Visioneers sounds like the moment a jazz quartet decides to play a J Dilla set. It is remarkably warm and tactile, trading the cold precision of digital sampling for the breath and sweat of live musicianship. The drums are the anchor; they possess that specific, slightly-behind-the-beat swing that defines the best boom-bap, yet they are played with the nuanced touch of a session pro. It is sophisticated but never pretentious, maintaining a gritty urban edge that keeps it far away from the 'dinner jazz' trap.
What makes this project distinctive is Marc Mac's ability to 'replay' the history of hip-hop. Instead of just sampling a record, he and his collaborators reconstruct the DNA of classic tracks using upright bass, vintage keys, and live percussion. This creates a fascinating sonic uncanny valley where the listener recognizes the melodic bones of a Nas or Pharcyde track, but experiences it through the rich, harmonic depth of a live jazz ensemble. It is a love letter to the producers who used jazz to build hip-hop, returned to its source.
Start with the album 'Dirty Old Hip Hop.' It serves as the perfect manifesto for the project, featuring incredible reinterpretations of iconic rap foundations. It is the ideal gateway for anyone who loves the soulful side of 90s hip-hop but wants to hear those sounds expanded into a full, lush instrumental landscape.
Shares dusty, abstract hip-hop, nu jazz, soul (signature)
Shares hand played, nu jazz, dusty, tape saturation (signature)
Shares nu jazz, dusty, soul, tape saturation (signature)
Shares hand played, abstract hip-hop, nu jazz, soulful (signature)
Shares nu jazz, dusty, abstract hip-hop, spoken word (signature)
Shares nu jazz, dusty, hand played, saxophone (signature)
Shares hand played, nu jazz, upright bass, soulful (signature)
Cassette uses generative AI to enrich its catalog. How we use AI →