No. 8 Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
One of the most prolific production teams of the ’80s and ’90s, Jam and Lewis helped spark black popular music’s transition from the “Minneapolis sound” that Prince spawned in the early 80s into the New Jack Swing era of the late ’80s-early ’90s. As members of the Time, the duo were students of the Purple One’s sound, but really came into their own as producers for acts like Alexander O’Neal, Human League, the SOS Band, and their most famous collaborator, Janet Jackson.
