.:The Solution w/DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme & Lazy Eyez:.

Meet DJ Spyda T.E.K., winner of the 2013 Solution Beat Battle and our featured producer for The Solution Showcase #14 on 4/24 at Beauty Bar Denver…

Back in February, DJ Spyda T.E.K. came into the 2013 Solution Beat Battle with an insane collection of beats and left the winner, beating out a group of ridiculously talented producers from Denver and beyond.  DJ Low Key recently talked to Spyda T.E.K. and learned more about the Colorado Springs producer/DJ who trekked up to Denver to claim this year’s title and a spot as this month’s featured producer at The Solution Showcase #14.

You won The 2013 Solution Beat Battle earlier this year; but you do a lot more, what all does Spyda T.E.K. get into?

Man, I’m a full time DJ, producer, dad, n seeker of all things relating to music. Just on a mission to let ppl know what I do is not some fly by night thing. This is all Ive been into since I could reach a turntable and a tape player (remember that! Haha)

There are quite a few different lanes you do venture into, you’re definitely not a one-genre dude…What types of music are you into making these days?

Yea I like a lot of different styles. I make some boom bap stuff, edm influenced trap, moombahton, electro…club influenced beats, n a little bit of r&b. I mean, anything I feel inspired by & dig, ill go into it. My heart lies with straight hip hop & EDM. Soundscapes I grew up with.

Sounds like it was a natural transition to DJing and producing…Which one of those came first and when was that?

I became a DJ officially when I was 10yrs old. Before that I was mixing maxi singles on two boomboxes. Hahaha. I didn’t start producing till about 2003.  I only started producing because I was without my setup for a while. I originally had an mpc 2000 XL then went to FL Studio because the process for chopping samples n stacking drums was a lot faster.

How does the mixing on two boomboxes work?

Uhhh…Haha. straight ghetto rigging the door of the deck so I can slow down the pitch. I haven’t done that in such a long time. I don’t know how I discovered that at 8yrs old. Crazy.

Do you still use FL (Fruity Loops) Studio?

Yea, FL Studio is all I use still to this day but im trying to feel out other DAWS to see what else I can do.

What do you prefer about FL Studio over other software/hardware options?

Well I haven’t used anything else since I first started other than the mpc 2000

What’s your beatmaking process normally like? What do you start with?

I just like the fast pace of producing in FL. If I have an idea I can just lay down the basics n go from there. I don’t know. Anything can start it. A sample, a drum, a melody…I try different things out n see how it works.

Was this year’s Solution Beat Battle your first time battling, at least as a producer?

This is my 2nd battle since being here in Colorado but that was a different type of battle. They were looking for more waka flocka trap style of beats.  Not the lane I typically like going into.

What was your approach to picking beats and preparing for the battle?

Preparing for the Solution battle was fun because I was familiar with what type of beats that fit within the concept. My goal wasn’t to win, just have my material exposed to the right audience. I just wanted my music to be heard n maybe someone would like em. The bad part was battling people I developed relationships with like Black Jordan Cliff Cage & Big J beats. It wasn’t easy doing that because I respect their work n the beats they bring to the whole element.

If winning wasn’t your focus, what did it feel like when you were announced as the winner?

Like I was straight up dreaming haha

Also, do you feel like you exposed your music how you has hoped to? Have you notched any effects of that so far?

Definitely. Lots of these artists n producers I’ve known beforehand really only knew me as djing either Latin clubs or raves…Its not exactly screamin “hip hop” you know. I felt like they actually paid attention n respected what they heard afterwards.

That’s great to hear. What are you working on next?

I’m working on a project with Dj Dozen, another joint with Cliff Cage & HoTT, n a few cuts with L.A. Latin hip hop artist Solares, & a few joints on the EDM tip.

And what previous projects do you have that people can check from you online?

Honestly. projects I’ve worked on are all over the place but I try to keep some of my past projects n current ones up on my soundcloud.  Actually one project I can think of…I did a mixtape “DarkSide West” with this dude named Bad Guy Fly out in L.A. I produced the majority of it. It’s out there on the internet. I also did a joint with Planet Asia 2 years ago. Never released, but he played it for me over the phone one night. Lol. I’m still waiting to hear the final cut.

