Rhythm Roulette

In this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Wara at Wuxtry Records in Decatur, Georgia for Rhythm Roulette, where he randomly selected three records: Jackson Browne’s Lawyers In Love, Ace Cannon’s The Happy and Mellow Sax Of Ace Cannon, and Sternwheeler Steamboat’s Natchez Calliope.

For this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal's Danny Brown’s DJ, Skywlkr. We went to Peoples Records in downtown Detroit, where Skywlkr made his three record selections blindfolded. He ended up with Earl Bostic’s The Best of Bostic, Miki Howard’s self-titled album from 1989, and an electro record from an artist named Nicolas. From there, we went to Skywlkr’s crib, where he attempted to put together a beat out of all three records.

In this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presentsFilthy Rockwell. After putting on the ceremonial blindfold, Filthy randomly selected Lani Hall's Albany Park, Michael Quatro's In Collaboration With The Gods, and Barry White’s Greatest Hits: Volume Two. Once we arrived at his studio, he got right to work and began crafting a joint from the Michael Quatro record. Boldy James actually stopped by right after Filthy laid down the beat, and fucked with what he heard so much, that he recorded a verse on the spot

In this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Mannie Fresh. Rhythm Roulette is back with four brand new episodes live from The Sprite Corner in New York City. Mannie Fresh, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Exile, and Just Blaze treated fans to an exclusive experience, inviting them to watch as they took our Rhythm Roulette challenge live, followed by an in-depth Q&A session hosted by Young Guru. Kicking things off is the Louisiana legend Mannie Fresh, who, as Young Guru pointed out, might just be the most prolific producer in hip hop history. Coincidentally, Mannie humbly confirmed that fact by stating that he recently received a call from someone at BMI who was perplexed after discovering he had over 600 published works. After skimming through his three randomly selected records, Mannie had no problem banging out three quick flips that spoke to his roots in New Orleans bounce, as well as the Dirty South turn-up he helped pioneer. Mr. Fresh reminded the crowd he opts for live instrumentation instead of sampling, but he also isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. Afterwards, Mannie treated us to an impromptu listening session featuring music he’s working on with Mos Def and Lil Wayne. We’d love for you to hear those tracks, but we promised to keep them under wraps until he’s ready to drop ’em. Stay tuned for more episode of Rhythm Roulette from The Sprite Corner, featuring George Anne Muldrow, Exile, and Just Blaze. In the meantime, hit the video player up top to watch the legendary Mannie Fresh do his thing.

In this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Exile. Rhythm Roulette is back with four brand new episodes live from The Sprite Corner in New York City. Mannie Fresh, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Exile, and Just Blaze treated fans to an exclusive experience, inviting them to watch as they took our Rhythm Roulette challenge live, followed by an in-depth Q&A session hosted by Young Guru. This time around, Exile joins us to play a game of Rhythm Roulette. Exile's ability to manipulate and finely chop sounds into soulful and melodic beats are what sets him apart from most. From doing work with Mass Appeal Records' Fashawn, to crafting airy choir-like joints for Mobb Deep, Exile's music speaks for itself. After making his way through three randomly selected records, Exile flipped one of the records in three different ways, showing how versatile his beats can get. He even managed to sample Fashawn and include his vocals on one of the tracks. Stay tuned for more episodes of Rhythm Roulette from The Sprite Corner, featuring Georgia Anne Muldrow and Just Blaze.

In this episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Georgia Anne Muldrow. Georgia Anne Muldrow is a multi-faceted musician whose skills lie in her ability to channel spine-tingling soul through her vocals and hard-hitting-yet-groovy production. After listening through three randomly selected records, she concocted three different tracks from the classical and operatic samples she pulled, creating some eerie funk to rattle the system in your car trunk. While she wasn't sure if she survived the challenge, her beats say otherwise.

In this episode of a Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presentsJust Blaze. Fans of music production know Just Blaze for his numerous accolades and contributions to various genres. However, we bet they didn't know Just can create album-worthy joints on the fly. After listening through three randomly selected records and deciding only one of them was good enough to use, Just began to create a soulful and hard-hitting beat with sped-up choir vocals weaving in and out of the track. In the end, he thought the beat sounded so good he wanted to dip from The Sprite Corner to finish it up at his studio.

