Recently I’ve been waking up between 3am and 4am every morning while the rest of my family is asleep. This gives me time to catch up on my 9-5 when my coworkers are sleeping as well. I find that I’m most productive during these hours while the world isn’t awake yet. Because once the daily grind starts with that 9-5 it’s straight to Zoom calls back-to-back-to-back. It can suck the energy out of you. That’s why when I do have time to actually get work done, I need some beats to help me focus and be productive. This playlist is for others like me who need some background music while making your way through the day. Before I get to the playlist, I’d like to give a few producers some shine.
Budgie
Budgie is out of the UK but currently resides in Cali. I first heard of him through his joint album with the Alchemist called The Good Book, Vol. 2. But it was really through his solo projects where I found some of my favorite beats of his. This song below is called “Bonsai Garden Frolics” and it’s off of his 2017 album, Panty Soakers 3. It’s a beautiful beat that I can listen to on loop for hours. It has less than a 1,000 views on YouTube which is officially means it’s being slept on. Give it a peep. It’s fresh.
2. Denny Laflare
Denny Laflare has done some work with Griselda but I honestly don’t know much about him. A quick Google search basically pulls up nothing so this dude is knocking out beats on the low. I respect that. But I don’t know how much longer this can go for because his beats are absolute flames. This song “Gold Diamonds” right here? Wow. I just think of what my guy Freddie Gibbs could do with this beat. Damn…. Would be ridiculous. But for now I’m just fine practicing my own double-time flows over this banger. I love his Spotify bio info. It just says “Evil Demonic Music” in Italian. That’s some gangster sh*t right there.
3. eevee
eevee is out of the Netherlands and she makes a lot of fresh beats too. One of my homies put me up on her and she consistently knocks out good chillhop lo-fi style beats. This song “Thoughts” below is off of her album, beat tape 10 which dropped last year. It’s been on steady repeat for me since it dropped along with several other beats she’s made over the years. eevee recently had a baby boy so a big congrats to her. I’m sure she’ll have him programming beats in a couple of years!
4. Kiefer
Kiefer is a dope piano player who I just found out was actually born in San Diego but resides in LA. Kiefer is signed to Stones Throw Records which is no surprise as they always have a roster or good artists. I’ve really enjoyed Kiefer’s work with Mason London who to me is the freshest out on the animation tip. Kiefer is also a part of an amazing trio with MNDSGN and Swarvy known as the MNDSGN TRIO. Here’s Kiefer’s most recent drop with Mason London on animation.
5. 9th Wonder
If you don’t know who 9th Wonder is you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past 20 years. 9th was the man behind the boards for Little Brother (shout out to Pooh and Phonte!) and has worked with everybody who is somebody in the rap world. This beat right here was the beat that Mac Miller and Vince Staples rapped over on “Rain” off of Mac’s brilliant Faces mixtape back in 2014. Here’s the 9th beat without Mac and Vince’s vocals. Fire beat right here with or without vocals.
If you’re digging all of these beats, please support all of these artists and peep more of their music. Plenty of other gems out there to find. Below is a playlist that I’ve been working on that starts with these 5 songs and builds from there. It’s been my morning mood music the past couple of weeks. Hopefully it puts you in some kind of a creative space as well! Enjoy!