Ribs: Beatmaker edition with Asend & Dope Kid Danny

I was thrown for a loop with Asend’s new album Nobody Cares dropping because I thought it would be among his first projects to showcase his more modern-pop style that I’ve seen him use lately- hi-hats and trapbeats with a blending of his boom-bap sampling roots but I was pleasantly surprised when the album turned out to be a clearing-out of golden-era style beats from his archives that for whatever reason didn’t come out with his last projects. While I look forward to a tape that puts together his own take on boom-trap (hat-tip to !llmind) it really takes me back in a fresh way to hear all these unreleased Asend boom-bap beats. 

What can be said? Despite being young as hell, Asend is a master at this style. He has such a great ear for melodies, drum-swings and chill thoughtful moods. You can always vibe or freestyle to his work, smoke or meditate: it’s multi-functional-music. These beats sound like waking up on a Saturday morning in Spring and taking your time to blaze and make breakfast as you let the sun hit you through the sliding glass door. They have a darkside too…those same vibes can turn into a malaise but that his beats walk the razor’s edge of wonder and melancholy is part of their deceptively simple charm. The album to me is about meditation, but there’s some undeniably sad commentary to the quote at the end that reiterates the project’s title: “nobody cares”. A lot of younger beatmakers have the tendency to delete their folders when the mood strikes so I am truly thankful that Asend decided to let the fans have the choice- the choice to care.

The intro to Gelid, Dope Kid Danny’s new beat tape, “Celebrate” is a beautiful opener for this clean and chillactimous beat-tape. Off the bat, this “celebration” isn’t your regular turn-up sesh but something more thoughtful and melodic- the album follows suit. “What I want” has a simple and hypnotic melody/ “Under the Street Light” plays with an easy-going trumpet during the chorus while the bass and the bells lays the foundation of the cut.  8^thWonder is simultaneously experimental and pop-hit ready. The “Medicate” Interlude is chill, catchy and eastern-tinged in its melodies and instrumentation. Danny’s beats sound placement-ready: the kind of tunes you might see in a new Netflix show or cannabis documentary. 2 AM on the Highway reminds me of the set up to a thriller or horror movie while also being exactly what it sounds like. Cocaine has tinkly piano layers, sick drums and melancholy expressions of an addict’s pain. 

  For me, Kryptonic Justice is the album’s highlight- thunderous bass, spidery guitar and key melodies, simultaneously ominous yet majestic, it truly could be a Superman theme for the modern-era. The outro is also a regal banger with extended horn notes and stop-start drum knocks. Danny is growing ever into a more polished and professional beatmaker with tracks ready made for pop-stars to be or grimy spitters or just people who just need beats to chill out too. Though he’s in Minnesota, these beats remind me of the west coast freeway and how I fill my time on it.

Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is staff writer for JooseBoxx, a youth hip-hop and poetry tutor, and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com

MUSIC MONDAY WITH FAIMKILLS, KID PRESENTABLE, ASEND, DOPE KID DANNY, ZOEN AND MORE

SMART WENT CRAZY BY TOM G / PRODUCED BY ASEND

Tom G smartly snatched up this Asend cut from being taken for granted by too many cypher MCs to turn it into a nice introduction to both artists.

WHIP BY FAIMKILLS / PRODUCED BY DOPE KID DANNY / MIXED BY CA$HONLY

"I be on that tikka masala"

Hit the avenue with some heat as you bump this late summer slapper from Faimkills with help from Dope Kid Danny and Ca$hOnly.

TEMPTATION BY KID PRESENTABLE / PRODUCED BY ZOEN

Do you miss the old Atmosphere? Bump this recent Kid Presentable gem, full of personal bars and nice flow with a gorgeous Zoen production you'll be thinking it's 2003 with an I.E. twist in no time.

Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is staff writer for JooseBoxx, a youth hip-hop and poetry tutor, and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com

MUSIC MONDAY WITH KID PRESENTABLE, FAIMKILLS, CA$HONLY, NOA JAMES, FREDO, CAM GNARLY, DOPE KID DANNY AND MORE

Earlier this summer we're just getting over Ca$hOnly dropped this new remix revisiting a favorite from the Noa James / Fredo L.I.T. album - even though summer is over I suspect y'all will find a night in the near future this track hits the vibe for.

This past Spring as my unplanned medical sabbatical began, Kid Presentable sent me this chill boom-bap gem produced by Haunted Days; full of sharp words and a matured sadboi darkness- soak in this and puff one if you can catch a moment.

Earlier this year Cam Gnarly hit us with some more posi-waves I couldn't neglect to mention- peep this catchy melodic slapper featuring Aye Brook and produced by Pantsu.

I am still going through Faimkills' discography but this song barsily tells his lifestory and working class aspirations as a teacher in a way more thorough than I've otherwise ever heard him do on a record before. That undersells the visceral bangingness of the song though, peep for yourself and see what's really good. Produced by Dope Kid Danny. 

Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is staff writer for JooseBoxx, a youth hip-hop and poetry tutor, and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com

Let 'Em Talk To Ya: Review of Dope Kid Danny's "Euphonious" Beat Tape

Dope Kid Danny's Euphonious Beat Tape is a chill and vibey but still straightforward collection of crisply produced new beats. They feel canonical in the sense that they have warm familiar melodies and concepts but also totally new in their craft and style.

"Let Me Talk To Ya" opens up the collection with a G-Funky guitar loop laid over claps and shouts atop a very chill hip-hop beat. "Can't Let Go" is a catchy and beautiful mournful lover's track that's really nice to blaze and drive to. Danny toggles between boom-bap and newer double-time styles.

"Private Party" is a funky banger, "Day Dreaming at Night" is exactly the pensive relaxing beat one would think it would be. "Boardwalk Convo" makes me want to take my girlfriend to Redondo Beach at night.

Over and over with these songs, a very entertaining maxim holds true: Danny illustrates his concepts in a narrative with these beats. "Along for the Grind" sounds like a montage of hustlers in training, "Scrapin'" is later in that same movie with the characters lowering their hoopties to the ground. "You Screwed Up" has the hungover ringing of being reminded of your folly along with undeniable bass driving the point home. "Me and My Shadow" hints at the producer's depth ominously in a hard coda.

His sound pays homage to old school funk hip-hop but also newer-style drum syncopation and electronic sound. The sound tells a story of a young Latino dude driving through So Cal cities, living his sincere life. It does all this but it's also a chill tape, indeed full of euphony.

The best beat tapes are an album in themselves while also reminding artists of what a good idea it is to collaborate with a given producer. Dope Kid Danny has hella I.E. hip-hop credentials from his work with Faimkills, Noa James, Curtiss King and many more- with Euphonious he tells his own sonic story, join him for it.

Tristan "Tanjint Wiggy" Acker is a staff writer for JooseBoxx, youth hip-hop writing instructor with CHORDS Enrichment Youth program (chordseyp.org) and member of the Inland Empire nerdcore hip-hop group the West Coast Avengers. Catch more of their work at westcoastavengers.com, follow Tristan on Twitter @Tanjint or e-mail him at tristanacker@gmail.com.