Catch Spyda T.E.K. rocking with legendary DJ RHETTMATIC of the World Famous Beat Junkies, Denver supergroup Fly4Wird, Solution co-founders DJ Low Key & Sounds Supreme and Welcome to the D.O.P.E. Game’s DJ Dozen for The Solution Showcase #14 on Wednesday 4/24 at Beauty Bar Denver (608 E. 13th St).  Check out more info on the showcase here.

Tags: DJ Spyda T.E.K., Spyda T.E.K., The Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Showcase

The 2013 Solution Beat Battle contestants…Catch them going head to head on 2/27 at Beauty Bar Denver, along w/special guests Exile & Johaz (aka Dag Savage), 2012 winner BK Beats, Fast Forward, Boonie Mayfield, DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme & more…

Shouts to each and everybody who entered this year’s battle.  We got a ton of great entries, so many we had to take an extra day to give everything a few good listens and rounding out the lineup was like splitting hairs.  With that said, we’re super excited about this year’s lineup of top notch Colorado producers; they should make for crazy competition.  Here they are:

A-L

Spyda T.E.K.

Matt Cassidy

Grey Sinatra

Rhyme Progression

Babah Fly

Black Jordan

The Elemental Project

Selko

Big J Beats

Paul Junior

Marc Marcel

*To the producers who didn’t get picked to participate, for a lot of y’all the problem wasn’t that your beats weren’t dope, it was that you submitted mellower songs for consideration.  Entering a beat battle with mellow beats is always going to be tough and while not impossible, it does handicap your chances a lot from the jump.

Here’s the rest of the info on the event in case you missed the original post: WEDNESDAY, 2/27 -> It’s that time of year again.  #TheSolution6 is in full effect and The Solution Beat Battle is back for another year of ridiculous chops, club bangers, head nodders, face scrunchers, and all the other great varieties of beats you hear producers pull out for battles.  Just like last year, a dozen of Denver’s top producers will face off head to head to see who has the best beats in town for prize package including studio time at Denver’s premier record facility, Side 3 Studios, a $200 gear package from Acrylick, a paid guest feature at an upcoming Solution Showcase & more TBA.  As if hearing a dozen of Colorado’s top producers show off their A-game wasn’t enough, we’ve also packed out the bill with some amazing talent, check out the battle’s guest lineup:

Dag Savage (aka MPC mastermind Exile & MC Johaz)

2012 Beat Battle winner BK Beats (read his recap of it here)

Incredible one man band/DJ/singer/etc Fast Forward

CO production legend Boonie Mayfield on co-hosting duties

DJ Low Key & Sounds Supreme on the turntables & more

Beauty Bar Denver (608 E. 13th St) / 9pm / 21+ / $10 Cover.

Above: Some footage of Exile’s set from his last Solution guest spot.

Tags: A-L, Babah Fly, Beauty Bar Denver, Big J Beats, Black Jordan, Cliff Cage, Exile, Matt Cassidy, Paul Junior, Rhyme Progression, Selko, Spyda T.E.K., The 2013 Solution Beat Battle, The Solution, The Solution Beat Battle

Wednesday, 2/27 -> The 2013 Solution Beat Battle w/special guests Exile & Johaz aka Dag Savage, 2012 winner BK Beats, co-host Boonie Mayfield, one man band DJ Fast Forward, DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme & more at Beauty Bar Denver…

WEDNESDAY, 2/27 -> It’s that time of year again.  #TheSolution6 is in full effect and The Solution Beat Battle is back for another year of ridiculous chops, club bangers, head nodders, face scrunchers, and all the other great varieties of beats you hear producers pull out for battles.  Just like last year, a dozen of Denver’s top producers will face off head to head to see who has the best beats in town for prize package including studio time at Denver’s premier record facility, Side 3 Studios, a $200 gear package, a paid guest feature at an upcoming Solution Showcase & more TBA.  As if hearing a dozen of Colorado’s top producers show off their A-game wasn’t enough, we’ve also packed out the bill with some amazing talent, check out the battle’s guest lineup:

Dag Savage (aka MPC mastermind Exile & MC Johaz)

2012 Beat Battle winner BK Beats (read his recap of it here)

Incredible one man band/DJ/singer/etc Fast Forward

CO production legend Boonie Mayfield on co-hosting duties

DJ Low Key & Sounds Supreme on the turntables & more

Beauty Bar Denver (608 E. 13th St) / 9pm / 21+ / $10 Cover / Only $5 if you buy a pre-sale ticket at The Solution Showcase #13 on 2/22 or the Sound College x The Solution J Dilla Celebration on 2/24.

