Picking his proudest moment from the past year is not easy for Metro Boomin. The super-producer has been on quite a run since releasing his second solo album, “Heroes & Villains,” in December 2022. He did a standout performance at Coachella, helmed the soundtrack for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and made an appearance (as an animated character) in that film. These days, it isn’t unusual for a producer to claim the spotlight, but it’s rare for one to shine so brightly.
“I feel like people can just tell I care,” says Metro, a Missouri native. “At a time when everybody has their hand out — like, ‘Let me do this for cash; let me make a dance for TikTok’ — you can hear all the details and thought behind my music.”
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That caring has yielded strong returns. “Heroes & Villains,” the follow-up to 2018’s “Not All Heroes Wear Capes,” elevated the 30-year-old’s dark sound, incorporating orchestral elements to flesh out his trap-inflected beats. With a roster including frequent collaborators Future, Travis Scott and 21 Savage, “Heroes” became his third album to top the Billboard 200. It spawned his highest-charting top-led single to date with “Creepin’,” a Mario Winans cover featuring the Weeknd and 21 that reached No. 3 on the Hot 100. To date, it has more than a billion streams on Spotify.
Metro, born Leland Tyler Wayne, spent two and a half years assembling “Heroes,” which is why the “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” soundtrack invited new challenges. With a looming deadline, he balanced regular trips to Sony Studios for updated screenings of the film with producing bespoke songs to set the tone for the scenes. Adding to the workload was having to translate his ideas from seeing the film to featured artists ranging from James Blake and Offset to Swae Lee and Nas.
“Most people would try to make a kids album — no cussing, certain subject matter,” he explains. “I wanted it to feel like dope music for all ages. I’m glad that people are into the Marvel fandom, and I’m glad for people that have no clue about any of that and just gravitate to the music. That was really the goal.”
The “Spider-Verse” soundtrack became his second chart-topping album in less than a year, debuting at No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums tally, a remarkable feat considering that 2023 did not have a strong commercial showing for hip-hop records. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s followed Metro’s career. Since 2016, his name has been in the title artist credits for 52 tracks on the Hot 100, and he’s served as a producer on at least 115 entries. Two of those — the Weeknd’s “Heartless” and Migos’ “Bad and Boujee” featuring Lil Uzi Vert — hit No. 1.
Though his output is prolific, Metro likes to keep his focus centered. He prefers to work on one project at a time — right now, he’s collaborating with Future on their highly anticipated joint album and is planning for numerous solo and collaborative albums to follow. Metro says he trusts his instincts to make the right moves with the right music at just the right time.
“I feel that out of all my gifts as a producer, my ear — simply listening and knowing what needs to be added or taken out — is the biggest one,” he says.