After a short break, we’re back with another episode of Rhythm Roulette, this time Mass Appeal presenting Sporting Life. Sport switched up the flow of things, sampling from three cassette tapes instead of going for vinyl records. Needless to say, the results are ill. After finding a tiny part of a sample on an unidentifiable tape, Sport created a drum loop that channels the vibes of the late Koopsta Knicca’s music. From there, he layered drums into the beat and his own vocals drops, shouting out Wiki of Ratking, who makes an appearance in the episode as well.

On the latest episode of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Organized Noize at the iconic Stankonia Studios. While the trio came up making sample-based hip hop, they quickly learned the real secret was creating everything from scratch (not to mention those royalty checks get a little fatter). However, they welcomed our challenge with such conviction that we knew nothing less than a banger was coming out of the studio by the end of the night. What can be said about Organized Noize that isn't already evident in the legacy of their production discography? Paving the way for breakout acts like TLC, OutKast, and Goodie Mob, there's no denying Ray Murray, Rico Wade, and Sleepy Brown are the foundation of Atlanta hip hop. Pulling from the Four Tops, Thin Lizzy, and Millie Jackson, ONP had to eventually set the records aside because there was too much to sample. While the final result is an 808-heavy, atmospheric production stamped with the crew's signature soulful grooves, we got the sense they'll be saving this one for something special, as they quickly told their engineer to stop recording once Sleepy laid down the bassline. The records were quickly tucked away; Ray, Rico, and Sleepy smirked as if they'd stumbled upon buried treasure. Trust, a fire was sparked in the studio than night. Here's to hoping it isn't extinguished anytime soon.

For the latest installment of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Scoop DeVille to chop up some random records and conjure fire. DeVille’s credits mostly reside on the West Coast with old and new school artists, including Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic Justice” and “The Recipe,” and Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Rock” ft. Jay-Z. But, dude gets down on the East as well, working with Fat Joe, 50 Cent, and Tony Yayo. We caught up with him in New Jersey as he thumbed through the crates at Scotty’s Record Shop, picked three random joints, sparked some herb, and flipped the records in the stu. DeVille was no doubt influenced by Dre and how he repurposed P-Funk growing up in Los Angeles, but dude can seemingly reimagine whatever. He flips the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” precisely chopping the hook. Pat Swayze was probably dirty dancing in his grave to that joint. Then he laces Aztec Two Step’s twangy folk guitars with quick hi-hats and bass drums, which will loosen your license plate holder from the trunk rattle, before layering with vocal samples from his library. If that Aztec beat ends up on somebody’s project in the near future, it would not be a surprise. It’s a shame he didn’t get a chance to work with James Taylor’s brand of blues-y folk rock. It seems like just a few clicks from DeVille and fire come through the speakers.

For this installment of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Extra P, aka Large Professor. We took the legendary Queens producer to Human Head Records in Brooklyn, where he picked three random records to begin a game of Rhythm Roulette. He ended up grabbing an Instant Funk record, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes’ Black and Blue album, and Shirley Scott’s On A Clear Day. From there, Extra P began to go through the records and create some new heat from what he picked.

For the latest installment of Rhythm Roulette, Mass Appeal presents Khrysis (on the boards with the heat!). We took the Soul Council producer to Nice Price Books in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he picked three random records consisting of First Choice’s “Doctor Love” single, a record from Booker T and The MG’s, and Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings’ Give The People What They Want. Khrysis tried his hand with the Booker T and Sharon Jones records, and ended up making heat with those two. However, it was the “Doctor Love” record that he ended up flipping that made 9th Wonder say “Pon de Replay.”

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Rhythm Roulette fans. While most of y’all don’t deserve shit the way you’ve been wilding in the comments sections this past year, we decided to let it slide and gift you with a new episode featuring the North Carolina legend 9th Wonder. After linking up at The Record Krate in Raleigh, we joined 9th back at his studio to watch the master at work. With Charly McClain, Jermaine Jackson, and The Temprees at his disposal, the GRAMMY award-winning producer warmed up with a few quick flips before ultimately chopping up Lovemen. The final result was so crazy, Rapsody immediately hopped in the booth to bless it with a proper verse.