle Eastern creatives are still underrepresented, he sees his career as a chance to widen the door. He names 40, Oliver El-Khatib and Sal on XO as examples of people with Lebanese roots who helped shape influential music ecosystems.
“There’s not a lot of musicians or producers in the music industry from where I’m from,” Product says. “So for me, I want to be able to open doors as well for people back home.”
The placements matter. The credits matter. Drake matters. But the larger mission is about proof: that someone from North Miami Beach, born to Lebanese parents, who started making music in his teens and spent years hearing no, can still find his way into the room.
“All I ever wanted to do as a kid was to work with Drake and Kanye,” Product says. “And I got to do that. I got to work with all my favorite artists. And that’s a blessing in itself.”
Then, like any producer still chasing the next beat, the next session and the next impossible yes, he keeps it moving.
“Let’s do it again,” he says. “Run it again.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.miaminewtimes.com ’
