rhythm roulette ArchivesAmbrosia For Heads

Jazzy Jeff Shows He’s Not Just A DJ. He’s A Master Producer Too (Video)

DJ Jazzy Jeff is not just one of Hip-Hop's most celebrated turntablists and party-rocking DJs, he's a highly accomplished producer. The West Philly force was behind the sounds on those acclaimed, Grammy Award-winning moments alongside The Fresh Prince. In the years since, Jeff has unleashed a series of celebrated albums,... Read more

August 23, 2017 Video

Outkast Affiliate Mr. DJ Makes A Funky Beat In Stankonia Using Dilla’s Donuts (Video)

Outkast Heads know Mr. DJ. Not only is the Georgia veteran the mixmaster on stage when Andre 3000 and Big Boi do their rare shows, he's been with the group for more than 20 years. Mr. DJ is also the third member of Earthtone III (fka Earthtone Ideas), the production... Read more

January 13, 2017 Video

45 King Gives His Rhythm Roulette Records A Truly Hard Knock (Video)

45 King is one of the most active Hip-Hop producers of 2016 who can say he was making hit records in the 1980s. He joins Dr. Dre, EPMD, Marley Marl, Prince Paul, Large Professor, and a very select few in that elite class. The New Jersey native has always had... Read more

August 1, 2016 Video

Da Beatminerz Show How They Made Those Thunderous Boot Camp Clik Beats (Video)

DJ Evil Dee and Mr. Walt are one of the most successful brotherly groups in Hip-Hop. As Da Beatminerz, the Brooklyn, New York record clerks-turned-DJ/producers have laced ageless knocking beats for Smif-n-Wessun, The Roots, Mos Def, and of course Black Moon (which Evil is one-third of). From Academy Records to... Read more

May 27, 2016 Video

One Of J Dilla’s Most Respected Collaborative Peers Makes A Beat From Scratch In His Style (Video)

Nottz and J Dilla had a colorful history. Both production purists, these MC/producer double-threats each benefited from the support of Busta Rhymes, Skillz, and Ghostface Killah placements at critical career junctures. Thereby, the artists from Norfolk, Virginia and Detroit, Michigan (respectively) ended up on a few albums together. More than... Read more

April 22, 2016 Video

Sticks & Stones Will Not Stop Big K.R.I.T. From Winning (Audio)

One week ago (March 25), Big K.R.I.T. was the latest contestant of Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette game. While past producer/MCs have taken the challenge of blindly selecting three records from a store (Erick Sermon, El-P, Large Professor, to name a few of the most esteemed), Krizzle would break new ground.... Read more

March 30, 2016 Audio

Big K.R.I.T. Shows How He Makes A Beat From Start To Finish Then Drops A Killer Verse (Video)

Big K.R.I.T. is the latest guest on Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette beat-making challenge. In the series, producers are blindfolded, asked to choose 3 random records and then tasked with making a track using their selections. Many have participated in the series, including Erick Sermon, Just Blaze, El-P and Black Milk,... Read more

March 25, 2016 Video

K-Def Takes His Rhythm Roulette Experiment To An Early ’90s-Sounding Paradise (Video)

K-Def has been making great Hip-Hop music for 25 years and counting. The New Jersey native just released two albums in The Way It Was and The Unpredictable Gemini. With lots to promote, the Redefinition Records honcho is the latest participant in Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette. Hitting up Jersey City's... Read more

February 24, 2016 Video

9th Wonder Shows The Pure Joy In Making A Neck-Snapping Beat (Video)

9th Wonder is the latest to step up and take Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette challenge, where he is blindfolded, chooses 3 random records and asked to make a beat using them. He joins a long line of impressive producers who have participated in the series, including Large Professor, Organized Noize,... Read more

December 25, 2015 Video

Khrysis’ Rhythm Roulette Beats Are Soul Council Scorchers (Video)

Khrysis has been one of Hip-Hop's most consistent producers of the last decade. The Durham, North Carolina representative, and one-half of The Away Team, has put in critical production work on albums such as Little Brother's The Minstrel Show, KRS-One & Buckshot's Survival Skills, and Rapsody's The Idea Of Beautiful.... Read more

December 17, 2015 Video

Large Professor Demonstrates His Beat-Making Process. Watch The Master At Work (Video)

Large Professor is the latest producer to try his hand at Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette challenge. In the ongoing series, beatmakers are blindfolded, asked to pick 3 random records and tasked to produce a track using their selections. Past installments have included everyone from Just Blaze to Mannie Fresh to... Read more

November 24, 2015 Video

Organized Noize Show Just How They Made That Outkast & Goodie Mob Magic on Rhythm Roulette (Video)

From Outkast to Goodie Mob to Future, Organized Noize have been essential creators to the last 25 years of Hip-Hop. The Atlanta, Georgia-based trio of Sleepy Brown, Ray Murray, and Rico Wade are stellar samplers, as well as amazing musicians. So the latest guests to play Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette... Read more

October 29, 2015 Video

Just Blaze Has Made Smashes For Jay Z, Kanye West, T.I. & More. Watch How He Does It (Video)

Over the years, Just Blaze has powered some of Hip-Hop biggest hits and most revered classics. The superstar producer is responsible for defining records by Jay Z ("Girls, Girls, Girls," "Song Cry," "Public Service Announcement"), Kanye West ("Touch the Sky"), T.I. and more. Though his style varies, he is known... Read more

