Damu The Fudgemunk performs “Prosper” for a Brooklyn BBQ crowd using an Akai MPC2000.
Check out Damu’s Kilawatt V1 EP, which includes the vocal version of “Prosper” featuring Raw Poetic of Panacea. Grab the vinyl or download a copy.
1,971 thoughts on “Damu the Fudgemunk Performs “Prosper” Live”
Comments are closed.
nice
This beat in particular is the most up to date sounding beat he’s ever played! LMAO, Its like this dude tries his best to sound dated! He is dope though, but I dont like the stuff he has that intentionally sounds like old old school beats.
Sane – Check this quote from Damu’s bio: “I really don’t consider my sound a throwback, I consider it a way of production or approach to producing music”
I guess you could look at it like doing graphic design but using original techniques that were around before photoshop, etc. Just because everyone else moves on to the latest tech and is comfortable making music that fits in with the latest trends or techniques, doesn’t mean everyone should follow suit. Most of Damu’s fans are people who miss the way hip-hop used to be, so to them (myself included), what you consider might consider as dated is what we consider to be ideal.
Apples and oranges, everyone can eat.
j
WORD
Jnot i could not agree more
Damu and J Nota keep it up guys.
word up jnot@. for us producers that still make beats using old school techniques, doesn’t mean that we’re “trying” to sound dated. if you have a formula that ain’t broke, don’t fix it. we make music from the heart, mostly for us, not to be trendy. bein’ a dj first, i like some of the newer beats/producers out there, but they don’t come close to that classic sound. the skill level in hip hop in general has dropped immensely. Damu’s keeping the art alive and doin’ him. respect!
Dont get me wrong, I think Damu is EXTREMELY talented! I love alot of his work, I’m just saying I think sometimes he is going for a “dated” sound rather than a “classic/timeless” one. Timeless and dated are different things. I’m not criticising his technique at all! I’m a hardware/sample based producer myself.
Damu’s dope! I’m glad he’s around. Peace.
I’m gonna agree with Sane and Im’ a sample based / vinyl LOVING dude . no lightweight but ……….. Even though his skill level is superior , he does sound like 93 to me . Maybe it’s the fact that I’m 32 so I remember opening up Mecca And The Soul Brother , Breaking Atoms or Enta The Stage as a kid , sitting by the speaker and doing nothing but listening . I just dont hear him trying to take that era and advance with it . He’s a younger dude though so maybe he didn’t catch it the first time around , maybe that’s how artist from the 70’s feel about The Roots or Madlib ? I doubt it though .
And by advance I dont mean switch it completely up and make Dr Dre or Timbaland beats . Black Milk , Oddisee , Ayatollah ……..see what I’m saying ?
Switching up styles and moving with the times is cool an all, but im one of them people who doesnt care if a producer changes his style with the times. Im more than happy to hear more of the same from my favourite artists. If its dope to begin with.
I grew up on the early to mid 90s era and I still wanna hear more of that feel in hop hop today. I will never get tired of it.
Too many dope emcees, producers or rap groups start out dope and then gradually get wacker as they try to change their style to ‘fit in’.
Damu is dope! I want to hear some different emcees on his stuff though. I wonder what lloyd banks would sound like on a Damu beat!!! Dont laugh, I think it would be refreshing and eye opening for the both of them!
“Too many dope emcees, producers or rap groups start out dope and then gradually get wacker as they try to change their style to ‘fit in’.”
P.B I couldn’t agree more.
I think there is room for all styles, i like how J Not@ explained that point of view (That really helped a lot of artists out there make more sense to me now),but personally this music did not move me at all, that real/original 90’s sound was created by people using the Latest technology of their time in the 90’s/80’s. So yes imo this beat does sound dated instead of timeless, One thing that I dont think anyone has mentioned, and which is the thing I personally didn’t like about the beat was Its SOO basic..a teen who bought his first sampler could do that type of beat wit a few months practice. The other thing that bothered me is “A beat I made last night” its like cm’on mann really? last night, the night before this show? If it was some Live energy next level production shit it might be cool if he made it lastnight, but when its some slow, basic beat with a pete rocks’s most famous horn in it….talented & creative arent the first things that come to mind…Its not about what you use vintage or new school, its how you use it…Pete Rock. Premier. Dilla & the rest of them will all tell you the same thing BE ORIGINAL!!!
