Homegrown beats
from Brooklyn to Baghdad.

THE MIDWEST SWING is still in effect. Armed with a Powerbook G4 and Logic Pro 7, 24-year-old King Karnov is making a strong bid to be the next beatsmith out of the Chi to make noise.

Making beats since he was 15, Karnov moved to Minneapolis in ’99 to attend the University of Minnesota and decided to stay. "I’ve been brought up musically from my mother, who also played guitar. And three of my uncles are multifaceted instrumentalists, so I pretty much have it in my blood.”

A protégé of Dug Infinite (Common, All Natural, and Juice) King Karnov stood out because of his consistently thick and layered productions. He aims for the chest on the brassy, “Gun Shot Wounds” by mixing dramatic horns with just a hint of guitar and drums that kick hard and clean. It’s the type of jeep-friendly affair that someone like Pharoahe Monch would eat alive while still leaving enough melody for him to sing on the hook if he chose. “Feel Me With Pleasure” is a more soulful flip of his signature drums with more subdued strings, a brooding bassline and vocal sample. And “Full Force” brings the wailing guitar samples back to the forefront sounding like a lost track from Busta Rhyme’s Anarchy.

Got Beats?
Send 4 beats on CD to:
Hydrosonics c/o Scratch Magazine 1115 Broadway, 8th Floor New York, NY 10010 Submissions will not be returned

To read the rest of this story, get this issue at your local Newsstand now! Or get 8 Issues for only $12, Subscribe Now! Save 70% off the newsstand price!!!