Ramon Ibanga, Jr. (born August 28, 1980), known professionally as Illmind (often stylized as !llmind), is an American record producer, songwriter, and educator. As of 2012, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Illmind has co-written and produced hip hop, trap, pop, soul, and electronic music for labels such as Cash Money, Def Jam, and Aftermath, and has worked with artists such as Nicki Minaj, Andy Mineo, Kanye West, Drake, J. Cole, Dr. Dre, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Ariana Grande, and others. His accomplishments in 2016 include production on the new Hamilton Mixtape and Disney's Moana, both created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Illmind has released several studio albums and had a number of songs and albums reach the music charts. His most recent album, Human, is a collaboration with Joell Ortiz, and was released on July 17, 2015. He established his own multi-genre music company Roseville Music Group in 2014. Early life Ramon Ibanga, Jr. was born on August 28, 1980 in New Jersey, where he was raised in the city of Newark, New Jersey before later moving with his family to Bloomfield, New Jersey. His family provided a strong musical background, as his father was a musician and his older brother Les-Paul was even named after the late Les Paul. Illmind started using his father's equipment to make beats around age 13, specifically learning MIDI and sequencing on a Roland KR-500 keyboard. In his early teens he developed an interest in hip hop, and started producing music in 1997. Around 1999, he began to take production more seriously and he started sampling, using both hip hop vinyl and obscure records such as his father's old jazz and soul albums from the Philippines. He began using the program Cubase and an Akai S20 sampler around age 17. Music career Production After learning sampling, Illmind began making his own beats and sounds, and in 1999 began uploading his music to online forums such as undergroundhiphop.com. Around 2001 he started participating in the Beat Society producer showcases in Philadelphia. Illmind started his production career working with groups like Little Brother and Boot Camp Clik; he met Boot Camp Clik after being introduced through Khrysis, and he started working with Little Brother after being introduced to their music around 2000. His first official collaborative release with the latter was Nobody Like Me. In March 2004 Illmind's remix of the Jay-Z's Black Album, called The Black and