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Apollo Brown’s first beat tape “Skilled Trade” has been re released by the good people at Mello Music Group and for anyone who let this slip through the cracks now is as good a time as any to get acquainted. The tape is a well crafted and timeless look into the golden era roots of one of the games most established, hard working and respected producers.
As far as beat tapes go I would be pretty happy if this was the blueprint and or benchmark for producers putting out tapes. Thirty cuts deep of some serious heat, filled with tasteful loops, solid drums, chops galore, some familiar and some under the radar samples and just the right amount of change ups to keep you nodding your head.
“Skilled Trade” takes me back to a happy place when beat tapes and instrumental hip hop reigned supreme on my shonky cd stacker. The jams that stood out most were “Passin Time” which sees Brown flip one of my favourite Ohio Players joints “Never Had A Dream” into a jam that had me thinking of lost love while instigating a crik neck at the same time.
“The Squeeze” is on some backstreet car chase vibes and had me checking the side mirrors of my 81 Honda to see if I was being followed.
“We Almost Lost Detroit” has been a staple for a while now and the Gil Scott – Heron flip never fails to send a tingle down my spine, an obvious nod to Browns home town the D.
Other honourable mentions that got the playback treatment were “One To Won”, Invisible”, “Empty World”, “My Steelo” (check my credentials) and “Too Much”.
My recommend as always is to let this tape marinate in your car stereo, backyard bbq, or better yet enjoy it with your headphones and watch yourself find a new favorite every time you go through one of the thirty jams on what any self respecting boom bap head would consider a dam fine beat tape. One thing you don’t need to do is pass it on to your homie who thinks they can rap, because all these beats stand alone.
Brown has a raw grittiness and a formula that sure as hell works, this is a testament to the quality and depth of “ Skilled Trade”. My tip to make your week a whole lot better is grab this today.