Don’t sleep on the beatmakers

Nicholas Craven out of Montreal is lacing half the underground with lush, sample-driven tapestries that sound like a prayer over a chopped loop. Animoss? Grimy soul alchemy. Alchemist? He’s a damn monk at this point -still flipping records like he’s trying to change the world one drum at a time.

These producers are keeping boom bap musical while letting the emcees breathe. That’s an art.