Rhythm Roulette w/ Da Beatminerz [Video]

There’s a reason Rhythm Roulette can skew towards the old and dusty hip hop producers of the late ’90s: that’s when sample cutting and crate-digging were the foremost currency of cool. Da Beatminerz were legends in that game, the architects behind OG NYC sounds, from Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage and Smif-N-Wessun’s Da Shinin’, among many others. We took a visit to Da Beatminerz’s apartment/headquarters in eastern Brooklyn to watch Mr. Walt and DJ Evil Dee cook up a few beats, working in close collaboration for the most part. It’s a family affair at the crib, and the beat has all the influence of their rugged NY sound, with an upbeat angle that shows how far they’ve come.