In short, Essentials is a segment that allows artists to put down their instruments and divulge about a specific topic, giving fans and the like the opportunity to connect with their interests and inspirations. It’s just unlike any other listicle feature, we’re totally okay with things getting weird and/or uncensored. With The Love Project being one of the most intrepid LPs of the past year, we asked Pennsylvania’s own TUNJI IGE to name off his favourite underrated producers. Whatever you do, don’t sleep on this list.
Headed to Austin? Peep Tunji’s SXSW schedule which incl. Chance’s “Free The People” showcase
André 3000
3k produced a vast majority of Outkast’s music. He doesn’t get the credit for being a producer as much as he should even though he’s produced some classics. I feel like he was one of the first to stretch the production aspect in hip-hop. Being in 4/4 with a breakbeat just doesn’t do it for André.
Rustie
The MIDI Guitar riffs and arpeggios from synths; I like synths a lot and other sounds I’ve never heard before, and Rust’s music does that to the fullest. You legitimately don’t know what’s going to happen next and it’s truly stadium music. It’s done precisely and it’s never just any ordinary trap song.
Labrinth
He’s insane. I feel like Labs influence helped me take my songs to the next level because every Labrinth song is a movie. The sound in his work is stretched to the furthest limit to evoke the emotion of the listener and if you listen to his music, you’ll understand why.
Bibio
When I first heard “Lovers Carvings”, I thought it was amazing. The chord progression and melody was next level. I then got into his work and it helped shaped me from an electronic producer standpoint – sampling things not just to make a two bar loop, but to actually make instruments off a sample. I even sampled Bibio on “For Us”, which is the intro song on The Love Project.
Noah Breakfast
I’ve been a fan of Noah’s for a while, like from the earlier stuff he did with Chiddy Bang and sampling Sufjan to Shirazi and adding an electronic element to hip-hop. Noah just has the perfect outlook on structure, melody, and bounce. He’s always creating some of the craziest stuff I’ve ever heard.