Top 15: Dope Beatmakers You Should Know

Top 15: Dope Beatmakers You Should Know
15. Vink

Young Dutch producer Vink (of HardJazz7) has had a great 2013 dropping a whole lot of heat through Soundcloud and Bandcamp while also collabing with a bunch of emcees and improving with each subsequent release. His sound is definitely strongly influenced by jazzy 90s boom bap but also versatile enough to incorporate elements of more abstract modern beat music.

14. sleepyeyes

Los Angeles-based sleepyeyes has a name that embodies his style of bleary eyed beats resembling dream soundscapes. Making himself known in late 2012 for short experimental beats, he pushed his music much farther in 2013, releasing a load of new beattapes (which included several highly limited edition cassettes).

13. Wodoo Wolcan

A member of the Swiss beat crew Boyoom Connective, Wodoo Wolcan started out 2013 with his first release, Good Vibes on January 1st. From then on, the enigmatic beatmaker was involved in collaborations with 1618, Youtaro, and Brrd throughout the year as well as keeping his Soundcloud page stocked with dirty lo-fi remixes and jazzy beats.

12. rxn

We’ve been big fans of rxn for a while now, and 2013 marked the release of his debut album footnotes, a nostalgic and soulful Dillaish trip of lo-fi chops. The album dropped on limited cassette through Paxico Records in NYC as well as limited vinyl through Vinyl-Digital in Germany. With his first release finally under his belt, I can’t wait to hear what is next in 2014.

11. Youtaro

A relative newcomer on the Japanese beat scene is the dirty lo-fi loop warrior Youtaro from Nara. Embarking on a prolific tirade of releases starting late last year, Youtaro has continued to deliver tasty microwaved beats throughout 2013 with a distinct lo-fi jazz style.

Kamir Hiam (USA) has been obsessed with hip hop culture since discovering rap as a child in the mid 90s. As curator of The Find's Stay Thirsty podcast, he is an obsessive crate digger, always looking for more dope music. Other hobbies include travel, reading, fitness, and science.