If you want a mainline in to what’s good as it drops then you’ve got to stay on top of Mutant Academy’s movements. I was late to the game, but ever since Chapel Drive I’ve found the Virginia-grown collective to be a constant stream of original music.
And that’s where I got a heads up about New York producer ewonee (sometimes styled ewonee . or Ewonee the Beatnik) and his latest drop of instrumental hip-hop ’73. The twenty-two track tape release is comprised of one-to-two minute joints built from soul samples, layered in to a beautiful listen start to finish, not light on the headnodding. We’ve been hyping a lot of beat tapes lately, and normally we’ll take it rugged and unpolished as a preference, but ewonee has really balanced us out with this one.
’73 is one of those releases where every component – every kick and snare, every horn and bassline – is tuned and placed with perfection inside the track. Where the samples are raw they’re masterfully built around similar elements so everything blends naturally. Listening to this through the headphones is pure sonic pleasure.
The beats are complimented with ’70s vocal samples that occasionally clash against more modern rap one liners. It’s all in line with the album’s inspiration, the 1973 classic concert film Wattstax and the ‘beauty, perseverence and strength’ of black people and culture.
There’s a handful of tapes left that you can grab as part of a bundle with a t-shirt or on their own at ewonee’s own site or bandcamp page. Limited to 60 copies it’s download only once they’re gone so go quick, especially as the artwork credited to Kwanduit x RedBeard is something special.
If you’re in need of a primer and not in to bandcamp then ewonee’s thrown up a variant to the release in the form of a mix which you can check out below.
’73 is what happens when I take out thee timee machine. Inspired by the black and beautiful documentary “Wattstax”. This collection is a tribute to beauty, perseverance and strength of people who look like mee. Enjoy.