Producers, beatmakers, musicians & such, if you’d like to enter, here’s what you need to do by midnight on Sunday, 2/24.  Please send either:

-A soundcloud link to 3+ of your beats
or
-An e-mail with 3 beats attached
or
-A streaming link to a project you produced

and

-a photo of yourself (to be posted when the competitors are announced)

and

-a short bio

to:

thesolutionbeatbattle <at> denversolution (dot) com

No application fee necessary.  Once again, the submission deadline is Sunday, 2/24 at midnight.  Participants will be announced on Monday, 2/25.  Last but not least, here’s a little audio from last time Exile visited The Solution (along with DJ Day and surprise guests Tanya Morgan & Che Grand):

#TheSolution6

Tags: #COHipHop, #TheSolution6, Beauty Bar Denver, BK Beats, Boonie Mayfield, Dag Savage, DJ Fast Forward, DJ Low Key, Exile, Fast Forward, Johaz, Side 3 Studios, Sounds Supreme, The 2013 Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Beat Battle

Attention producers, beatmakers & musicians: The 2013 Solution Beat Battle is coming soon!!! Enter now, details below…

Coming soon -> Producers, beatmakers & such, it’s almost time to announce details on the follow up to 2012’s debut Solution Beat Battle, but we wanted to take a quick minute to give all of y’all producers an early heads up so you can start getting into battle mode before next month.  Just like last year, a dozen of Denver’s top producers will face off head to head to see who has the best beats in town, for a prize package and a slot as a featured producer at an upcoming Solution Showcase.  The 2013 Solution Beat Battle is taking submissions for competitors from now until Friday , February 15th.  No application fee necessary.  Please send either:

-A soundcloud link to 3+ of your beats
or
-An e-mail with 3 beats attached
or
-A streaming link to a project you produced

and

-a photo of yourself (to be posted when the competitors are announced)

and

-a short bio

to:

thesolutionbeatbattle <at> denversolution (dot) com

More info coming soon. Submission deadline is Friday, 2/15. Participants will be announced on Tuesday, 2/19.

#TheSolution6

Tags: The 2013 Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Beat Battle

BK Beats talks about his Solution Beat Battle & Solution Showcase experiences…

Solution Beat Battle winner BK Beats wrote a little something about his experiences at The Solution Beat Battle and Solution Showcase (he played at #5 as part of his prize).  With The Solution Showcase #11 right around the corner, now seemed like a great time to share his experiences with everybody:

Off top, MAD love to all the folks in Denver who’ve helped make it happen for me, showed my music love, or just downright know good music and how to nurture it. Shout out to DJ Low Key for rocking with me from the start! He’s really about this music, living and breathing it, with an ear to the street at all times.

My experiences in Denver started off with the February Solution Beat Battle, Courtland Urbano and Boonie Mayfield showcase, as well as dope ass Tanya Morgan set. @Imtrumaine, a friend and fellow producer out of Chicago hit me up to let me know that Boonie Mayfield had been tweeting about the show and that I should enter. I was a bit frustrated with the music climate in Albuquerque NM or the lack thereof in my eyes so I sent in a few beats the day of the deadline as well as a little write up including some names of who I’ve produced for and such. Didn’t hear back for a week or so and started to sweat it, until Low Key hit me up and let me know I had made it into the Battle. I got a few friends together for the trip and went for it!

What was illest was that Low Key knew of most of the cats I’d produced for! Just to show his good taste and network he was more than familiar with Moe Green a bay cat, featuring a track from him on his and Sounds Supreme’s The Solution Tape #1. Add 2 was another dude Low Key was up on, great talent out of Chicago and featured performer for tonight’s party!!

The Battle was CRAZY! Everybody showed each other love, which was greatly appreciated with me being from out of town and all that, it was a lot of comradery, love for music, and overall TALENT. Met a lot of really dope folks at the battle, most of those I keep in touch with on the semi-regular. That weekend was amazing, I turned 21 the day before this show, and thus was allowed in, and all the good people definitely gave me the inspiration and encouragement to keep pushing my music… Shout out to my backup dancers as well! Winning was unreal, I’d never won ANYTHING before! I was in some serious shock when the judges made that announcement. But shouts out to Big J, Cliff Cage, Jordan, Dealz and all the other beasts I went up against. Shouts out to Boonie for the kind words, Courtland for the encouragement, and Tanya Morgan for fucking with me. That was an insane night. Left town around 2am and went straight to work off no sleep haha, waaay too excited from the show to even let that trip me out though.