wow to tell u the truth u sound kinda angry……
damu rly doesn’t sound dated at all if u listen to his instro albums and then i dunno listen to a PR album u can not only hear the difference you can feel the difference the vibe and the presence are way newer soundin….
and it being easy to make these instros,……… yeah sure
have u heard some of dillas beats there simple loops with drums….same goes for pr and premier but it’s still dope….
and i dnt wanna sound like everyone else but man in the time we live in dudes pretty original, his name……. down to his beats…..
when i look around i see the same thing brightly colored dress kids in skinny jeans listenin to beats that rly take no effort at all…..
and that beat he made was crazy…..
time for me to hop off now peace
word, jav. the other thing is – gene; he really did “make that beat yesterday” and it was HIS show, so he could play whatever he wanted. he played that particular beat after his main set was done, while waiting for lord finesse to get set up. so with that said, i disagree that he needed to “play something with more energy” – the crowd loved his set which was evident by the response during and after he was finished.
how you callin this beat simple, man? a teen with his first drum machine can make this? dude meshed together like 4 different samples perfectly.
Really nice points of view in these posts!
Bottom line: My ears are happy when I hear Damu. Period. Whatever he’s doing? It’s good. I’m not going to over think this. My head was bobbing watching this clip…
this beat is NOT basic imo. there’s layers and filters, etc. if you listen to some of his other beats and actually know where the samples come from, you’ll have a lot more respect on how he flips beats. it’s not just some basic loop with a breakbeat over it. i know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, i’m just sayin’ what damu does isn’t easy and most new jacks won’t be able to rock samples like he does.
He flips the hell out of the samples , but like I said , to me it doesn’t sound that different from what was going on in 93 . When I hear a current Pete Rock or Primo beat , it doesn’t sound like they did it in 93 because they have updated their sound . I’ll always have a spot in my heart for those types of beats , but alot of people are swarming over the brother like he’s doing something new , it’s like come on man …. that was done before , but if your nineteen I guess you wont see it like that .
damu is ill…
that 90’s classic style is superior to the “new era” ya’ll is talkin bout.. alot of new shit comin out today is dope…but i prefer that old sound, even though im not old myself, i think damu is the perfect balance between old and new, i read once he used over 40 different samples for one beat..that’s alot of wax to go thru, and all the sounds fit together perfectly like it all came from one record
but thats jus my take..to each his own
sure you can call his sound “dated” but its still superior to the sound of today.
computers and “mp3 digging” has really watered down the culture so badly. everything sounds thin and plastic even in the underground hiphop scene.
people making music together that have never met each other or are in different cities and YOU CAN TELL!! there’s very little chemistry in the music these days its really sad!
remember the snare from pete rock “the game”? aint nobody puttin up drums that sound like that these days cuz we have been reduced to computer monkeys.
and to the dude who said that this is easy you are trippen holmes. blending various samples from various songs and keeping them all in key to create one whole new song is by far one of the hardest production techniques and it takes a really really good ear.
I totally agree with jont@. “Apples and oranges, everyone can eat.”
If you don’t like it move on, there something out there for everyone.
I personally love what Damu does and as long as he keeps making music I’ll keep supporting it.
i don’t think damu sounds like a throwback, and obviously not like 93. I see it this way: mpc 2000 is from 1997 to 2000. technology build in it is not RAW and that much vintage. people who tried vintage samplers as akai s900, mpc60, sp12 or 1200 will understand. texture of mpc 2000 or XL IS NOT crispy as those machines that produced the jewels of golden era. By the way, techniques such as speeding the record up then pitch it down and all (you know them) will make your sound crispy and colored. mixing samples is a hard work of eq’ing and mostly EAR…sit down and listen to the whole album, enjoy music…a break isnt a beat-tool…it is from a talented music group it’s not a soundbank. peeps who LOVE music will understand that relation with records. It is music by the way, only music. artist in rock, folk, blues, etc, still use old technology sometimes. you choose what you like, the texture of the equipment you like, etc. petestrumentals vs main ingredient is a good example for drums….listen main, its dirty and crunchy. petestrumentals is way more clean. same machine, its sp1200. studio work, effects ( reverbs, eq, etc) are not the same. studio staff. all that. damu’s music is ill, not because of the mpc2000 and the thousand crates. It is ill because it’s a superior level of sampling. he proves that you can layer and make a non-boring 5 min. instrumental with 20 seconds of sampling. it is not 93’s, but it aint 09. good balance, dope sampling, genius at work.
