I’ve just been enlightened to Kick A Dope Verse!, a Russian based label often abbreviated to KADV who’ve been releasing underground hip-hop on cassette since 2017. The label’s last two releases are part of a boom-bap series they’re curating which kicked off with The Abstract Era a few months back; a twenty-two track compilation from across the globe harnessing golden-era instrumentality in to fresh joints.
Ruff-T and Mike Flips – out of Canada and Cambridge respectively – featured on Abstract and have since brought individual beat tapes to us through KADV. And while I was too late to nab a physical copy of Mike Flips’ Heavy Rotation I’m hopeful of a re-release at some point to compliment the battering I’ve been giving the digital during work hours. There’s nothing finer than instrumental hip-hop in the ears to soundtrack pretty much any day, especially of this caliber.
Boom Bap Hooray from Ruff-T is on the same level, though with a tougher edge to the jazz loops and slightly more laid-back feel in the overall tempo. The ’90s vocal samples are used more sparingly and are laced, as with the whole album, with hard as nails drums. I don’t have any insight in to the making of the beat-tape but I have to think it was conceived as a whole rather than a collection of dusty beats pulled together the way it works as an album. Or possibly Ruff-T has already found his own sound in the style of the greats.
Fifteen tracks across two twenty minute sides, shipped with super-dope artwork and stickers to boot. Check out the KADV bandcamp page for the full release details and to catch future physical, as at time of writing this one’s all gone unfortunately. Good news if you’re a fan and on the lookout for joints to work with though, as if you head on over to Ruff-T’s Soundcloud you’ll find beats for sale.