.:The Solution w/ DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez:.

The 2013 Solution Beat Battle contestants…Catch them going head to head on 2/27 at Beauty Bar Denver, along w/special guests Exile & Johaz (aka Dag Savage), 2012 winner BK Beats, Fast Forward, Boonie Mayfield, DJ Low Key, Sounds Supreme & more…

Shouts to each and everybody who entered this year’s battle.  We got a ton of great entries, so many we had to take an extra day to give everything a few good listens and rounding out the lineup was like splitting hairs.  With that said, we’re super excited about this year’s lineup of top notch Colorado producers; they should make for crazy competition.  Here they are:

A-L

Spyda T.E.K.

Matt Cassidy

Grey Sinatra

Rhyme Progression

Babah Fly

Black Jordan

The Elemental Project

Selko

Big J Beats

Paul Junior

Marc Marcel

*To the producers who didn’t get picked to participate, for a lot of y’all the problem wasn’t that your beats weren’t dope, it was that you submitted mellower songs for consideration.  Entering a beat battle with mellow beats is always going to be tough and while not impossible, it does handicap your chances a lot from the jump.

Here’s the rest of the info on the event in case you missed the original post: WEDNESDAY, 2/27 -> It’s that time of year again.  #TheSolution6 is in full effect and The Solution Beat Battle is back for another year of ridiculous chops, club bangers, head nodders, face scrunchers, and all the other great varieties of beats you hear producers pull out for battles.  Just like last year, a dozen of Denver’s top producers will face off head to head to see who has the best beats in town for prize package including studio time at Denver’s premier record facility, Side 3 Studios, a $200 gear package from Acrylick, a paid guest feature at an upcoming Solution Showcase & more TBA.  As if hearing a dozen of Colorado’s top producers show off their A-game wasn’t enough, we’ve also packed out the bill with some amazing talent, check out the battle’s guest lineup:

Dag Savage (aka MPC mastermind Exile & MC Johaz)

2012 Beat Battle winner BK Beats (read his recap of it here)

Incredible one man band/DJ/singer/etc Fast Forward

CO production legend Boonie Mayfield on co-hosting duties

DJ Low Key & Sounds Supreme on the turntables & more

Beauty Bar Denver (608 E. 13th St) / 9pm / 21+ / $10 Cover.

Above: Some footage of Exile’s set from his last Solution guest spot.

Tags: A-L, Babah Fly, Beauty Bar Denver, Big J Beats, Black Jordan, Cliff Cage, Exile, Matt Cassidy, Paul Junior, Rhyme Progression, Selko, Spyda T.E.K., The 2013 Solution Beat Battle, The Solution, The Solution Beat Battle

Meet Team LatchKey (Dealz Makes Beats, Black Jordan, DJ Hobo, Morning After, B-Smith, Big Kiem & Jack Gar), our featured Denver act for The Solution Showcase #12 on 1/26 at the Meadowlark…

In case you missed it, Team LatchKey’s two young resident producers DealzMakesBeats and Black Jordan have already been featured producers at previous Solution Showcases (#4 & #8) and the crew has been lurking around the Meadowlark both times, so we decided to make it official and bring the seven man crew in for a proper performance for The Solution Showcase #12.  Rather than ramble on more about one of Denver’s best new crews, I’ll let them tell it:

The Denver Based Hip Hop Voltron, Team LatchKey has been about raw and soulful vibes, honest lyrics and party rocking since their formation in late 2010. Teamo Supremeo and The LatchKey Kids, combined to make the TLK (Team LatchKey) of today. ‘The Lint Kickers EP’ was released in Feb. 2011 and was accepted as a breath of fresh air to the city. Producers Black Jordan and Dealz Makes Beats, create the backdrop while emcees; B-Smith, Big Kiem and Jack Gar, vocalize the scenes. Plus with DJ Hobo as the groups resident turntablist, the crew hits all of the hip hop shots.

The Team has rocked stages at Hodies Half Note, Rockstar Lounge, Rex Lounge, Hermans Hideaway, Meadowlark, Larimer Lounge, Funky Buddha, Cervantes, Beauty Bar, and a DJ residency at downtown Denver’s ‘1515’ restaurant-Not including the DJ sets, basement parties and pop up street cyphers. Their June release titled ‘The EarWax EP’ is great music to smoke to, drive to, do whatever to. Black Jordan recently released BASEMENT INSTINCT, a 20+ track beat tape that is jaw-dropping with diversity. Dealz Makes Beats is wrapping up “Sunny Colorado,” over 8 different beat tapes with pure hip hop. Team LatchKey in essence is attacking the whack and bringing that champion sound back. POW!

Download music from the crew here:

.:Team LatchKey – Earwax EP:.

.:Black Jordan – Basement Instinct (mixed by DJ Dozen):.

.:DealzMakesBeats on soundcloud:.

