DJ Muggs, the hip-hop producer who produced platinum albums with Cypress Hill, House of Pain, plus a dozen albums of collaborations in the Vs. series; a globetrotting hip-hop club DJ; and the experimental recording artist with the 2003 genre-defying album Dust, is at it again.
With Bass For Your Face (Ultra Music), the Los Angeles producer turns his considerable hard-won skills and discerning ear to dubstep, glitch and dub electronics in 12 original tracks featuring rising stars of hip-hop, a grime legend and an unknown Finnish singer discovered on SoundCloud. It’s not a typical hip-hop album, or a dubstep collection, for that matter. It’s a 21st century hip-hop album built on futuristic dubstep production technique featuring rappers and vocalists operating on the leading edge of the underground.
Bass For Your Face is a return to the underground for DJ Muggs, who hopes to connect old-school beat fanatics with the raw fundamentals of drum sounds and electronic basslines.
“What I tried to do was make this kind of record that real hip-hop heads that aren’t really into dubstep would like and show them the similarities that I found in some of the early dubstep stuff. The stark beats, dark minimalistic shit reminded me of the early hip-hop stuff, the T La Rock stuff, the early Mantronix productions ~just kicks, snares and 808s. When I’m hearing that, it’s the same to me ~ it’s got the same spirit, that underground spirit.”
Featured guests include Public Enemy’s Chuck D, Dizzee Rascal, Freddie Gibbs, Danny Brown, Belle Humble, Roc Marciano and Killah Priest.
Available on iTunes.