9th Wonder is Patrick Denard Douthit, a hip-hop producer, DJ, college lecturer and social activist from Winston-Salem, United States. Born in 1975, he is associated with hip hop, instrumental hip hop and southern hip hop.

Early life and education

He is introduced to hip-hop in 1982 and studies music theory through middle and high school. He attends North Carolina Central University, where he decides to pursue a career in music. He later serves as an artist in residence at North Carolina Central University and develops a course called Hip Hop in Context, 1973-1997, which studies the development and cultural history of hip-hop from the late 1960s through 1997. He also works as an adjunct professor at Duke University and lectures at universities across the United States.

Little Brother and group work

In 1998, he forms the hip-hop trio Little Brother with Phonte Coleman and Thomas Jones, also known as Rapper Big Pooh. The group releases The Listening, which receives four mics in The Source. He is also a member of Justus League and Dinner Party.

Production career

His first major label placement comes when he produces a track on Jay-Z's The Black Album. He later produces three songs for Destiny's Child on Destiny Fulfilled: "Girl", "Is She the Reason" and "Game Over". Other credits include Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough, on which he wins a Grammy for "Good Woman Down", Erykah Badu's "Honey" and "20 Feet Tall" from New Amerykah Part One and Part Two, Ludacris' "Do the Right Thang" featuring Common and Spike Lee, and David Banner's Death of a Popstar. He also works with Drake, and releases three albums with Murs, all of which receive critical acclaim. He is chosen by Aaron McGruder to score music for the television series The Boondocks.

Labels, organisations and public work

He is president, founder and CEO of It's a Wonderful World Music Group. He is also connected with Jamla Records. He hosts TRUE SCHOOL RADIO with Kyle Santillian on Soul 104.5 FM in Fayetteville, North Carolina, playing early hip-hop alongside 1980s R&B and new jack swing. In 2006, he and six others found the True School Corporation, which focuses on the music, culture and film of 1970s-born hip-hop fans and the Spike Lee era. He is a member of the Zulu Nation. He is appointed National Ambassador for Hip-Hop Relations and Culture for the NAACP by Ben Jealous, and he is selected by Pepsi for the African American Calendar, The First Of Many.

Collaborations and endorsements

He has worked with actor Idris Elba on an album. He also endorses M-Audio Electronics, FL Studio, LRG Clothing Company and Creative Recreation Shoe Company.

Approach and cultural views

His work is tied to preservation of Black music across jazz, gospel, funk, soul, afrobeat and hip-hop, and to its relationship with music ethnology and the African diaspora. He presents hip-hop as a culture with educational as well as artistic value, and his public work centres on lectures, panels and community discussion.