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On Virtuosity, Chops exemplifies his ideology, weaving together
an album of textured rhythms and progressive, head-nodding
beats. He is nothing if not versatile and this album reveals
that. Chops acknowledges the album as a "producer's record,"
with guests like Talib Kweli, Raekwon, Ras Kass, Bahamadia,
Planet Asia and Mystic. It varies from busty, rhyme-ready beats
to more mellow and jazz-inspired interludes to more upbeat,
funk-driven grooves all original compositions. "What's Fuckin'
Wit Us" features Raekwon The Chef, a more hardcore MC track.
"It's not what people expect from me," Chops says. "The song was
created here in the studio, just us building. He was cool to
work with." The song, "Comin' From The Lower Level," features a
trio of gifted mic-handlers: Phil The Agony, Ras Kass and the
omniscient Talib Kweli, plus another trio behind the boards:
DJs Revolution, Excel and Kwestion. "Everybody kills it," Chops
boasts
Straight from her Grammy nomination comes the Bay Area’s finest,
Mystic, whose mellowed, soulful style fit well with Chops'
production. They originally worked on Mystic's debut album and
re-connected again for the song, "No Pressure." Says Chops,
"She's a super-cool human being and she has a great, sultry
voice. She wrote that song for somebody she was seeing at the
time. It's real straight and to the point yet poetic and
beautiful."
Whether working with gifted wordsmiths or helming instrumentals
by himself, Chops’ work on Virtuosity will introduce the world
to a gifted new talent in hip-hop. When asked what he hopes
people will say about Virtuosity and his production style, Chops
offers, "Ideally, I want people to say, that motherfucker makes
some good-ass music." They will.
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