After hearing the full release, Minds Combined, there were many thoughts running through my head. Of course, combining the styles of Mike Flips and Seize makes sense ’cause they just elevate the amplitude. And although I am no more averse to a vocal contribution than I am to a Mai Tai on Waikiki, the thought of these two beat makers coming together for this release in late 2024 had me thinking one thing. I wanted to understand their recipe and taste the raw flavor of their joined sound. Nearly a month later after the initial release, these two cats have delivered on a tradition, to release an instrumental version to please those other aficionados.
Each of these two have a spattering of recordings running back several years. And it isn’t hard to recognize that they must know each other well, collaborating on a variety of releases. In 2019, Seize cut a seminal full length recording entitled, Tarkine Funk, on Kick a Dope Verse!. That release let us all know what he was capable of achieving; a heavy dose of big beats, low bpm, and mindful rhythms. It included a single collaboration with Mike Flips called One Time delivering one hell of a dope line. In that same year, Mike Flips was also staking out his own real estate in the boom bap. He released Time to Listen, a well crafted selection showcasing his own abilities behind the pads. It was enough to make you realize that they needed to keep exploring. In 2023, they teamed up again, this time with Nord1kone to release Life Cycles, a hard hitting full record for these producers “to provide classic boom bap sounds for the dexterous rhymes of Outsiders Syndicate emcee Nord1kone.”
And in 2024, it’s followed by their current collaboration, Minds Combined, highlighting more vocal contributions of many different guests. It’s solid. But, onĀ the instrumental version of Minds Combined, you get to explore the foundation, the fundamentals. Peeling back the layers, it is easy to pick up each of their styles in the amalgamation of sounds on this record. “The album is a celebration of collaboration, proving that when minds combine, the result is pure musical alchemy.” No doubt.
Track Listing:
1. The Microphone (Intro) 01:18
2. Spark The MIC 03:47
3. How It’s Done 03:40
4. That Old Real Shit 03:18
5. Diamond In The Rough 03:03
6. Factors 03:28
7. Time Slip (Interlude) 01:10
8. Clockwork (Interlude) 01:21
9. Morpheus 03:49
10. Hard Work 03:44
11. Good Foot 03:08
12. Chemical Flesh Burns 02:48
13. What We Love 02:55
14. Finished Complete (Outro) 01:55
Buy here.
