Download that. It's Intervention, a compilation album from 21-year-old producer Trakk Sounds (with help from the MP3 site Tha Fixx).
It's fun; all original tracks (16) with all original verses (60!). Sounds, who currently shares a studio with regional tastemaker Rapid Ric, worked on it for eight or so months, hustling connections, trading beats for contributions, etc.
It runs all over the place (guitars, bass chunks, flute flutters, etc), but not in an inefficient manner. It isn't as eager to stray from traditional production templates as, say, hasHBrown's Break Something, but it is no less focused and committed to its own ideals.
Couple of notes from the tape:
The very first verse you hear on the tape is from the herculean Bun B, which was totally not an accident. Explained Trakk Sounds: "Bun and Pimp are two legends. Him [Bun] being the ultimate king hustler, and me wanting to bring an impact, I thought. 'Who better to start with than Bun'."
More about that first track: TS sent it to 20+ people. Most of them turned him down. "I experienced a lot of rejection putting this together," said Sounds, "both from independent and major artists." Howyaluhdat?
Naturally, the point of the tape is to showcase TS's production, but there are no shortage of monstrous performances from rappers. Evidence: Delo, M.U.G. and Mookie Jones on the wistful "Round and Round"; Bun B on the alt "King Hustler"; anything that Killa Kyleon did; and Freddie Gibbs on the hypergangster "Certified G's." There are more. Swing a cat.
Also, a quick note regarding Freddie Gibbs: His verse was recorded right after he got off tour with Young Jeezy. Not sure how or why that could ever be a useful thing to know, but it seems like something that rap nerds might like to have in their brains.
The very last track is a gummy, hazy giganto-group gathering called "Houston Smokers Only." It's the one that they released that video for WAY back. There are ten people on it, and is the only track on the entire tape to feature someone that has ovaries. The most meta move though: Yung Redd and Scooby have verses that run concurrently, which makes a lot of sense to anyone that's paying attention. (Also a thing rap nerds will need in their brains.)
The tape is free. There are worse things to not spend on your money on. Get it. Get it.
