The Inner Realmz – “Beat Maker Ethics” review

California production team The Inner Realmz back for their 7th beat tape. Founded by Masta Cypher Devine & Goomson, they’ve been making waves in the west coast underground scene since the beginning of the current decade off their first 2 beat tapes SP 1000 and Build & Destroy followed by Low End Wizards as well as it’s sequel & Digital Chains. Goomson so happened to team up with Broke for a collaborative beat tape Heavy Wreck displaying Broke’s talents behind the boards for Side A & of course Goomson on Side B except for Masta Cypher Devine doing the closer. Omnipotent masterfully selected & arranged jazz samples catching my attention, coming off Mass Collide to reform & teach the world Beat Maker Ethics.

“Space & Time” spends the opening minutes drawing inspiration from 90s east coast boom bap/jazz rap reminiscent of a top 5 producer of mine Pete Rock whereas “The Math” works in an occasional vocal sample from the late Prodigy popping in & out keeping it raw. “No Destination” moves on from there fusing the traditional boom bap sound wiry elements of lounge music but once “Past Lives” swaps out the latter in favor of lo-fi hip hop, “Over & Over” ends the 1st half with another dusty 90s east coast throwback.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “Born Physical” retains the boom bap vibes with horns & a vocal sample right until letting the drums ride out while “Like This” brings somewhat of a psychedelic flare to the table whilst holding a tight grip on the ruggedness. “Nitro Fresh” kinda has an irresistible grooviness that I can’t get enough of & after “Bus Hoppin in ‘97” throws it back to the days of riding 1 bus after another 3 decades ago, “Afraid to Represent” concludes the tape with the crew’s de facto leader treading the boom bap/jazz rap waters 1 last time.

It’s cool to hear Goomson, Jon Deliz, Mike B & Ripe143 recruiting more up-&-coming producers to join The Inner Realmz because Beat Maker Ethics celebrates this new era in their career testifying the power of community & creativity by having newcomers Dexplorist, Roving Jewel, Cash Gordon, Sturks, Carlskee & Gizmo help the create a rawly authentic & unique presentation of their perspectives & styles bound together by a shared passion for underground hip hop.

Score: 4/5

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The Inner Realmz – “Mass Collide” review

This is a brand new EP from California production team The Inner Realmz. Founded by Masta Cypher Devine & Goomson, they’ve been making waves in the west coast underground scene since the beginning of the current decade off their first 2 beat tapes SP 1000 and Build & Destroy followed by Low End Wizards as well as it’s sequel & Digital Chains. Goomson so happened to team up with Broke a year & a half ago for a collaborative beat tape Heavy Wreck displaying Broke’s talents behind the boards for Side A & of course Goomson on Side B except for Masta Cypher Devine doing the closer. Omnipotent masterfully selected & arranged jazz samples catching my attention this spring so with that in mind, it had me interested in where Mass Collide was gonna take it.

After the dusty “Fuck ‘Em” intro built around sampling a piano, the first track “Roughneck Reality” starts us off with a 4-minute boom bap instrumental that Goomson cooked up himself whereas “Passin’ Thru” feels like an old school beat that sounds like it was made in the early ‘90s. The keys throughout “Stress” feel every exuberant with the kicks & snares giving it a raw edge, but then “Don’t Shut Down on a Player” is ends the first half of the EP with a nostalgic vibe.

“Funky on the Track” lives up to it’s name excellently for 119 seconds blending elements of funk music & boom bap while “Misery” by Sirrealist & Vel 9 is the only cut on here with performed vocals, bringing them together talking about only seeing unhappiness & affliction. “Outra Vez” serves as the official outro hooking up a mellow backdrop with kicks & snares, but then the bonus track serves as a sequel to “Kick a Freestyle” off Chapter 1.

Masta Cypher Devine left the group a little while ago hence why he didn’t have any involvement in making these beats at all & even Goomson saves his production skills for a couple joints, but Jon Deliz alongside Mike B & Ripe143 take up a bulk of the 23 minute listening experience by showing off what they’re capable of doing as producers & keeping The Inner Realmz’ jazzy boom bap sound going strong.

Score: 3.5/5

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The Inner Realmz – “Omnipotent” review

The Inner Realmz are a production duo from the Mojave desert of California consisting of Masta Cypher Devine & Goomson. Since the beginning of the current decade, they’ve been making waves in the west coast underground scene off their first 2 beat tapes SP 1000 and Build & Destroy followed by Low End Wizards as well as it’s sequel & Digital Chains. Goomson so happened to team up with Broke last summer for a collaborative beat tape Heavy Wreck displaying Broke’s talents behind the boards for Side A & of course Goomson on Side B except for Masta Cypher Devine doing the closer. I was however interested in their 6th beat tape since I personally found the cover art to be reminiscent of black metal music.

“Digest Culture” sets the tone of what’s to come with a 47 second spoken word intro accompanied by kicks & snares whereas “Cymatics” works in some pianos whilst keeping it dusty with the drum patterns. “Recognize Absence” mixes funk & boom bap together with a prominent flute also but after the “Therapeutics” skit, “Mighty Healthy” starts by weaving these summery guitar licks ahead of the kicks & snares coming in later on.

After the “Emulators” interlude blending spoken word & keys, “Pantheon” returns to the boom bap keeping the pianos untouched while “Neural Dust” gives off more of a hypnotically raw vibe generally. “Renowned” finishes the first half of the tape with some masterful pianism just before “Aspersion” adds the kicks & snares in the picture again that when I hear, I can’t help imagine a rainy day in Times Square or any other big city.

“Desirous” starts with a vocal intro from Guru from one of the greatest duos in the history of hip hop culture Gang Starr until we get another boom bap beat except the tone of the chords set off a somber atmosphere leading into “Radio Silence!” taking a darker, eerier turn aesthetically as the kicks & snares remain in tact. The keys on “Daily Commute” seem a tidbit peppier ahead of the downbeat/upbeat drums while “Back to Source” turns the jazz influences back up significantly.

After the “Imitators” skit, “Vesica Piscis” is another piano/boom bap crossover while “Ruggedness & Knowledge” has to be one of my favorites on the whole tape. Especially the 4-start count reminiscent of my favorite production duo of all-time The Neptunes, who unfortunately are at the opposite ends of one another over the trademark of the very name Pharrell & Chad Hugo are known as. Even the closing track “3rd Eye Spies” is a standout concluding Omnipotent aggressively.

Said it when I reviewed Stretch Money’s new EP To the West…with Love few weeks ago & I’ll say it again right now: Los Angeles will always be my 2nd homie since I myself am from Detroit & I gotta say that The Inner Realmz have a promising future as an unstoppable production duo in the underground. Each track masterfully selected and arranged jazz samples sends the brain on a mellow, trippy journey down memory lane with each hiss & crackle.

Score: 4/5

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