As part of winning, I got to come back to do some recording at Side 3 Studios with the homie Chase and my friend Pablo who is an incredible piano and guitar player. I picked up a ton of dope/free gear from Family Affair, and ultimately got to spin a live beat set at one of the next Solution shows. Side 3 Studios was a sick experience, amazing studio and amazing folks. Really understood my vision and made the work reflect that. Chase is a really talented cat, I need to really get my $ up and go put in some more work over there! Regardless, this is where the idea for my instrumental EP with Pablo ‘Time is of the Essence” really came from. I decided to use my time at Side 3 to just record live instrumentation for this EP rather than any vocals or anything like that, and all the music came out INSANE! Pabz and Chase killed it! I can’t wait to release this stuff, it’s looking like before August, and will feature some really dope bonus cuts with a couple MC’s! Family Affair was really awesome as well! They had a lot of real clean gear from the illest in street wear brands. They’re ultimately a really well run shop! Plus they showed my music and me a lot of love just based off of the beat battle, so much love to the homies there! Had me feeling like a star, I could really get used to getting free gear haha.

But overall the sickest part about winning and coming back to Denver was The Showcase. That was my first real show ever, so I was super blessed. I got to open for some real talents like Whygee, Brik-A-Brak, and Median of JAMLA and Justus-Fuckin-League!! I put together a playlist, and Low Key showed me how to use Serato during sound check, and I basically tried to outweigh my nervousness with the amount of brand new material I had on deck. I played about 20 minutes of new stuff, some collabs, remixes and exclusives. Seemed like people enjoyed it, so that’s all I can ask for…Plus, the Meadowlark was a groovy venue! I was even blessed enough to coincidentally have my Mom in Denver for work that weekend, so she made it out! Shouts out to the girl who bought Moms and I vodka shots hahaha! Also shouts out to everyone who came out, showed me love that night, and everyone I opened for, all great folks! Might have some work coming with a few of the names mentioned above.

All my experiences in Denver and with The Solution have really been blessings, I credit you all with the drive I’ve had these past couple months, and the overall decision to keep going full steam ahead with music! Denver has so much love for my music. It’s truly still all pretty unreal! I’m super thankful for all of the big homies that helped me get my foot in the door! And hope to work a lot with this really awesome circle of folks a lot more in the future! Another example of great folks, and great music brought to you by The Solution!  Hope to make it up to the city again soon. – BK Beats

Tags: BK Beats, The Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Showcase

The Solution Beat Battle and DJ Low Key on Boonie Mayfield’s Boon Documented series…

We were excited to see that our friend and insanely talented producer Boonie Mayfield featured lots of footage from the Solution Beat Battle, some bits with Solution co-founder DJ Low Key and a studio session with Che Grand (our guest for The Soluton Showcase #4, song coming late Summer/early Fall) on his latest episode of Boon Documented (Do It Live:Episode 3).  We think the show is top notch, take a quick look and if you dig it, make sure you check out more episodes of Boon Documented here, as well as Boonie’s debut project from last year, Black Koolaid.

Tags: Boon Doc, Boon Documented, Boonie Mayfield, Che Grand, DJ Low Key, The Solution Beat Battle

Meet BK Beats, the winner of The Solution Beat Battle & our featured producer for The Solution Showcase #5 on 4/28…

Normally we feature a Colorado producer at The Solution Showcase, but this month we’re making an exception to feature the surprise winner of  last month’s Solution Beat Battle, Albuquerque ’s own BK Beats.  BK beat out an insanely talented group of producers to take the title and we’re excited to feature him on Saturday, 4/28 on at The Solution Showcase #5, along with Median (NC///Foreign Exchange Music///JAMLA Records), Whygee w/DJ Brik-Abrak, DJ Low Key, Lazy Eyez & more at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer St).  Stay tuned to @DenverSolution for more info, a chance to win free tickets & more.  21+ /// $5 Pre-sales available at Family Affair downtown (plus get 15% your entire purchase when you buy a Solution Showcase ticket) /// $8 at the door.

