Exclusive Mr. Dynamite Beat Set From Grammy-Nominated D.R.U.G.S BEATS
During a 2015 recording session Dr. Dre walked into the studio while Aftermath producer Focus… was listening to The Gift: Volume Ten, an instrumental album composed by D.R.U.G.S BEATS. Awed by the sounds he heard emanating from the speakers, he asked Focus… what he was listening to. Not long after this chance interaction D.R.U.G.S landed a beat placement on Dre’s gold-selling, Grammy-nominated Compton album.
The journey from beat battle destroyer to Dr. Dre collaborator goes all the way back to 1985 when D.R.U.G.S’ mother bought him a copy of LL Cool J’s “I Need A Beat” 12-inch. Only five years old at the time, it wasn’t long before she was bringing him to local rap concerts and helping him expand his record collection.
After several years of attending shows, digging for records, and building an appreciation for producers like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, D.R.U.G.S acquired two Technics 1200 turntables and a Scratchmaster mixer with a 8-second sample. He spent his early years as a producer making pause-tape style beats and honing his DJ skills, but it wasn’t until his friend Mudnoc gifted him an MPC 2000 between 2004 and 2005 that the process really started to click. “It kind of came natural once I got my hands on the MPC,” he told me in an earlier interview with Micro-Chop. “I just fell in love with it.”
“There’s some kid out in Idaho or Iowa who’s bumping your beat tape hard and it’s getting them trough some troubles.”
With a decade plus of MPC experience under his belt, D.R.U.G.S is at a point in his career where he can crank out multiple beats in a single day. “Honestly, I’m a dude that really just don’t leave my house,” he tells me. “I sit off in one room and make beats all day. That’s just what I do. It’s just like brushing my teeth.”
D.R.U.G.S’ daily beatmaking habit has resulted in a staggering back catalog of work for him to pull from. “It’s nothing for me to make damn near 20, 25 beats in a week,” he says. “They’re really quality beats.”
Not content to wait for album placements or let years of hard work sit on a hard drive, D.R.U.G.S is now building up a catalog of instrumental albums that showcase his talents. “These motherfuckers are so dope, I’m not gonna let ‘em sit around,” he says. “I’m gonna make some beat tapes.”
His beat tape projects seem to have found an ideal home on Street Corner Music, a label that specializes in instrumental projects from a variety of producers. And when label founder House Shoes first contacted him about being a part of his The Gift series a few years ago, D.R.U.G.S didn’t hesitate to send him a massive cache of music. “I sent him damn near 400 beats,” he says.
“I sit off in one room and make beats all day. That’s just what I do. It’s just like brushing my teeth.”
With two releases on Street Corner available for purchase, recent collaborative albums with Fatt Father and ILLPO, and various other projects in the works, D.R.U.G.S wants to stay consistent while making sure he is putting out his best work. “Beat tapes are always gonna be a thing with me,” he says. “But I definitely want to put out some quality projects as well.”
Luckily for Micro-Chop readers, D.R.U.G.S generously offered to compile a quality project in the form of an exclusive beat set. Only available on this site, the beats featured here were carefully hand-picked, sequenced, and mixed by D.R.U.G.S himself.
His decision to gift readers with such a formidable release without seeking anything in return seems consistent with his philosophy about the power of music. “Hey bro, you never know who’s listening,” he told me in an earlier interview. “There’s some kid out in Idaho or Iowa who’s really bumping your beat tape hard and it’s getting them trough some troubles. Hopefully we inspire many.”
Update: At one time this beat set was available for download. Since hip-hop legend Diamond D chose one of these beats for an upcoming project, D.R.U.G.S requested that it only be available to stream for the time being.
Mr. Dynamite Beat Set Track List
- Intro — Mr. Dynamite
- Welcome (D.R.U.G.S. BEATS & Tenacity Unreleased LP)
- Los Angeles (instrumental)
- North Carolina ( instrumental)
- Tomita (instrumental)
- Wiggy Wiggy (instrumental)
- Shabazz Gospel (instrumental — Veteran’s Day album)
- ALI (instrumental — Worst Case Scenario album)
- Orion (instrumental)
- Man Up (instrumental — Veteran’s Day album)
- 5th Ave. (unreleased instrumental)
- K Hill The Ride (instrumental)
- Fiend Alley (instrumental)
- Schoolboy Q Flow( instrumental)
- All I’m Gone Give (instrumental)
- Different (instrumental — Worst Case Scenario album)
- All Day (instrumental — Veteran’s Day album)
- Fat (instrumental)
- So Sweet (instrumental)
Connect with D.R.U.G.S BEATS on Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and on Twitter @D_R_U_G_S_BEATS.
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