Mike Mo Beats is a producer that I first heard while listening to the album G.O.N.E by Xc. Since then I have loved listening to the young producer and this most recent project from Mike does not disappoint. This album was released on September 26th and is a 20 track instrumental project featuring all original works made in 2013.
As far as instrumentals go, backpack is one of the best free projects of the year. Mike takes samples from every genre and truly creates masterpieces. Mike has a boom bap style with his own flare, his work reminds me of Oddisee. They both take a sample and turn it into something bigger and more beautiful and it's music in its purest form. Though the album may seem to drag on (due to number of tracks) it keeps you listening. I was completely drawn into the project from the very first track. Mike captivates the listeners with beautiful vocal samples, then blows everyone away with his exclusive ability to produce peaceful, yet head nodding beats. My favorite track on backpack is "Drugs." This particular song samples from numerous genres yet they all mesh together so elegantly creating a harmonious tune that replays throughout the album.
The fact of the matter is instrumentals are over looked. As sad as that may be, it's projects like this one that keeps me coming back to instrumentals. Despite the length of the album and the somewhat sluggish progression, it's still an awesome project that keeps you entertained and will make you want to check out Mike Mo Beat's entire catalog because in this album you not only hear great music, but your mind is truly freed and the soft and rhythmic tunes allow yourself to step back and reflect on everything, as a matter of fact this entire review was written while listening to backpack.