gene: it is NOT basic hahaha. I agree that it’s a pete horn etc. it’s true that a good part of the beat’ flavor is in it…but still, piano, guitar, vocals etc…match perfectly with it. less boring than looping the horn for 5 minutes. latin sample at the begining…you know man. its great digging. at least, you could show something more complex? in term of sampling, damu is bringing it on another stage. its not an obligation, but he does. it’s perfect.
RJD2 sampling is ill. layers and all. will you tell his craft is simple?
peace, prosperous beats. dope
“a break isnt a beat-tool…it is from a talented music group it’s not a soundbank. peeps who LOVE music will understand that relation with records.”
WORD.
If damu chooses to use a certain horn, but interprets it differently, and its dope… then hes dope. Ive gotten into the beat thing because of the passion for the sound, the vibes. There are tons of samples that I would love to get my hands on and rock it my way. just because I want to use a certain sample that would make me unoriginal? I dont think so. Some people may take that whole being original thing too seriously. nobody is rockin horns in their beats no more. IMHO thats the dopest part of a beat, along wit them heavy drums. Doesnt sound dated to me. whatever the hell that means.
You gotta stay true to urself, there is an audience for anything.
damu is the 2nd coming of the classic pete rock sound from the early 90’s
he is that DUDE!
There’s some really great points and feedback up in here, which is refreshing. Online opinions are far too often hidden behind people wanting to follow the popular consensus without actually listening, learning and forming their own perspective.
For those that have taken the time with Damu it’s clear he’s listened and learned from the past, but has still formed his own audio perspective.
Anyone suggesting using the same sampling source isn’t original should remember that hip hop production is in itself an oxymoron. You have to plagiarize to create an original interpretation. We prefer to call it a homage 😉
Even after the infamous UBB series on Beat Street seemed to be shelved by crate diggers, the new sampling sources were far from exclusive in their use. Damu has recently sampled some particularly famous horns from “Born To Be Blue” by Jack Bruce. I don’t remember anyone complaining about it being overly used during the “golden era” by Smif-n-Wessun, Artifacts, Lords of the Underground, Diamond D, Show & A.G., Nice & Smooth, Cella Dwellas and many more.
There’s no need to overly protect the past in this game, as like the original samplers, these audio nods help keep the music and original artists alive. Like a top chef it’s about taking familiar ingredients and creating new flavors for the palate. Do you want that egg fried or an omelette?
Let’s just say Damu won’t be expecting a visit from Gordon Ramsay anytime soon….in my opinion.
I don’t make beats like Damu , but I dig his stuff…
there is room for all types of production/beats/music, I don’t see the point in arguing about it….he makes genre specific music, it’s what he wants to do, his heart is into it and it shows in his music
Damu said “It’s an old machine, you gotta wait for this stuff to load,” and someone replied “That’s that good shit!”
The production style Damu uses is what hip-hop is supposed to sound like. People often say hip-hop in the early ’90s is the best it ever was and will ever be, so if Damu’s stuff sounds like it was from back then (which it doesn’t if you ask me), isn’t that a good thing? In fact, I would say Damu beats sound nothing like anyone else’s, even when he flips the same sample. Take the “Pete Rock horn,” for instance. When PR used it, it was as a kind of lynchpin; the whole beat was centered around the horn, which is why the bassline matched the melody and rhythm of it perfectly. Damu used it with the same timing, rhythm, and sound, but as an accent (kinda like parsley on a chunk of lasagna rather than the cherry in the milkshake).
“Anyone suggesting using the same sampling source isn’t original should remember that hip hop production is in itself an oxymoron. You have to plagiarize to create an original interpretation.”
