Exile: Destroyer of MPCs

One of the greatest things about hip hop is discovering something entirely new, when you thought you'd heard it all. This experience happens less and less often, with all the bandwagon artists jumping on then latest sound, or "swagger"(can we please kill that word) of the moment. Abandoning all the glitz and glamor that draw many to the world of music, Exile brought us all back down to earth when he linked with Blu on their classic debut album Below the Heavens, a couple of years ago. This album caught many completely off guard, and remains one of the best, and most overlooked albums in the past 5 years.

One measure of a great producer is the ability to craft a collection of beats into an entire album, a cohesive experience, without each track sounding like the last. Having proven himself after completing an album that was So(ul) Amazing, Exile probably could have gotten almost any MC he wanted to rhyme over his classic sounding beats. Instead, Exile continued to push the boundaries of hip hop, crafting an entire album off of samples from the Radio. Beyond his production skills, anybody lucky enough to catch his live show is truly in for an amazing experience.

Most of the time when you go to see a DJ at a hip hop show, you know what to expect: 2 turntables and some vinyl if you're lucky, or some kind of final scratch/serrato/laptop setup if you're not. Very rarely do you see something as new and creative as Exile and DJ Day when they demolish the crowd on their dueling MPCs. Rather than load a bunch of loops and rhythms, then sequence them together, Exile and Day load all the samples as drum kits individually, and play nearly every tone, every drum kick, every note live. Most recently the internets caught up with Exile and Day rehearsing their MJ tribute. Search out Exile on YouTube for a close-up of Exile tearing some of your favorite beats apart, or better yet, catch him live if he comes to a town near you.