Remixed and remastered
Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from ‘C.R.E.A.M. Acapella’ by Wu Tang Clan 

Youtube: https://youtu.be/tuGQCfQWVmc (I did edit a video with the visuals from the music video, but the video got blocked and taken down straight away.)
Instrumental : https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/ways-of-the-world-instrumental
https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/ways-of-the-world-instrumental

I flipped this sample early March 2018, I’d just finished writing an essay for university about the Black Star track ‘Thieves In The Night’, and was just gassed in general. I’d chosen this module where I knew I’d be able to write about Hip Hop, and in my free time I was always making beats or listening to Hip Hop, so I felt completely immersed in the culture, and that feeling is definitely where this beat came from. I really felt like I’d gained a new understanding of the Black Star track which has always meant so much to me and makes me bug out every time hearing it, and I just felt like expressing that musically. The song is one of the maddest reflections on society and negative states of mind that trap people, so it was the introspective/melancholy vibe of the sample that made me know I wanted to flip it. I was also pretty set on putting this verse over it, there aren’t many Black Star verses out there, and at the time I didn’t have many 12” acapellas, and Deck’s lyrics fit perfectly with the mood. 

I definitely rushed the original mix for this beat, at the time I made it the floppy drive on my MPC wasn’t working, so I couldn’t save beats and had to record a final mix out into audacity the same day I made them. The sample sounds nice but the drums aren’t layered very well and don’t really fit in the mix. Also the vocal is a bit quiet, so since I dropped it I’ve been a bit disappointed with it and wanted to rework it ( https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/life-is-hectic-2 ). It was such a nice sample that I got multiple flips out of it, I originally picked two for when I uploaded this remix, bringing the alternate flip in for the outro after Deck’s verse. For this rework I decided to try and combine them both together, using the main loop for the highs, and filtering the second loop as a bassline to layer under it, giving the track more variation without drastically changing the loop throughout Deck’s verse, which I tried when originally remixing this but it was too jarring. I think the two melodies work well together, it gives the beat an interesting vibe, and I think it works in adding subtle variation to the track. One night while I was working on this my brother was watching an episode of the Sopranos in another room, and I had soloed the beat without the C.R.E.A.M. verse to see how the bass levels sounded on speakers, and the dialogue of the scene was fitting mad well with the beat. I had to ask him what episode it was from, and ripped the audio from a clip on youtube to use as an outro at the end of the track, chopping out the dialogue which I thought was relevant to the track. 

Peace and thanks for listening.

Ways Of The World

Instrumental for: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/ways-of-the-world

I flipped this sample early March 2018, I’d just finished writing an essay for university about the Black Star track ‘Thieves In The Night’, and was just gassed in general. I’d chosen this module where I knew I’d be able to write about Hip Hop, and in my free time I was always making beats or listening to Hip Hop, so I felt completely immersed in the culture, and that feeling is definitely where this beat came from. I really felt like I’d gained a new understanding of the Black Star track which has always meant so much to me and makes me bug out every time hearing it, and I just felt like expressing that musically. The song is one of the maddest reflections on society and negative states of mind that trap people, so it was the introspective/melancholy vibe of the sample that made me know I wanted to flip it. I was also pretty set on putting this verse over it, there aren’t many Black Star verses out there, and at the time I didn’t have many 12” acapellas, and Deck’s lyrics fit perfectly with the mood.

I definitely rushed the original mix for this beat, at the time I made it the floppy drive on my MPC wasn’t working, so I couldn’t save beats and had to record a final mix out into audacity the same day I made them. The sample sounds nice but the drums aren’t layered very well and don’t really fit in the mix. Also the vocal is a bit quiet, so since I dropped it I’ve been a bit disappointed with it and wanted to rework it ( https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/life-is-hectic-2 ). It was such a nice sample that I got multiple flips out of it, I originally picked two for when I uploaded this remix, bringing the alternate flip in for the outro after Deck’s verse. For this rework I decided to try and combine them both together, using the main loop for the highs, and filtering the second loop as a bassline to layer under it, giving the track more variation without drastically changing the loop throughout Deck’s verse, which I tried when originally remixing this but it was too jarring. I think the two melodies work well together, it gives the beat an interesting vibe, and I think it works in adding subtle variation to the track. One night while I was working on this my brother was watching an episode of the Sopranos in another room, and I had soloed the beat without the C.R.E.A.M. verse to see how the bass levels sounded on speakers, and the dialogue of the scene was fitting mad well with the beat. I had to ask him what episode it was from, and ripped the audio from a clip on youtube to use as an outro at the end of the track, chopping out the dialogue which I thought was relevant to the track.