Check out Team Latchkey at The Solution Showcase #12, along with LA’s Yonas Michael (aka Y-O, formerly of U-N-I) making his solo Denver debut, BLK HRTS/Pirate Signal producer/mastermind Yorrissey, Solution co-founder DJ Low Key & Solution Boulder alum B-Money for what promises to be another dose of the best in hip hop at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer St).   9pm/21+/$5 pre-sales at all 3 Family Affair locations or only $8 at the door.

Tags: B-Smith, Big Kiem, Black Jordan, DealzMakesBeats, DJ Hobo, Jack Gar, Team Latchkey, The Meadowlark, The Solution Showcase

Saturday, 1/26 -> The Solution Showcase #12 w/Yonas Michael (aka Y-O, formerly of U-N-I), Team Latchkey, Yorrissey, DJ Low Key & B-Money at the Meadowlark…

SATURDAY, 1/26 -> For our twelfth edition, The Solution Showcase kicks off 2013 by importing one of our good friends from Los Angeles, Yonas Michael aka Y-O (formerly of U-N-I), as our out of town featured act.  Y-O’s gonna be joined by super hype Denver up and comers Team Latchkey, BLK HRTS/Pirate Signal producer/mastermind Yorrissey, Solution co-founder DJ Low Key & Solution Boulder alum B-Money for what promises to be another dose of the best in hip hop at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer St).

Even if you’re not familiar with the name Yonas Michael or The Mixtape Before Blvck Swan Theory, his recent project with mixtape monster Mick Boogie, you should know Y-O his work in critically acclaimed (and former XXL Freshmen feature) group, U-N-I, including being one of the hosts of our mixtape, The Solution Tape #1, a few years back.  Featured Denver act Team Latchkey has two producers who’s names should ring a bell, as both DealzMakesBeats & J Gunna aka Black Jordan were featured at the party last year.  They’ll be joined by the rest of the crew (Morning After, Big Keim, B Smith & DJ Hobo) in the six man group’s official Solution Showcase debut.  Yorrissey, producer for recently signed Denver heavyweights BLK HRTS and award-winning Pirate Signal, will be rocking beats as our featured producer for this month.  DJ Low Key and Denver favorite B-Money will be holding down things on the turntables and making sure things are just as much a party as a rap show and that should round out another top notch lineup for your listening, dancing and drink pleasure.  9pm/21+/$5 pre-sales at all 3 Family Affair locations or only $8 at the door.

Tags: B-Money, Black Jordan, BLK HRTS, DealzMakesBeats, DJ B Money, DJ Low Key, Family Affair, J Gunna, Mick Boogie, Pirate Signal, Team Latchkey, The Meadowlark, The Solution Showcase, U-N-I, Y-O, Yonas Michael, Yorrissey

Meet Black Jordan, our featured Denver producer for The Solution Showcase #8 aka The Basement Instinct Release Party on Saturday, 8/25 at the Meadowlark…

Denver, meet Black Jordan (aka Jay Gunna) of Team Latchkey & The D.O.P.E. Game.  The 22-year old producer is one of Denver’s best kept secrets, although the word has started getting around after his standout appearance at The Solution Beat Battle in February and the release of Team Latchkey’s debut EP, Earwax, last month.  Hot on it’s heels, Black Jordan is dropping his debut beat tape, Basement Instinct (mixed by DJ Dozen), at The Solution Showcase #8, which is doubling as the official Basement Instinct Release Party.  Since he’s still a relatively new cat on the scene, I interviewed Black Jordan to get us all some more details on his music, Team Latchkey, his Basement Instinct beat tape, his plans to drop a beat tape per month this Fall & his set at The Solution Showcase tonight.

So first off, Black Jordan, Jay Gunna, what’s up with the name(s)?

The homies always called me Gunna back in the day and i never really knew why, haha. All I knew was I didn’t really feel it though. I had a white homie named Jordan too, so it got to the point where we had to specify which Jordan where we were talking about. Then before you know it boom. Black Jordan. It just stuck.

You’re part of Team Latchkey, how did you link up with the group? What’s it like being in a group with 2 producers?

Team Latchkey is peoples. I grew up with those cats. So it only made sense, they were as dedicated to hip hop as i was. Being in a group with two producers is dope, DealzMakesBeats is a incredible producer. Sometimes we bump heads, but it ends up contrasting to our advantage. That’s my nigga for life. It’s also nice having some competition to keep up with haha.

The firist time you popped up on a lot of people’s radars was at The Solution Beat Battle back in February, what was that like?

Mannn, I’m glad you asked that. The Solution Battle was like my first experience doing me out of the group. Before that I had no idea people were even feeling my beats, so to experience something like that, with so many talented artist showing me love for my music, was an honor. I didn’t win, nor did I come close haha but that was fun as shit. I definitely wanna get more into the battle scene.

