Producer Of The Year Nominee Mustard Talks “Not Like Us,” Kendrick & Always Being A “10”

The 2025 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 67th GRAMMY Awards, will air live on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 2. Watch highlights from the 2025 GRAMMYs on live.GRAMMY.com.

The 2025 GRAMMYs telecast will be reimagined to raise funds to support wildfire relief efforts and aid music professionals impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Donate to the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort To Support Music Professionals.

Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted before the onset of the wildfires in Los Angeles. The artist has since addressed the situation.

If you don't know who Mustard is by now, listen closely. His iconic tagline, "Mustard on the beat, hoe!", has appeared on tracks by R&B stars and popular rappers alike, while major brands like McDonald’s, Pixar, and the NFL have also shouted him out.

As of late, the GRAMMY-winning DJ, producer and rapper is best known for his work on Kendrick Lamar's Record Of The Year-nominated hit "Not Like Us" — one of multiple tracks submitted for Mustard's Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical nod at the 2025 GRAMMYs.

"All these awards mean a lot to me, but Producer Of The Year feels really special," Mustard tells GRAMMY.com. "If I win that one, I don't know what I'll do — probably cry or something."

The Los Angeles native has long shown his versatility and vision, and that inventiveness has helped reshape the sound of an era. Mustard knew exactly what he wanted to do from a young age, and placed music at the center of his world. He planted a seed in his hometown, nurtured it with faith, and that faith took him far beyond Los Angeles.

Born Dijon McFarlane, Mustard first got behind the turntables at age 12, taking inspiration from his uncle Tyrei "DJ Tee" Lacy — a father figure who once DJed for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. He scored his first Top 10 hit, Tyga's "Rack City," when he was just 21. Soon, DJing parties at Dorsey High School in L.A.'s Baldwin Hills neighborhood, became headlining slots at Camp Flog Gnaw and, this April, a slot at Coachella.

Mustard won his first golden gramophone in 2019 for his work on "Boo'd Up," the breakout hit from Ella Mai — the first artist signed to his Ten Summers label. The following year, he scored a GRAMMY nomination for the chart-topping hip-hop anthem "Ballin" by Roddy Rich. Although he has yet to be nominated in the intervening years, Mustard kept busy with other artists and his own work; in 2024, Mustard released his fourth studio album, Faith Of A Mustard Seed. The album marked a turning point in Mustard's artistry as he raps for the first time, using his lyrics to share stories of his life challenges and growth. With a title given by the late Nipsey Hussle, Faith features standout collaborations with Travis Scott and Kirk Franklin that offer a new depth of sound.

Mustard dropped the word "DJ" from his name, but his roots have been far from forgotten — roots that became ever more important following the series of wildfires that rocked Los Angeles. "L.A. is home, and it's been a surreal feeling to see whole neighborhoods wiped out," Mustard says. "I know a lot of people think L.A. is superficial, but these families and businesses lost more than material things, so seeing people come together in our toughest moment, that's the real L.A.

"I always say L.A. is different because you really have people from all backgrounds and status showing up to help rebuild and regrow our communities," he continues. "It's a long road ahead of us, and this has impacted everyone in different ways. So I hope people continue to support and help rebuild once the fires are out and the news around it dies down a bit. The city needs us."

That spirit and commitment in the face of hardship is core to who Mustard is. He's continuously reinvented himself and his hunger for more pushed him to expand into new realms — as a CEO, producer, and artist — and his recognition at the 2025 GRAMMYs feels almost poetic. A decade in the making, this milestone aligns perfectly with his favorite number and the title of his record label. It's the ultimate full-circle moment for an artist who's always strived for greatness.

GRAMMY.com recently sat down with the visionary producer and hitmaker to explore the driving force behind his Ten Summers label, the stories that shaped his recent productions, and the inspiration fueling Faith of a Mustard Seed.

You've shared before that the name of your record label, Ten Summers, was inspired by a Rick Ross lyric and your lucky number — tied to your birthday, your sister's, and your mother's. Now that it's officially been 10 summers, is there a new milestone you're aiming for?

I try to take it day by day because, honestly, these days, I don't know what's coming next. Sometimes, I look at what's happening and think, I can't believe this is real. So, I don't set limits or put a cap on it. It's really just about striving to be the best I can every single day.

Why only 10 Summers? Why not 100? Why not 200? Why not forever?