Peace and thank you to everyone who listens.

Ways Of The World (Instrumental)

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals and scratches from ‘I’m A Bad’ by Redman

Visuals: https://youtu.be/7vnWAza1JTc

Redman’s debut is definitely my favourite album from him, the energy it has is unreal to me and it really is crazy to think it came out in 1992. I’ve heard from loads of people who were around at the time that the anticipation for this album was huge, and when it dropped it didn’t disappoint at all and it got mad love and airplay from Hip Hop fans. Every time I listen to it it’s clear why that happened, it’s a mad album and to start with Time 4 Sum Aksion (I used those visuals for this video) really is crazy and sets the tone for the album unbelievably well. 

Personally I think this is definitely one of the albums that really paved the way for how hardcore East Coast Hip Hop would develop that sound which really came into it’s own in the next few years with albums like Black Moon’s ‘Enta Da Stage’, the Wu Tang Debut, the list is endless really, but to me you hear pieces of that throughout this album (and definitely also on albums like Showbiz and AG’s debut, Diamond D’s debut etc which came out at a similar time) which really stand out and clearly inspired other artists to take that even further. To me the track ‘I’m A Bad’ is a clear example of that, the style is so stripped down and raw but it always gets me gassed everytime I hear the album, the way Redman flows over the beat and his attitude makes it work too well, and I’ve always wanted to remix it because the beat is basically just drums so I knew it would be possible to layer another beat over it with the right groove. It took me a while to find the right beat for this one, lots of beats sounded nice over it in my head but when I tried layering them it just didn’t sound right, mainly because the drum grooves didn’t match the one on the original song. This beat I ended up using for the remix is a very old beat, and was actually a throwaway when I first made it: I never remixed anything over it and just uploaded it with some vocals from ‘The Wire’ layered over it at points. I was gassed that it fit this acapella, and it makes sense cause thinking back on it, I actually sampled the same Bob James song which is used on the beat for Redman’s song ‘Can’t Wait’, so it fit his style well. I also knew I had to switch it up and lower the pitch to really bring out the low end for this one, cause it wouldn’t be a hardcore hip hop vibe without that, and I’m really glad I did it for this one. My favourite line is definitely ‘my song still pumps when it’s not even mastered bitch’, and I wanted the drums and bass to come in super hard after that one, so I did a lot of layering to make sure that would be possible.

Hopefully people like this one, it’s pretty grimey and raw but I think it fits Redman’s style well and I’m definitely happy with how it turned out. Peace and thank you for listening!

Original version of the beat: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/vialling-up

Mad Wicked

Bandcamp (Includes 2 bonus tracks): https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/album/elevating
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4qN7pP6c9hmftSB8cUsd9z?si=lJlYmSHvQ1qM-8e8dwzc9w
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/elevating-ep/1610162736
YouTube: https://youtu.be/M6fj7UIHwes

Beats, lyrics, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals mixed and mastered by @hightopsfeed

I very rarely write to my own beats, and I think these are the best tracks that I’ve put together over the years. Although the track listing isn’t exactly chronological in terms of when I made the tracks (I made Night-Time Writing before Lifestyle), these songs essentially chronicle my journey of escaping the traps of substance abuse, holding onto a passion for music, and following that instead of wasting away in addiction. It’s nice to be able to actually release them together as one project, especially seeing as this journey is far in the past, I’ve been sober for 3 years now and have never been more dedicated to making music.

Tracklist:

Scars [00:00 - 01:26]
Original mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/scars

Lifestyle [01:26 - 04:02]
Original mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/lifestyle

Night-Time Writing [04:02 - 07:28]
Original mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/nighttime-writing

Elevating [07:28 - 09:26]
Original mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/elevating

Lockdown Freestyle (Tapehead Remix) [09:26 - 10:47]
Original mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/lockdown-freestyle-prod-hightop

Peace and thank you for listening. I really hope people enjoyed hearing these tracks, this EP is just the start for real, I have a lot more stuff like this in the works which will be releasing very soon.

