Top 15: Dope Beatmakers You Should Know

Top 15: Dope Beatmakers You Should Know
5. Lex (de Kalhex)

While French producer Lex didn’t exactly get his start in 2013, this year did mark the release of his most ambitious and progressive work to date, Full CycleThe Parisian founder of Akromegalie Records has his feet planted firmly in two decades, the 90s and the 70s. His production style combines the sounds of 70s jazz with the principles of 90s boom bap, most evident in his inventive collaborative track “Fast Forward” featuring Shing02. His newest development of sound on Full Cycle coupled with his contributions to Jazzvolution make him one of our favourite artists of the year and lay forth great expectations for the future.

4. Moods

Dutch producer Moods has been kicking around the scene for a while, but has really started to make a break through in the last year or so. His most impressive releases to date have been his Seasons EP which dropped back in February, and then the Another Point of View EP from late June. In addition to his EPs, Moods has kept his Soundcloud freshly up to date with a thrilling string of singles, remixes, and more. Growing in leaps and bounds with every release, we can’t wait to hear what will be next up for the versatile Rotterdam beatmaker.

3. Wun Two

Wun Two out of Germany has been building a notorious reputation for impeccable jazzy production over the past few years. 2013 was the year that finally saw Wun Two make his vinyl debut with a 7″ through Radio Juicy, a full length with rapper Eloquent through Sichtexot, and an instrumental LP to be released at the beginning of 2014 through Radio Juicy again. Using sublime samples and elegant simplicity, Wun Two emulates beats akin to greats like J Dilla, as displayed impeccably on his most recent Rio LP, flipping Brazilian samples into hip hop finery.

2. Klaus Layer

Damu The Fudgemunk’s Redefinition Records seldom step too far out of their small family of dope artists, however 2013 saw the indie label reach out to German beatmaker Klaus Layer, offering him a platform to release his music to a global audience. The resulting debut LP, The Adventures of Captain Crook, was undoubtedly one of the illest beat albums of the year in the underground scene, and firmly established Klaus Layer as one of Europe’s premier boom bap scholars. The end of 2013 saw the release of a new EP, Als Die Sonne Kamwhich again reiterated his prowess and set fans and listeners up for an exciting 2014.

1. FloFilz

2013 was a pretty monumental year in particular for young German beatmaker and violinist FloFilz. Starting the year with his debut release keineideeistneu, Flo got the interwebs all heated with his refined jazzy remixes of 90s classics. From then on he kept momentum going and released collaborative projects with emcees Eloquent and Slowy as well as fellow beatmaker Pawcut that all went on to be released on vinyl. Through all that, due to the quality of his output, he gained a boatload of supporters and really put his music on the world stage while remaining a down to earth and humble guy. The next year can only bring more excellence from the German musical phenom and indeed, his fellow German counterparts in beats also mentioned in this list.

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.