Metal Lungies

Man, all I can say is RIP Fat Beats.

From a quiet, overlooked corner of New York rap that, despite appearances, still exists.

Quelle Chris delivered the year’s first great rap album. Come for the face-melting beats, stay for the inspiration.

Bonus jazz paroxysm.

Remember piano beats?

Triple Black Diamonds by Estee Nack and al.divino falls somewhere between D.I.T.C., Roc Marciano, and some of that early 90s mafioso rap, channeling some of the city’s finest and most potent traditions. Of course, Estee Nack and al.divino are from Massachusetts, not New York. The Empire State stays losing.

Kutmah of the UK is a beatmaker in the Beat Konducta tradition, with volumes of inventive ideas.

Oh No is making the most exciting beats around and he’s just tossing them up on Soundcloud. I hope Oh No’s Life of Cujo mixtape is a real thing and not some cruel joke.

Miami’s Sylvan LaCue and Chicago’s Saba with a masterclass in rapping.

Oslo’s Fredfades with unfamiliar sounds.

Stones Throw are the great music archivists and curators of our time and so they’re reviving Ultimate Breaks & Beats with a producer series. Oh No helms the first volume with most potent funk.