Catching Up with the Beat Shack

So Dirty's Mobile Beat Shack isn't anything new. In fact, it's years old - but it just saw a digital re-release from Ropeadope Digital last month, which helped me discover it and its creator, Dirty Drummer, when I saw an ad in the latest issue of Wax Poetics. Since then, it's been a go-to album for me - an easy choice when I'm trying to figure out what to spin and don't have a lot of brain power to devote to the question. Which isn't to say that's a disposable album that makes nice background noise - it's good, damn good.

It's hard to classify this album neatly. It's got a couple of hip hop tracks that open and close it with some guest MCs, but it's not a straight up rap album. It's got some cuts that are beat features along the lines of Jay Dilla, but it's not a break album. In it's flow it's more of a mix tape thing, except it features fifteen tracks all created by Dirty Drummer. It's got a Dilla meets Dimitri From Paris feel to it in its wide range of influences and flavors. You'll find some retro 50'sish samples, dialogue from a movie (Pootie Tang), the before-mentioned rhymes laid down by J.Scienide, Supastition, and Der Thinc, a fictional, comic interview with Dirty Drummer, all mixed in doses that keep things moving without hitting up the same gimmick too many times.

Going back to the Wax Poetics link, they're offering a free download of a new mix of songs by DD called Dirty's Mobile Dub Sack. As you might guess from the title, it's got more of a dub / reggae feel to it versus the hip hop / funk feel of the Beat Shack. It's absolutely free though, so definitely head over that way to download a copy for yourself. Don't stop there though, the Beat Shack is certainly worth the coin, and here are two of its tracks to help convince you.

Dirty Drummer - Sadie & Lucy : Dirty's Mobile Beat Shack

Dirty Drummer - What does it mean? : Dirty's Mobile Beat Shack

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