(Photo By Sound Cloud)
Milwaukee / Florida producer Krazi Beatz (KeepnItMil) released a new beat tape called The Cypher EP Volume 1. The project houses six tracks and gives listeners a taste of the different sounds Krazi can concoct. All the records hold their own here but lets dissect a few of the gems on this short but sweet EP.
“Introooo”
The set comes in heavy with this East Coast style banger (I swear I could hear Fabolous or G-Unit all over this). The whiny synth is what carries this record and makes up the frame work. It is layered by a heavy brass horn at the start of the first two bars of every four. Spacey dials and chimes in the background add a futuristic effect to the track. After about 16 bars, orchestra strings are added to the mix and the bass line itself is light until about every 12/16 bars. The kicks and other percussion loops are simple but fit the record while allowing other sounds to take the lead in this one. The last eight finish with a high pitch electric guitar riff that brings together all the grimy elements in the track; a very nice ‘introooo’ indeed.
“Ahhhoooo”
This is a smoother record with a slow vibe. There’s a nice vocal sample guiding the joint most of the way, only dropping out for the chorus. The percussion is mellow and very high pitched, with the occasional drum in the beginning of every bar and 808 in the end of about every eight bars. There are multiple layers of light piano and heavenly synth laced throughout the entire jam, especially during the chorus. This keeps the record chill and adds so much to the aura of it. Krazi plays a lot with falling octave in the melody and harmonies in the song and it creates a Neo-Soul feel that makes this track special.
“The3nd”
This one is what I like to call a “head nodder,” because it kept me nodding my head the whole song. It had a little more of a dark feel, with organs and a deep bass line creating the focus in the track. There is a synth piano throughout the last four to eight bars before the chorus that really add some beauty to the meek picture this track paints all while keeping the vibe right. I think my favorite parts are the moment he drops horns into the mix because they fit so well its ridiculous. All in all, this was one of my favorites out of the bunch.
**Final Thoughts: Overall, Krazi Beatz did a nice job on this EP. It runs just under 19 minutes total, but no minute is wasted. What I like most is he gives us a nice spectrum of his talents in just six tracks, even with the last two being fairly short. Outside of the “KoKa” track he produced for Milwaukee emcee Cezar, I haven’t heard much from Krazi, so this serves as a great start for those still new to his work. -Real McCoy
