Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
BY XAVIER JOHNSON
The producer solo album became a lost art throughout the 2000s, but the unique form of hip-hop has reemerged over the past few years with a young crop of talented producers creating their own artistic vision after helping solidify other artists’ for so long.
Prolific producer Kenneth Charles Blume III, known as Kenny Beats, is responsible for much of the sound of modern hip-hop. Kenny Beats first rose to prominence with production credits for New York rapper Smoke DZA. After over a decade in the rap game and over a hundred production credits, He was finally ready to release a solo album.
Kenny Beats is the latest young prodigy to drop a solo record, coming on the heels of contemporaries Metro Boomin and Pi’erre Bourne. A producer album can take different forms. There’s the formula established by Dr. Dre which Metro Boomin adopted; creating unique beats and bringing in an all-star cast of guest rappers to spit verses over the top.
These feature-rich records are a way for the producer to showcase their best work that might not fit on other projects. It highlights the rappers that helped make them successful, often including longtime collaborators and up-and-coming artists the producer wants to put on.
Another approach that’s been seen throughout hip-hop history is the beats album. Most notably perfected by J Dilla on Donuts, this style of record is generally short with a collection of concepts that showcase knowledge of various DJ techniques and craft. This is the lane that Kenny Beats is occupying on his debut Louie.
Louie is the culmination of over a decade of Kenny Beats refining his craft. The opening track “Leonard” is a conversation between Blume and his father, explaining how the producer got his name. This personal touch sets the tone for the rest of the record. For 30 minutes, Kenny Beats takes the listener on a sonic journey through his influences, tastes, and creative mind.
Kenny Beats is no stranger to hip-hop fans. it’s been a steady rise to his current position as one of the rap game’s most notable producers working with an exciting array of rap’s forward-thinking trendsetters like JPEGMAFIA and Denzel Curry.
Many of Kenny Beats’ collaborators make cameo appearances on Louie, but none of them spit a traditional guest verse.
JPEGMAFIA appears on the uplifting “Still” with a sparse verse brimming with his signature energy, The sum of his contributions doesn’t amount to much of a verse, however. JPEGMAFIA’s appearance, like all of the featured artists on the project, is used in the same way a vocal sample is. They are there as a part of the beat to enhance it, rather than riding on top of it.
Even Slowthai’s substantial feature on “Family Tree” is much more of a vibe than an attention-grabbing verse. He lays back and slides right into the groove of the track, transforming into more of a melodic instrument rather than a featured rapper.
Kenny Beats’ output in 2021 proved his range is as wide as his long list of collaborators. Kenny’s knack for creating distorted, bass-thumping bangers made him the perfect fit for Denzel Curry’s intense style on record Unlocked 1.5. In the same year, he produced for British rock outfit Idles on the album Crawler.
Throughout the tracklist, listeners get a taste of all that Kenny Beats has to offer. There are plenty of lush sample-driven songs like “Hold My Head” and “So They Say” that would make any old-school crate digger blush. Kenny Beats has a knack for incorporating sample work to convey the feeling of live instrumentation.
One of the more remarkable moments on the record is the closing track “Hot Hand.” Not only is this an excellent closer, but it’s also one of the most interesting song progressions on the record. As the music builds from a simple rhythm to a multi-layered quilt of sounds including a beautiful fretless bass and powerful percussion.
Kenny Beats does throw some gems in the tracklist for the rush hour freestylers of the world with great beats like “Last Words” and “Hooper.” Both tracks have infectious grooves that almost force the listener to start nodding their heads and start rapping.
The future of hip-hop is in good hands with the amount of creative, genre-pushing artists establishing themselves in the culture. Kenny Beats puts down any possible detractors and further elevates his status with Louie, an excellent release that sets him up for a stellar end to the year.