To find out more about BK Beats, check out this recent interview he did with DJ Low Key below, as well as some links to music and footage from the battle itself.

DJ Low Key: I’ve gotta get it out of the way, what does the BK in BK Beats stand for?

BK Beats: Haha, shit. “Blunt Kid”. It was a nickname I got as a teenager that stuck unfortunately.

DJ Low Key: Sounds like you’ve had that name for a while, how long have you been producing/making beats for?

BK Beats: Haha, yeah man. Been making beats more seriously for the last 2 years, dabbling for probably another 2 before that.

DJ Low Key: What initially inspired you to get in to making beats?

BK Beats: I always did music since a kid, but basically getting more educated on hip hop.  “Award Tour” was big for me, as was Nas “The Message”.  Once I figured out that those were old records re-chopped, I was more curious and bought [the popular production software] Fruity Loops in high school.  Sadly, Dilla’s passing also inspired me a lot.  Ruff Draft and stuff like that really made me wanna do it.

DJ Low Key: Speaking of Detroit, you’ve done songs with Ro Spit and Fat Ray, two up and coming Detroit artists, as well other noteworthy artists from across the country, such as Add-2 in Chicago and Moe Green and Squadda B (of Main Attrakionz) in the Bay; how do these collabs usually come together?

BK Beats: With the Detroit cats, I was just a fan of the whole scene. Sort of just reached out over Twitter and eventually got cats emails.  Basically Twitter all around man, it makes artists accessible enough I guess.  I’m a fan of cats and I may hit them over Twitter and ask for their email address and go from there.

DJ Low Key: What about your music do you think got the attention of those artists when numerous up and coming producers are hitting them up online regularly?

BK Beats: I try to make every beat my own, and really put myself into the music.  Whatever style it is, I try to do something different or sample something no one would.  For example, sending a beat using a european progressive rock sample when everyone else has been sending Lex Luger style keyboard jams.  No hate to Lex. I’m a fan, haha.

DJ Low Key: Using a variety of samples and sounds is something that the judges at The Solution Beat Battle all mentioned as part of why you won, do you consider yourself as having a particular style?

BK Beats: Ummmm, I would say drums are always an important part of my beats.  Nowadays, I’m leaning away from sampling a bit, but I’ve been told my drums are sort of a trademark.

DJ Low Key: The Solution is based out of Colorado and you’re in Alburquerque, New Mexico; how’d you find out about the beat battle?

BK Beats: A friend/fellow producer really looked out for me on that one. A Chicago cat by the name of ImTrumaine told me Boonie [Mayfield] had been tweeting about it and I should try, so I sent a few [beat] over while I was at work like right before the deadline, haha.

DJ Low Key: Were you worried or nervous about coming from out of state to compete?

BK Beats: Definitely! NERVOUS AS HELL! Haha. But more so felt lucky and blessed becuase my city doesn’t have alot of the same opportunities and such.  I was still nervous after I won, like shaking nervous man smh.

DJ Low Key: Leading up the final round, was there any producer at the battle you were especially worried about facing head to head?

BK Beats: Man everybody had heat to be honest!  Shouts to Cliff Cage, Big J, Dealz…A lotta skills in that room.  I forget the [names of the] other cats I met, but I was feeling like just a fan again for sure.  I thought Big J had me that last round to be honest.

DJ Low Key: The entire lineup was ridiculous, big ups to everyone involved. Before the battle you mentioned you were a fan of Tanya Morgan, who performed and were two of the judges at the battle; any thoughts of hitting them up on Twitter afterwards?

BK Beats: HUGE fan! I had to get my nerd on and snap a flick with them too, haha. But as far as trying to work, I feel like I’m not on that level yet.  Plus, Von’s [Von Pea, producer/MC in the group Tanya Morgan] got BEATS! WOO!!! I felt like it may be better if I just took their judging as a cosign and kept it moving.

DJ Low Key: Part of your prize for winning The Solution Beat Battle was studio time at Side 3 Studios, generally considered to be the best in Colorado; what was your session like there and when can we hear the results?

BK Beats: Maaaan it was amazing! Huge shout outs to Chase [at Side 3]. He got EXACTLY what I was trying to convey.  That whole spot is mind blowing. I will be playing two of the songs next Saturday [4/28, at The Solution Showcase #5, details here] and then releasing an EP with my keys/guitar player Pablo before Summer.

