We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

space ninja: beat tape

by MH the Verb

/
1.
2.
bus smoothie 02:37
3.
4.
wings broken 02:07
5.
6.
dinero nuevo 03:27
7.
topaz 03:16
8.
play it cool 03:13
9.
pgh flow 02:59
10.
11.
12.
ninja jazz 04:08

about

ABOUT THE MUSIC/ PRODUCTION PROCESS
The album features all live instrumentation & production (no midi) with a focus on organic creation from the ArtHouse95 team.

I began the process a few years ago by hosting multiple studio sessions in Philadelphia. I set up a spread of food, drinks, and other goodies, and invited some of the best live musicians I knew to record improvisational jams based off of production ideas I had create while on tour. Those sessions laid the ground work for me to arrange and develop songs.

After relocating to the Bay Area, I spent months searching through these incredibly complex 10+min jam sessions and editing them into instrumental hip hop beats. My goal was to blend the influence of east coast jazzy boom bap with west coast spacey funk. I began heavily studying how artists like The Coup used funk to promote the energy of their activism. By listening to legendary California producers like Dr. Dre and DJ Quik, I picked up on the influences of Parliment Funkadelic and Tower of Power, and I decided to focus on the short looping bass lines and how to make them sound fat and percussive with layering effects.

The east coast hip hop sound of the 90s was more natural for me to cultivate through the live keyboard sounds. I studied the dynamic of the drum snares and fills from bands like The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, and more recently Oddisee. I also decided to really focus on the abstract song structures that would drive the message of the album in a similar fashion to Outkast's "Stankonia" and Q-Tip's "The Renaissance". I felt using the automated computer vocal interludes would be a nice homage to Tribe's "Midnight Marauders".

In December of 2018, I organized a retreat at Turtle Studios in Philadelphia and took over all 3 rooms of their studio to put the finishing touches on the album in a 30 hour block recording session with the full ArtHouse95 team. Over the next 6 months, our engineer and co-producer, Johann Sebastian and I corresponded over emails & phone to mix the album and create a sonic impression that captured the essence of the live philly hip hop sound.

credits

released February 14, 2023

Executive Producer: MH the Verb
Co-Executive Producer: Johann Sebastian for The Juicebox
Arranging Producer: Buscrates 16-Bit Ensemble for Captain Coolout Music/ASCAP
Associate Producer: George “Cylon” Casseus
All Songs Mixed & Mastered by: Johann Sebastian for The Juicebox

Album Art photographed by: David Hiltbrand for City Blights
Album Art designed by: Fresh Daily
Art direction by: MH the Verb

ArtHouse95 sessions Recorded at:
The Juicebox (Philadelphia, PA)
Woodbrook Studios (Penshauken, NJ)
Turtle Studios (Philadelphia, PA)
Broken Horn Studios (San Mateo, CA)
Dave Humes Studio (Philadelphia, PA)

ArtHouse95 recording sessions featured :
MH the Verb : vocals/ dj/ drum programming
Logan Roth : keyboards/ synth
Arjun Dube : drums/ percussion
Buscrates 16-Bit Ensemble : multi-instrumentalist/ drum programming
Johann Sebastian : bass/ mixing engineer
Chena Kovax : vocals
Evan Bogunia : bass
Kuf Knotz : vocals
Christine Elise : vocals/ harp
Drusef : vocals
GR Stone : keys
Will Mandell : production/ horns

for more info : www.MHtheVerb.com

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

MH the Verb California

HIP HOP. JAZZ. SOUL. FUNK. INSTRUMENTAL. FUTURE.
/ FUSION.

Multi-media artist, MH the Verb uses afro-futurism to build community while blending jazz, funk, hip hop, and electronic arts. The MC/DJ/Producer has built a spacey catalog by mixing live instrumentation & studio production complimented by his deep voice and poetic activism...

MH the Verb is truly out of this world.
... more

contact / help

Contact MH the Verb

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this album or account

If you like MH the Verb, you may also like: