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For any trip-hop head that wants to check their age, it may intrigue you to know that in 2020 RJD2‘s breakout album Dead Ringer is officially old enough to vote (and we hope for democracy’s sake, it does). RJ’s spent the past eighteen years digging in the crates and twisting knobs to find the most lush, exotic, and soothing sounds to mash together into infectious instrumental hip-hop, perhaps most notably for mainstream audiences with the Mad Men title theme, “A Beautiful Mine”.
In the midst of RJ’s insatiable appetite to produce, collaborate, and remix, he’s gearing up to release his seventh solo album, The Fun Ones, next Friday. We’re counting the days ’til we have our new favorite instrumental record, but last weekend RJD2 treated us to his own sonic stimulus package, featuring hints of ’80s R&B and ’70s funk, topped off with a gorgeous original string arrangement, “20 Grand Palace”!
–Photo: Nick Fancher