September 10, 2015 Video

Georgia Anne Muldrow Fires Up Raging Basslines In Rhythm Roulette (Video)

Los Angeles, California producer/MC Georgia Anne Muldrow has amassed quite a career. A Mello Music Group artist, the real-life spouse of Dudley Perkins (a/k/a Declaime) has worked on acclaimed albums such as Mos Def's The Ecstatic and Erykah Badu's New Amerykah Part One and Part Two, plus Platinum Pied Pipers' Triple... Read more

September 8, 2015 Video

Exile Proves Why He Stands Alone as a Producer on ‘Rhythm Roulette’ (Video)

In the latest installment of "Rhythm Roulette" - a musically diabolical segment from Mass Appeal which challenges heavyweight producers with creating a beat live, based on three random finds at a record store - Exile is in the crosshairs. The Los Angeles native has helped create classic material from Open... Read more

September 3, 2015 Video

Mannie Fresh Makes Super Tough Beat Live, Using 3 Random Records (Video)

It's no accident that Mannie Fresh is one of the pioneers in defining the sound of Southern Hip-Hop in the 90s and beyond. His distinctive style of "bounce" music, built on punctuated horn samples, rolling bass lines and plenty of bling sounds, shifted the direction of Hip-Hop, much like the... Read more

August 28, 2015 Video

Jurassic 5’s DJ Nu-Mark Cooks Up Some Funk With 5 Random Records (Video)

As one-half (with Cut Chemist) of the production team inside Jurassic 5, DJ Nu-Mark has made some scorching tracks, that sound vibrant and dusty at the same time. The Los Angeles, California native has additionally produced for J-Live, Large Professor, and Bumpy Knuckles, beyond his projects with The Pharcyde's Skimkid3... Read more

December 19, 2014 Fresh, Video

Gangrene’s Oh No Makes A Thumping Beat Out Of Nintendo 64 Samples (Video)

Oh No is the next contestant on the Rhythm Roulette platform. Part of Gangrene, blood brother of Madlib, the Oxnard, California producer/MC wanted to do things a little differently for Mass Appeal's series. That said, Oh No The Disrupt goes D.I.T.C., but not in the record crates. Rather, he uses... Read more

December 9, 2014 Fresh, Video

Can Mac Miller Make a Dope Beat Using 3 Random Records? Watch and See (Video)

Over the last couple of years, Mac Miller has grown tremendously both as an artist and as a producer. Both his Watching Movies with the Sound Off album and his Faces mixtape were some of the best projects of their respective years and were rich in complex lyrics and beats.... Read more

October 3, 2014 Video

Dilated Peoples’ DJ Babu Gets Blue-Eyed Soulful In Rhythm Roulette (Video)

With an album on the charts recently (very close to Dilated Peoples' all-time highest positioning at that, with Directors Of Photography), DJ Babu is next up to play Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette. The Los Angeles, California-based turntablist/producer, who is also a Beat Junkies member grabs records ranging from The Association... Read more

September 11, 2014 Fresh, Video

Apollo Brown Makes A Beat On The Spot In Rhythm Roulette (Video)

Apollo Brown, the Detroit native who grew up in a family that listened to the Seals and Crofts far before he was spinning J Dilla, hits The Record Graveyard in his hometown and randomly selects three vinyls to sample for an improvised beat on Mass Appeal's series Rhythm Roulette. On... Read more

July 24, 2014 Fresh, Video

Digga, The Producer Responsible For Cam’ron’s Earliest Hits & Children Of The Corn, Plays Rhythm Roulette (Video)

Although Cam'ron's music is commonly associated with the Roc-A-Fella Records-era sounds of Just Blaze, Kanye West, and The Heatmakerz, he came into vogue under the musical guidance of Darrell "Digga" Branch. The fellow Harlem native was the sound-source for Children Of The Corn, an early '90s group which included Big... Read more

June 1, 2014 Fresh, Video

Ski Beatz Plays Rhythm Roulette & Comes Out With A Head-Banger (Video)

Ski Beatz has cooked up some major production heaters for Jay Z ("Dead Presidents"), The Outsidaz ("Rah Rah"), and Curren$y ("Michael Knight"). The North Carolina producer (who also rhymed back in his Original Flavor days), and producer for Camp Lo is the next contestant in Rhythm Roulette. The versatile musical... Read more

April 24, 2014 Fresh, Video

EPMD’s Green-Eyed Bandit Erick Sermon Freaks Some Sheena Easton When He Plays Rhythm Roulette (Video)

Erick Sermon isn't an artist who is always running for the spotlight in the digital age. The EPMD co-founder and producer/MC double-threat stays busy at his craft, and does interviews, releases songs and videos as he feels necessary. However, Mass Appeal got the Brentwood, Long Island Def Squad delegate to... Read more

April 10, 2014 Fresh, Video

Does Marco Polo Have What it Takes to Make a Hot Beat from 3 Completely Random Records? (Video)

Marco Polo is on a pretty epic run this year, having released tracks with Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Lil Fame, Large Professor, Das EFX, The Artifacts, Organized Konfusion, King T, MC Eiht and more. His production skills were recently put to the test when he played Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette... Read more

November 7, 2013 Video

Rhythm Roulette: El-P (Video)

El-P is the latest to participate in Mass Appeal's Rhythm Roulette series where a producer is blindfolded, picks 3 records then makes a beat from the 3. If you like El-P, beat-making, crate digging or just watching talented people at work, this one's for you. Related: Killer Mike & El-P... Read more

August 31, 2013 Video