Philly's Own Beat-twisting Producer & Multi-instrumentalist Rolled Gold Assembles Beat-maker Bedrock #23 (Rolled Gold Productions)

"Rolled Gold is a soulful Hip-Hop producer from Philadelphia, who has a versatile, life-long musical resume, ranging from Jazz to Punk Rock bands, Trap beats to live Neo-Soul groups, and more. His style has influence from Hip-Hop producers, such as J Dilla, RZA, and MF DOOM, as well as the timeless catalogs of Motown, Stax & [Philadelphia International Records]. While he has been sampling for most of his production, so far, this past year has been spent composing and recording friends and family to use as sample material. His next releases will be instrumental/remix EP's and a compilation album, all constructed from these original samples and compositions... These albums, in no specific order, are the first that come to his mind in his influence and evolution as a musician over the years."

A. Madlib - Beat Konducta: Movie Scenes, Vol. 1-2 (2006)

"This is the first album I heard, at age 13, that really made me think of music—specifically, non-soundtrack music—as illustrations of a hypothetical "movie scene." Literally due to the title, I listened with that in mind and went on a soulful, meditative journey through space and time. After that, I gradually began visualizing almost all pieces of music and imagining the accompanying "movie scene." It should be noted that I have a form of synesthesia, which allows me to see music in color schemes that make the illustrations come to life and evoke more emotion."


B. "Chef" Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995)

"Much like Madlib's Beat Konducta: Movie Scenes, Vol. 1-2, Raekwon's 1995 debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (known by many as "The Purple Tape") is the perfect example of a cinematic experience, which I first heard in its entirety at age 15. I describe it as "listening to a movie" and of course, this specific movie is a Black Mafioso saga based in New York City, most specifically, Staten Island. Many people credit Raekwon with pioneering "Mafioso Rap" and due to the interludes, whether recorded by Wu-Tang Clan themselves or sampled from various Mafia & Kung-Fu films, the album has a fluent and exciting storyline. Of course, RZA's dark, soulful production, largely sampled from lesser-known Stax records, ties it together with an elegant, yet dusty and grimy canvas."


C. Os Mutantes - Os Mutantes (1968)

"This record, from 1968, is a masterpiece of Psychedelic Brazilian Classic Rock, although, calling it "Classic Rock" really doesn't do it justice. I heard it for the first time at age 16, I believe, and although, I had never heard anything like it at all, I compared it to The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour & Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967.) While it's equally as versatile, "far-out," and smoothly-flowing as those albums, it's also, beautifully bursting with indigenous Brazilian percussion and possibly even "further-out" Experimental techniques that are still, somehow, digestible as Pop songs. One of [the] many techniques I adopted from this album is the use of field recordings—birds chirping, glasses clinking, etc.—to give songs unique textures and to help paint the picture, like the aforementioned "movie scenes" I already grew to appreciate."


D. Curtis Mayfield - Curtis (1970)

"Curtis Mayfield's debut solo album of 1970, Curtis, is another album I first heard at age 16. I believe, Curtis did most of his own composing, arranging, and producing, at this point, which reflects, in my opinion, one of the best era's sonically of all time. Similarly to 21st Century composer Adrian Younge, I view the late 60's-early 70's as the time in which recording techniques and technology were becoming [as] complex, sophisticated, and funky as they'd ever been, yet not as clean, rigid, and electronic as the latter half of the 70's and onward. Don't get me wrong, I love all eras after that, as well, but there's something magical about that time that I could probably describe for hours, but I won't. Curtis' music, along with Motown's extensive discography, gave me an appreciation for bells, strings, harps, etc. that most of my generation lacks."


E. At this point, I'm thinking of too many other important records in my life, so I will give a super-brief Honorable Mentions List:

- Charles Mingus' Mingus Dynasty (1960) may be my favorite album, but that's a crazy thing to say. Regardless, the songs "Slop" and "Far Well, Mills Valley" are some of the most beautiful recordings I've ever heard.

- Gil Scott-Heron's Pieces of a Man (1970) was given to me by my mother, when I was 16 and along with helping me get through changes in my life, it still, to this day, influences my drumming and bass playing, stylistically.

- Madlib & MF DOOM's MADVILLAINY (2004) & J Dilla's Donuts (2006) were introduced to me at age 13 and you know, they changed my life!

"Newer records that have held my attention tremendously in the past few years include: Westside Gunn's FLYGOD, Noname's Telefone, Anderson .Paak's MALIBU, and Tierra Whack's Whack World. Maybe, I will go into further detail on these in the future, along with some Philly Soul & Jazz records, some Stevie Wonder (obviously,) and... yea, lem'me just stop here. Thanks for reading and I hope y'all enjoy some of the albums on my list!"

- Rolled Gold (@RolledGoldBeats)