I disagree with that on the grounds that Quincy Jones is on record (there’s an mp3 of an episode of Stretch and Bob somewhere) supporting sampling and looping in hip-hop, because making music is the same regardless of the medium; you take a sound and decide when it plays, and what it sounds like. Once you make a decision, that’s enough, whether it’s “just” to take this specific three-second section of a song and loop it, chop up a long sample into bits and play in a new order, strumming a guitar, or pressing buttons on a drum machine.
“remember the snare from pete rock “the game”? aint nobody puttin up drums that sound like that these days cuz we have been reduced to computer monkeys.”
Reduced to computer monkeys? You’re calling 9th Wonder a computer monkey because he uses FLStudio, then?
Co-sign! You got it covered man.
He might be referring to the aspect of digging. we all know 9th is a digger. it doesnt matter what your tool is. its whats upstairs.
Majority of cats are downloading FL and Reason etc, and follow the sound they hear on the radio and the clubs. They got no perspective.
I think Damus sound is unique. Its filled with a lot of soul and the beats speaks from the heart. I dont think its sounds like Pete Rock beats but if people think that way, isnt that a good thing? I mean being compared to a legend is huge. I got bored with hiphop a while back because of the lack of soulfulness and creativity. Then I discovered The Fudgemunk, and well we should all be happy to hear his work. Its a good thing that we all have different tasting in music other wise it would be boring, but claiming that Damus way of making beats is simple is just wrong facts. Peace
Well, what makes Damu so unique to me actually IS his throwback sound cause nobody seems to be able to do that anymore.
even producers from that era dont dare to do it cause they have updated themselves to.
horns are quite rare in modern hiphop. drums are usually from samplepacks now which are cleaner/compressed and actually have a heavier thump but it doesnt have that live sound like a break.
Damu’s production style is ill and definitely throwback, while at the same progressive and what is needed in hip-hop right now. My understanding is that the sample-based sound died as a result of stricter copyright laws. I don’t know how this dude clears his samples; I suspect he probably doesn’t; but most producers don’t work this way anymore cause they can’t afford to release sample-based music for fears of lawsuits. Even little snips cost thousands to clear and could take 3-4 months just to track down the publisher and record label.
There is no point in discussing what “style” of music he creates, or comparing it to other styles of music. Sounding like something else does not make good music, sounding different from something else does not make music interesting, sounding interesting does not make music good.
There are (or should be) an unexplainable amount of things that contribute enjoying or not enjoying music, not knowing why you love something is half the fun, once you figure it out it the fascination is gone.
To me, Damu is a guy that is fascinated with music, and he makes what fascinates him. Doesn’t get any better than that.
*spelling and grammar oh my! apologies for not proof-reading.
I don’t care what era you think Damu’s beats sound like they’re from, his skills on the MP are not to be fucked with. Bottom line.
Damu is a breathe of fresh air. Artists like him, Exile and Kev Brown are trying to keep that creative sound alive. I love how they produce whole albums with an artist and really build a complete package.
I would agree about hearing some different rappers on his beats. Did anyone hear the Busta Rhymes joint with Kev Brown… wow! Now I don’t know about Loyd Banks but some Danny Brown? Tanya Morgan? Blu? etc etc.
Can’t wait to hear more!
as we all sit here debating on what “type” of sound damu possesses i think we all start to fall away from the purity and beauty of the beats, samples and just sounds that are effortlessly put together. I’m sure someone out there is going to have something to say back but the more we debate on which certain category or time frame he fits into we start to loose the love of the beats. If u turn on a damu beat or a sound in general you get gratification or despair and your idea of the producer changes with the progression of the sound. His music is soulfull and if your blessed enough touches you in a certain way, his simplity is elegance and is not for everyone. It is much like classical music, only liked by a certain type of person and hated by most others. If you are into music or hip hop for its beauty then the producer is secondary to the composition because it is the “sounds” i fall in love with. Damu could be from any era and it wouldnt matter he creates music from the heart and we should listen from the heart. If it was always like this we wouldnt have this materialist mainstream genra hanging over our heads because these artists would have never gotten there “big break” these brilliant underground cats like damu stay in the shadows and produce earth shifting beats that relate to a minimal group and as long as hes making music i will be following along.
that was all over the place but hopefully some of you get what im trying to say!
Damu forever
“Music in its entirety is like a storm thrashing against your souls entry”