This Saturday is also the release party for Basement Instinct…What’s the project all about (besides the dope name)?

The only thing I want it to be about is hip hop. I obtained a record collection from my grandfather who passed away a while back. They ain’t many, but these records mean a lot to me. It only made sense to create a tape out of ’em. So I made some basement shit.

I’m sorry to hear he passed….Is the project 100% samples from his collection?

Most of them, yes..

How would you describe the project’s sound?

It’s different…It’s definitely got two styles on it. Some of the tracks have a boom bap feel, but the next one might by hype a fuck. I tried to keep it groovy. some shit you party to, some shit you roll up to.

You’re a young cat, what other younger producers inspire you?

I honestly cant think of young cats that have inspired me… the people that have inspired me most are local artist that I’ve grown to know over the past few years. But some of my biggest influences right now are Chuck Inglish, Spaceghostpurrp, Clams Casino, Gramatik, Lex Luger, Flying Lotus and J.Cole.

Who are some of the local artists who’ve inspired you?

Big J Beats first and foremost. Gyp Da Hyp, Q-Knox and DJ Check One are just a few. I won’t even start to name all of the local artist in general that inspire me.

What are you working on now that Basement Instinct is almost out?

My goal is to come out with a beat tape every month for each month of this Fall/Winter. I need to play catch up.

And what’s next for Team Latchkey?

We just released The Earwax EP on bandcamp about a month ago. I’m pretty exited about it. As for what’s next we are all working on our solo projects. Which I’m super stoked to see what we all come up with.

As your name gets bigger, are there any artists on your “must work with” list?

I’ve got my eye on the whole TDE crew haha. Them dudes are crushin shit right now. Oh yeah, and I gotta work with that cat Dom Kennedy.

Speaking of Dom Kennedy, our out of town feature for The Solution Showcase #8, BrandUn DeShay, has produced some tracks for him. What are your thoughts on BrandUn and his music?

I came up on that cats music a few months back, and I’m lovin it. It was actually inspiring to see us young dudes making moves. Great producer. Great Emcee. What more could you ask for?

What can people expect from your production set tonight at The Solution Showcase #8?

Energy.

Don’t miss Black Jordan at The Solution Showcase #8, alongside Chicago’s BrandUn DeShay, Bianca Mikahn, DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez, inside at the Meadowlark (2701 Larimer St).  Starts at 9pm/21+/$5 pre-sales at all three Family Affair locations or $8 at the door.

Above: Team Latchkey “Mac In Action” video by Jeremy Pape (song produced by Black Jordan, additional production by Dealz Makes Beats)

Tags: Black Jordan, Team Latchkey, The Solution Showcase

Saturday, 8/25 at 9PM -> The Solution Showcase #8 w/Chicago’s BrandUn DeShay, Bianca Mikahn, Black Jordan, DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez at the Meadowlark…

SATURDAY, 8/25 at 9PM -> “It’s been a long time, we shouldn’t have left you…”.  After a scheduling issue in July and breaking from our formula to honor some of Denver’s best DJs in June, The Solution Showcase is back on track with another ridiculously dope lineup.  For The Solution Showcase #8, we’re importing infamous Chicago MC and producer BrandUn DeShay, the first lady of Denver hip hop Bianca Mikahn, criminally underrated producer Black Jordan (from Team Latchkey, fka Jay Gunna), DJ Low Key & Lazy Eyez.

BrandUn DeShay is a classic double threat, having released numerous critically acclaimed mixtapes as an MC/producer while also doing beats for the likes of Dom Kennedy, Curren$y, Danny Brown, Von Pea, Mac Miller, Sir Michael Rocks (of the Cool Kids) & others.  Having come up in the group Paradox, Bianca Mikahn has been rocking mics on the Denver circuit with the Mercury Sauce collective for years, making quite a name for herself in the usually male-driven hip hop scene.  Black Jordan, who’ll be celebrating the release of his Basement Instinct beat tape at the party, blew us away with his music at The Solution Beat Battle earlier this year and we’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to feature his production at the showcase ever since.  You probably already know about DJ Low Key and Lazy Eyez if you’re reading this, but if not, we’ve both been pushing quality hip hop for years in Denver, trying to make the kind of events we’d like to go to happen, while winning an award or two in the process.

Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with someone on the bill, a big part of The Solution Showcase is about discovering dope new music and we’ll be linking up music, videos and more info on all the artists as we get closer to the party. So stay tuned to DenverSolution.com to learn more about the performers and hopefully we’ll see you on 8/25! 21+ /// $5 Pre-sales now available at all three Family Affair locations & get you 15% off your entire purchase /// $8 at the door /// Doors at 9.

Tags: Bianca Mikahn, Black Jordan, BrandUn DeShay, DJ Low Key, Lazy Eyez, Team Latchkey, The Meadowlark, The Solution Showcase