DJ Low Key: What’s the name of the EP? Any other projects can we expect from you later in 2012?

BK Beats: Untitled so far but i just released the 1st single “STR8 Gorgeous” last week on my bandcamp page, www.bkbeats.bandcamp.com.  I will have this ep, songs with a few cats from the bay area. expect more from me and Moe Green, Shady Blaze, Deniro Farrar out of NC and Epp from Portland, all leading up to a solo beat tape.

DJ Low Key: Sounds like a busy Summer.  Any other shouts before we see you back in Denver for The Solution Showcase #5 on Saturday, 4/28?

BK Beats: Yeah, crazy hectic.  SHOUTS to you! The Solution, Family Affair, Tanya Morgan, Courtland, Boonie. Everybody who showed love after the show, you guys keep me going for real!

Tags: #TheSolution5, BK Beats, The Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Showcase

Saturday, 4/28 -> The Solution Showcase #5 w/Median (NC /// Justus League), Whygee feat. DJ Brik-A-Brak, BK Beats, DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez at The Meadowlark…

SATURDAY, 4/28 -> Ding ding, round 5!!!  It’s about time for The Solution Showcase to hit you with another dose of goodness and this month is a doozy.  For The Solution Showcase #5, we’re featuring your favorite MC’s favorite MC and Justus League OG, Median (NC///Foreign Exchange Music///JAMLA Records), the hype killer himself, Whygee w/DJ Brik-A-Brak, The Solution Beat Battle’s darkhorse winner, BK Beats, and of course, at least 2/3rds of The Solution DJs, DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez at The Meadowlark (2701 Larimer). Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with someone on the bill, just trust that your favorite DJs aren’t gonna steer you wrong (a big part of The Solution Showcase is about discovering dope new music anyway, people have been digging it). So head over to DenverSolution.com to learn more about the performers and hopefully we’ll see you out for the party! 21+ /// $5 Pre-sales available at Family Affair downtown & get you 15% off your entire purchase /// $8 at the door /// Doors at 9.

Tags: BK Beats, Brik-A-Brak, DJ Low Key, Family Affair, HK2012, JAMLA Records, Justus League, Lazy Eyez, Median, The Foreign Exchange Music, The Meadowlark, The Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Showcase, Whygee

The Solution Beat Battle Contestants…Catch The Solution Beat Battle at La Rumba on Sunday, 2/26 w/special guests Boonie Mayfield, Tanya Morgan & Courtland Urbano fka Xperiment…

SUNDAY, 2/26 -> After a lot of deliberation and a ton of listens to all the great submissions we got, we finally narrowed everything down to the twelve producers that we think will go hardest in the battle yesterday.  We got a ton of top notch beat submissions; some were really dope just too relaxed for a battle, some showed a lot of potential but needed a little refinement and someone had to be the tough 13th person who was super close to making it so if you submitted and didn’t get in, definitely don’t think it was because your beats were wack (although we did get a couple of wack submissions, can’t win ‘em all…LOL).  With that said, here are the 12 competitors for The Solution Beat Battle:

Jay Gunna
Dealz Makes Beats
Yonnas
DJ Matt Cassidy
Cliff Cage
One Flu Over
Big J Beats
Infamous Jones
BK Beats
Nofrendo
IQ
Intricate Dezighn

And here’s more info on The Solution Beat Battle at La Rumba (99 W. 9th Ave) in case you missed it the first time around.  At the battle, a dozen of Denver’s top producers will face off head to head to see who has the best beats in town for the title, studio time from Side 3 (Denver’s top recording facility), a huge gear package from Family Affair and a paid feature at an upcoming Solution Showcase .  Colorado production icon Boonie Mayfield & beat prodigy Courtland Urbano (fka Xperiment) will be rocking live beat showcases and “legends in the making” (according to Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest)/new school vets Tanya Morgan will be performing to headline the event.  Last but not least, DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme & Lazy Eyez will be on the turntables throughout the night.  21+ / $10 cover / doors at 9.

Tags: #TheSolution5, Boonie Mayfield, Courtland Urbano, Tanya Morgan, The Solution Beat Battle, Xperiment

What is #TheSolution5?