When you're younger, you don't really think about things in the long term. Ten years feels like forever, so you're not thinking about changing something after that or wondering why not make it a hundred years. You think about young people–– someone in their twenties, they see someone 34 and they might look at that as “older” to them.

I just thought if I could be on for Ten Summers, then I should be able to make a living and take care of my family. That's why I stopped at ten.

I have to ask you about "tv off." In previous interviews, you mentioned sending Kendrick Lamar beats every day. Was this included in one of your beat packages? Who's idea was it to scream your name?

Even after "Not Like Us," I continue — still to this day — sending him five or six beats a day. We have this folder where I just drop new stuff in. The first half of "tv off" and the second half are two different beats that he connected; I didn't send it to him like that. It was just like, out of those five beats, he picked two.

I didn't hear the song until it came out. I had heard "Hey Now" during the "Not Like Us" video shoot; he played me a snippet. I asked him, "Man, what made you do that?" And he said, "When I heard the beat, I just felt like Goku or something." I was like, "What?" And he explained, "Yeah, when I hear certain s— on your beats, it brings out something else in me, so I just did whatever I felt." I was like, "Wow, that's crazy."

You didn't know "Not Like Us"was coming out. You were on your way to a baby shower, and suddenly, you received messages from people telling you that Kendrick Lamar had dropped another song. How long ago did you make that beat before it was released?

My manager's birthday was April 7, and that track was made on his birthday. I remember it because it was the last beat I made before heading to his dinner. I remember Kendrick replying, saying, "This one is crazy," but I didn't think it was the craziest out of the pack.

Later on, his team asked about the sample in it or something like that. So, I knew he had rapped over it, but I didn't know it was "Not Like Us." People always ask for samples, and sometimes they can't clear them, so it doesn't come out. The sample is from the same jazz player, Monk Higgins, sampled in "tv off." It's the same band playing different songs.

How do you balance being a CEO and an artist, especially when it's album time?

I'm not sure I've fully mastered the balance yet. With Ella [Mai] and even Amirah, when I'm working on their album, I'm only working on their album. I can't really do two things at once with anything I do. So, I try to manage my time.

But when it's Ella's time, it's all about her. I don't do anything else outside of her music. I want to give her my full, undivided attention. I try to do that with all my artists, but Ella and I just have a rhythm.

After your 2019 album Perfect Ten, there was a significant break before you released Faith of a Mustard Seed. Why did it take so long to release your next album, and what was your mindset during those five years?

I was definitely overthinking a lot, and with me being a bit of a perfectionist, I had a clear vision of how I wanted it to sound. That was one of the challenges. On top of that, I switched labels, and then COVID hit, which threw everything off. I started working on this album before COVID, and it just became a lot. But I don't think it'll take me another five years to release another one — I'll never do that again.

How does it feel to be nominated for Producer Of The Year, especially for a select body of work that made such a big impact?

I mean, all these awards mean a lot to me, but Producer Of The Year feels really special. If I win that one, I don't know what I'll do — probably cry or something.

Last year, I was just trying to get Kendrick on my album, and now we've got one of the biggest songs ever together. Nobody could've told me this would play out like this. I just contribute it to God, staying on the right path and being a good person, and it's all coming back tenfold.

Do you feel pressure to stick to the formula that made you famous, and do you feel that pressure from the West Coast, especially L.A. fans?

I don't really feel pressure because, if you think about Faith Of A Mustard Seed, it's not the usual turned-up, ratchet Mustard. It's a conceptual album — a story where I'm rapping, stepping out of the box, and diving deeper into production. It's not just me making tracks that I can do with my eyes closed.

That project took time, and it took a lot out of me to create something of that caliber. I focus on what I think is best and what I know people will like. At the end of the day, I know who I am. If you like it, cool. If not, fast-forward.

What does your team look like these days, and how do you create?

When I had a lot of people, like a big team, helping with music, it just wasn't as productive as it is now. I'm on a full schedule: I get up in the morning, work out at seven, play tennis at ten, and I'm in the studio by two. I might call [producer] Sean Momberger and say,""Hey, can you chop me up some samples?" Or I might ask someone else, "Hey, just give me some keys."

When Sean sent me the sample for "Not Like Us," I was in the studio alone and did the whole thing solo. I think I'm working better now because I'm challenging myself to actually go in and make five beats a day. Even if it's four, I tell myself, You might not think it's the best, but Kendrick might. So, I'm in the studio every day, making beats — no engineer, nobody — just me, the mixing board, and the speakers.