Photo Credit: Amani Wade
Listening to Swap Meet Vol. 2, released this month on Proximal Records.
For a mixtape described as the result of “sketches, procrastinations, accidents and lazy afternoons,” by producers Wake and Sahy Uhns of Proximal Records, Swap Meet Vol. 2 is a surprisingly potent and satisfying collection of eclectic beats from start to finish. These rhyme-less jams have a strong J-Dilla/Madlib flavor to them; smooth, jazzy, and busy, with numerous nuanced layers of creatively sampled sounds, jam-packed in its breezy running time of under forty minutes.
These sorts of instrumental hip-hop albums can be tedious affairs, with no determined MC or catchy hook, listening to pure instrumentals puts the producer on an intense examining table. However, the best compliment I can give producers Wake and Sahy Uhns is that this tape inspired me to freestyle mad dope amounts over it. While each track may not be as completely fleshed out as one would hope, the overall cohesiveness and range is impressive; IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), Funk, and Techno are all present on this understated but fulfilling hip-hop tape.
