{kllz} - crystlblk

There’s many tapes to choose from in the past 4+ years of kllz’ discography but the one he left us off with might be one of the best examples of his style. crystlblk is full of raw, dusty drums and finely-tuned soul and rnb chops, sometimes airy and sometimes tense, but always gripping and keeping your headphones glued. I love how free-flowing all the chops feel here, almost like he’s freehand hitting the computer keyboard without quantize, making a song like wishucouldsee’s little piano embellishments and quick flourishes of vibrato so sprightly and refreshing. So much passions seems to come through the drum patterns too, double-time hihats and odd kick placements weaving between twinned snares, always boosting the samples to feel lively and dynamic. The tape amasses to something that bleeds optimism; these tightly woven beats falling between interludes of overcoming in the face of systemic racism, giving the music a really triumphant feel - something you can really feel in your soul. I don’t want to overcook such a tape that just makes the most sense when you listen to it, but I pray for kllz’ return and hope there’s some new music on the horizon.

KEY BEAT: wastemytime(crystlblk) - there’s something about this one that feels beautifully dramatic in the way he’s chopped the sample paired against the crisp drums, and I can’t help but think what kind of love and loss the original singer would’ve experienced - she was clearly going through some shit.