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K-Def - Beats From The 90s
BEATS FROM THE 90'S AVAILABLE @ ITUNES
Most of the thirty and over hip hop heads should remember K-Def, who was monumental in releasing a slew of classic records in the early/mid 90's. He was behind Lord of the Undergrounds "Funky Child" and "Chief Rocka" along with "Grand Groove" from Tragedy's "Saga of a Hoodlum" along with the whole Real Live album. K-Def has long been greatly underrated in the grand scheme of things as far as his production goes. There was the World Renown album that has never seen a proper release, a bootleg version of Nas' "Street Dreams" produced by K-Def that is amazing, and other tidbits found here and there that lead us to believe that he had some music in the vaults that we had yet to have heard. That was until now. K-Def has pulled some tasty treats out of the vaults and released them in the form of "Beats From The 90's".
TRAVIS, WAKE YOUR DAUGHTER UP
With ‘Ain’t No Love’, as much as I have tried to sit back and assess the intricacies of K-Def’s composition, all too often I’ve realised that I’m no longer paying attention to these details anymore and am lost in the song’s swirling brilliance. If ever you needed proof that K-Def was amongst the best that ever did it, take a minute to indulge yourself in one of the most sumptuous slices of hip hop production ever committed to wax.
DAN, FROM DA BRICKS
Any list of great hip-hop producers from the '90s should include K-Def. But while Kevin Hansford's bluesy, jazzy beats for Tragedy, Da Youngstas, and Lords of the Underground have the same timeless feel as the work of peers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, such recognition has largely eluded him.
There are several reasons why. As one of a stable of producers working under Marley Marl at the upstate New York studio House of Hits, he remained relatively anonymous.
After lying low during the Jiggy Era, the Passaic, New Jersey, native is now enjoying a renaissance that began with work on Ghostface's The Pretty Toney Album in 2004. Not content to rest on his sample-based laurels, the producer used Willie Boo Boo 'The Fool', an instrumental LP from 2006, and Real Live Gangster, a set of remixes of Jay-Z's American Gangster, to showcase his virtual arrangement skils.
Jesse Server, Wax Poetics 29 July 08,
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WAXPOETICS.COM
Last but not least, the digital-only Article EP (Ghetto Man Beats) is the first salvo from The Program, the newly formed duo of producer (and Read the Label favorite) K-Def and unknown jersey rapper Dacapo. While Dacapo-an everyman type with a flow reminiscent of Large Professor-initially strikes one as an underwhelming foil for Def's immaculate beats, repeat listens to tracks, like the title song and "Day Dreaming," reveal an MC worth paying close attention to.
Jesse Serwer, XL8R 118 June/July XL8RMAG.COM
On last year's excellent instro LP Willie Boo Boo "The Fool", veteran Brick City producer K-Def expressed his own concern with the rap game's turns over the years. This year, Def teams with youngblood DaCapo to form 'The Program' and drop their inaugural EP, The Article (Ghetto Man Beats), reviving the sample-reliant, low-90's-BPM vibe of the early 90's. As expected, Def does his thing on the production side--whether generating fresh soundscapes (the joyous strings of "Free Speech" and "Day Dreaming") or tastefully repurposing the familiar (some ol' Ed O.G. on the industry primer "Gotta Get Da Cash" and a lil Latifah on the paean to lost rap cats "Fallen"). DaCapo, however, provides the nicest surprise, thoughtfully enunciating throughout like Large Professor or CL Smooth reincarnate. So when he says, on the title track, that he's in it for "much more than the name or the fame or the change in the game," it's official. Genuine Article.
Chairman Mao Critical Beatdown XXL July 2008 XXLMAG.COM
Best known for his early '90's work with the Lords of the Underground. K-Def arguably belongs in the same class as Dj Premier and Pete Rock but remains one of hip-hop's most under acknowledged beat masters. Fresh from lacing KRS-ONE with one of 2007's toughest tacks in "The Teacha's Back," the soulful, poignant instrumentals on K's remix effort, Real Live Gangster, suggest this could be the year K finally gets his props.
Jesse Serwer XLR8R 115, March 2008. XLR8R.COM
Get Your Own! | View SlideshowPreferring the role of Hip-Hop insider than hyped recording artist, DJ/Producer K-Def has kept a low profile in the game for a number of years. Earning critical praise for his early production work with Marley Marl on the classic album "Here Comes The Lords" by the group Lords Of The Underground. K-Def has steadily produced stellar Hip-Hop music for the world to bump their heads too. During the 1990's, K-Def has co-produced some of Marley Marl better tracks, taking his place as Marley's go-to man on the MPC. With this opportunity K-Def carved out a defying discography. K-Def has lent his production talents to artist such Tragedy (Intelligent Hoodlum), A.D.O.R., Da Youngstas, Real Live, World Renown, Positive K, and The Artifacts to name a few.
Mid-Ninties, having paid his dues, K-Def & Larry-O formed Real Live. They released an album aptly titled, The Turnaround: A Long Awaited Drama. His cousin Larry-O handled all the vocal production, and the duos complementary styles; were applauded by rap fans and critics. They created the underground smash 'Real Live Shit". K-Def has a blues/soul sampling style, which of late has come back in vogue, with current Hip-Hop artists. A style he and other 1990's hip-hop producers help solidify. Before his work had matured beyond 2000, his catalog had been sampled three times. The first time by Easy Mo Bee for "Machine Gun Funk" for The Notorious B.I.G., then by "Wildchild" for the club anthem "Renegade Master", followed by a track called "Got Me Open" which was featured on Dr. Dre's first release ..math Entertainment.
2004 K-Def kept his name relevant by producing the standout track, "Its Over" on the Ghostface Killah release, "The Pretty Toney Album" (Def Jam). He has kept the ball rolling by contributing tracks on other Ghostface project "Theodore Unit" and Ol' Dirty Bastard's "The Osirus Mixtape".
He was a contributor to El Da Sensei's '06 baby, "The Unusual". In 2006, K-Def decided to work on an instrumental album called Willie Boo Boo"The Fool", a tour-de-force in hip-hop production, K-Def hopes it pleases his fans, who sit by the radio hoping that of his tracks leak out. This is a first for K-Def, no rappers just the beats. For more info on K-Def please visit www.kdef.biz
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