2001–2005: Career beginnings and boarding school In January 2001, Ward signed to rapper
DMX's imprint,
Bloodline Records. He made his debut on the
soundtrack to the film,
Exit Wounds, on the song, "Dog 4 Life" under the alias, Iceberg. In the next few months, his experiences with DMX became concerning including
sexual intercourse, drug addiction and heavy
cannabis or
alcohol usage, resultant of a lack of guidance. Ward, despite the falling out, was gifted a puppy by the rapper. After he failed to receive support from DMX, he remained a signed artist on Bloodline, but moved from a studio in
Toronto,
Ontario to
Edgewater, New Jersey, to self-produce a planned studio album for the label, while working with other producers (including his former mentors, Boogz da Beast and
Tricky Stewart). Ward would then receive pager messages from his now-estranged mother, demanding that he meet her at a
Red Lobster in Chicago. At the time, he was in a studio session with the then-unknown LEP Bogus Boys and later at a shopping mall, buying clothing and jewelry. Upon visiting his mother at Red Lobster, he was tricked into being sent away in a van and shifted from Chicago's
O'Hare International Airport to
Spring Creek Lodge Academy, a now-closed military boarding school in
Thompson Falls,
Montana in July 2001. His father, who is no longer in contact with Ward, then demanded DMX to release him from his Bloodline imprint, out of concern that Ward's association would incite a controversial hip-hop criminal lifestyle, considering DMX's own
legal issues. He initially failed the first test while at Spring Creek, but later improved a year and half later, before being released from the school in late 2002. He moved to
Los Angeles,
California, after earning his
GED in 2003; he previously attended
Chicago Vocational High School and
Curie Metropolitan High School. In 2005, Ward worked as a
hype man and recording assistant for former
Disturbing tha Peace member and fellow
Chicagoan Shawnna. Among many labels that approached him, he signed with
Epic Records. Ward's six-track
EP,
Almost Famous: The Sexy Lady EP, was released on July 24, 2007. Later that year, Ward made a cameo in the music video for singer
Kat DeLuna's debut single "
Whine Up". Ward recorded a song with
Lil Wayne and
Brisco titled "Bitch Please", which was released in November 2007. In December 2007, Ward released another single "
Sexy Can I", a collaboration with singer
Ray J. The first single for his debut album, "
Do That There" (featuring
Dude 'n Nem), was followed by "
The Business" (featuring R&B artist Casha Darjean), which peaked at number 33 on the
Billboard Hot 100. On August 12, 2008, Ward released his debut studio album and his only album as a rapper to date,
Look What You Made Me. It would chart at number 20 on the
Billboard 200 and at number two on the
Top Rap Albums chart. In December 2008, Ward began casting black women of certain skin tones "to showcase beauty of all races" for a potential reality show that he would host. The potentially-titled
Back to Business was never released as planned. In 2009, Ward formed the production group, the Dream Team with his older brother, K-Young, and producer Rob Holladay.
2010–present: Transition to production and success In 2010, Ward quietly ended his rap career and focused more on producing and writing songs for other artists. His major placement was in 2011, when he was credited (alongside Rob Holladay and
Polow da Don) as the co-producer for rapper Lil Wayne's single, "
John", featuring
Rick Ross. He was later credited as producer or co-composer on other singles that followed:
Driicky Graham's "
Snapbacks & Tattoos" (2012),
Tamar Braxton (sister of
Toni Braxton) with "
The One" (2013), In mid-2014, Ward officially changed his alias to Hitmaka, referencing his revamp as a full-time music producer. His first outing under the Hitmaka alias was for
Nicki Minaj's third studio album,
The Pinkprint, which was released on December 15, 2014. Ward is credited as co-producer on the tracks "Want Some More", "Buy a Heart", and "Shanghai". On November 9, 2014, it was announced by VH1 that they had fired Ward from
Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, due to him being arrested for allegedly assaulting his fellow castmate and former girlfriend,
Masika Kalysha. Throughout the five-year span, he focused more on production throughout, producing and composing for
Jeremih ("Giv No Fuks", "Worthy" and "I Think of You"),
Chris Brown ("
Party"),
K. Michelle ("
Ain't You"),
Big Sean ("
Bounce Back"),
Kid Ink ("Nasty" and "
F with U"),
Ty Dolla Sign ("Ex" and "Pineapple"),
A Boogie wit da Hoodie ("
Look Back at It"),
Meek Mill ("
Dangerous") and
2 Chainz ("
Rule the World"). In August 2019, Ward was given the position of executive vice president of urban A&R at
Atlantic Records. In late 2020, Ward helmed the executive production duties for rapper
T.I.'s eleventh album,
The L.I.B.R.A., upon its release that October. That same year, he (along with
Cardiak) co-produced
Trey Songz and
Summer Walker's "Back Home", a title track from the former's eighth studio album,
Back Home, which charted at number twelve on the
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. On February 11, 2021, Ward released a collaborative album with singer-songwriter
Eric Bellinger,
1-(800)-HIT-EAZY, which would be followed two years later by a sequel,
Line 2, released on February 16, 2023. Throughout 2021, he produced numerous tracks for singer/rapper
Tink and collaborated with
OG Parker to produce
Yung Bleu's single, "
Baddest". That September, he was appointed the vice president of A&R at
Empire Distribution. Within this position, he reports to founder Ghazi Shami and president (Chris Brown's former manager)
Tina Davis. In October 2022, he won a
BET Hip Hop Award for Producer of the Year. In 2023, Ward continued producing for various artists including
Chloe Bailey ("
How Does It Feel"), 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne ("
Transparency"), Chris Brown ("
Angel Numbers / Ten Toes") and in 2025,
Bow Wow ("Use Me"). ==Personal life==