(click to enlarge flyer)

February 2012 marks 5 years of The Solution and before anything else can be mentioned, we have to thank everyone in Denver and beyond who’s come out to the party.  Whether it was in our earliest days at the Shelter/Milk Bar or at our longest running home, The Funky Buddha, or maybe you just learned about us via The Solution Showcase at the Meadowlark over the last month or two, it doesn’t matter; we wouldn’t be able to do anything cool without your love and support.  With that said, a lot has changed since we started the party and we want to make sure everyone knows about what we’re up to going forward.

As you might have noticed, the party has grown beyond just a club night.  Last year, we embarked on a statewide tour with Tanya Morgan, TiRon, Whygee, King F.O.E. & Boonie Mayfield, threw our first BBQ (with our good friends Family Affair) and started a monthly spinoff based around showcasing new talent, called The Solution Showcase, at the Meadowlark.  This year we’ve already launched The Solution Boulder at ‘Round Midnight, we’re about to take the party outside of our great state for some collabs with like-minded parties in other cities and this month, we’re going to celebrate our 5 years with 5 events that we call The Solution 5 aka #TheSolution5.

With that in mind, what hasn’t changed about The Solution is that we’re still dedicated to making sure every event we throw is something we’d wanna go to, something fun and, hopefully, something a little more unique than your average party.  With that in mind, let us tell you about what we’ve got in store for #TheSolution5.

Wednesday, February 22nd we’re teaming up with world renowned Red Bull Music Academy for what’s shaping up to be a one of a kind celebration of the man who was quite possibly the greatest hip hop producer ever, J Dilla.  We’re throwing the party at Beta Nightclub (1909 Blake St) and it’s an unprecedented event to hear Dilla’s music on one of the best sound systems in the world.  As if that wasn’t enough, we’re bringing out the legendary DJ Spinna (New York) and frequent Dilla collaborators and Detroit icons Waajeed & Phat Kat out to celebrate with us.  Phat Kat will be rocking with Dameion Hines and Q-Knox of Big Wheel, who’ll also be performing a tribute to Jay Dee of their own.  The Solution DJs aka DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme and Lazy Eyez will be on the turntables to kick things off and with Dilla’s catalogue, you’re gonna miss some incredible music if you show up late.

Thursday, February 23rd is The Solution Showcase #3 at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer St) and the lineup is ridiculous.  We’ve got Trackademicks (of A-Trak’s Fool’s Gold Records) and DJ Tap 10 coming out from the Bay, bringing a trademark slap that’s one of our favorite sounds out.  Black Actors (Quiz fka Sunkenstate and .anansi) is our Denver feature and the one and only Kid Hum will be making his live production debut, plus DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez will get the party started.

Saturday, February 25th is the opening of The Art Of Records at Family Affair downtown (2048 Larimer St) from 6-9pm.  It’s an art show based around classic hip hop album artwork being interpreted by top Colorado-based artists including the likes of Dunn The Signtologist, Path One, Thomas Evans, Tristan Minton & more, curated by Dunn himself and DJ Low Key.  We’ll be displaying the actual 12″ album covers next to the artwork and DJ Low Key will be spinning the records on display throughout the evening to bring things full circle.

Sunday, February 26th we’re excited to present The Solution Beat Battle at La Rumba (99 W. 9th Ave).  A dozen of Denver’s top producers will face off head to head to see who has the best beats in town.  Producer extraordinaire Boonie Mayfield will be rocking a live beat showcase, “legends in the making” (according to Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest) and new school vets Tanya Morgan will be performing and we still have more on the bill to be announced shortly.  If you’re a producer or beatmaker looking to enter, check out this post for more info.

Every Thursday night in Boulder, don’t miss our fifth event of the #TheSolution5, The Solution Boulder, at ‘Round Midnight (1005 Pearl St).   In the coming weeks, we’ll be throwing our infamous chicken & waffles party up there, featuring a performance from Tanya Morgan, hosting a women’s shoe and fashion show with Installation (an easy contender for best shoe store in the whole state) and a whole lot more.

So thanks again for everything Colorado, you’re the best. Here’s to the next 5 years and beyond.

Tags: #TheSolution5, Beta Nightclub, Black Actors, Boonie Mayfield, Dilla, DJ Low Key, DJ Tap 10, Dunn the Signtologist, Family Affair, J DIlla, Kid Hum, La Rumba, Lazy Eyez, Meadlowlark, Red Bull Music Academy, Sounds Supreme, Tanya Morgan, The Art Of Records, The Solution Beat Battle, The Solution Boulder, The Solution Showcase, Trackademicks