Elevating EP

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from ‘Wrong Side Of Da Tracks Acapella’ by Artifacts

Visuals: https://youtu.be/J-sYmg7qlEk

Like the ‘Ill Street Blues’ remix I uploaded recently, this is one of the first remix concepts I put together back when I first started producing. I was too happy with the flip of the sample, and it immediately brought this acapella to mind, so I layered it on top and was mad happy with how they sounded together. Back then I didn’t focus on drums or have any real mixing or mastering experience, so it was very rough and not put together well, but the idea always shone through to me. I actually reworked this beat last year, but pitched it down and only had the Artifacts hook over it because there was so much resonance in the verses, and I had no idea how to mix vocals back then. Now that I’ve been mixing vocals for over a year it felt like a good time to revisit this one and finally do a full rework of the idea, so I decided to have the normal pitch to start and then lower the pitch for the second verse. I also went all out filtering this one, cause to me the sample always stood out for the warm vibe the low end had, and I wanted to really focus and exaggerate that by filtering and boosting those frequencies in this mix.

Original rough mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/wrong-side
2020 rework: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/wrong-side-1

Peace and thank you for listening!

Wrong Side

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0MPkVo5qM7aeSkcuuHbdUI?si=4c5bf61945f848da
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/cant-stop-instrumental/1623735419?i=1623735422
Bandcamp (HQ Download): https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/cant-stop-instrumental

Instrumental for: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/cant-stop-its-on

I deliberately waited until the start of 2022 to make this beat. I found the sample a while ago and was crazily gassed off it, there was just so much potential for layers, basslines, vocal chops etc, and the energy was just too positive, exactly the kind of motivational feel which I thought would be dope to start the year off. I really wanted to take my time to flip it properly, I chopped it up into a crazy amount of pieces to get the flow right (which I’ll definitely be showing in a behind the beat video soon). The song is actually a love song talking about not being able to stop your feeling of love for someone, but I wanted to change that and only take the vocals about not stopping, that way it can be about anything really. For me it’s absolutely about making music and staying motivated with that, but it can be about whatever anyone’s passionate about really, as long as it’s true to you and what you love to do, it's all about being focused, learning and staying dedicated.

Peace

Can't Stop (Instrumental)

MF DOOM Remix Album Out October 31st!

Lead single for the album 'Enter The Crime Side (36 Chambers Remixes)' - Out Now: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-enter-the-crime-side-36-chambers-remixes-full-album

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'C.R.E.A.M. Acapella' by Wu-Tang Clan

Visuals: https://youtu.be/yaAHlDyuSLQ
Instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/crime-side-instrumental
Crime Side Remix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-crime-side-remix
Original mix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/crime-side

It really feels great to have finally done a full length version of this remix, I always knew Inspectah Deck's verse would sound good over the second half of this beat, it really is one of my favourite verses of all time: hope people enjoy this version!  

I made this beat in February 2019. I had just spent all night in a library to meet a university coursework deadline, and got home at 6am wide awake. I thought I'd want to relax after working all night but I really felt like making a beat to celebrate I guess. It was still early in the morning and all my housemates were asleep, so I made the whole thing using headphones, which I remember being a really immersive experience. Using headphones actually allowed me to be more precise with my chops, and ever since I've always chopped samples this way. I must have chopped around 20 seconds of the track into 16 pieces, because every pad on the MPC was taken up, and from there I was able to just be creative and work out which parts I wanted to use for my flip. I had a couple of loops sequenced but this one was my favourite, so I added drums which I had chopped from a break a while ago. By the time I had mixed and saved the beat it was the afternoon, so I worked on which acapellas sounded good over the beat, narrowing it down to a couple by the end of the day. I crashed at around 10pm, and the next day I finished up the remix, choosing the acapella from C.R.E.A.M.

Peace!

Tapehead - Crime Side (Extended Mix)

MF DOOM Remix Album Out October 31st!

Instrumental Album: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-enter-the-crime-side-instrumentals

Beats, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from ‘Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’ by The Wu-Tang Clan

Visuals: https://youtu.be/sV8c50Usa04
HQ Download (Individual tracks): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tAGRIOkUcia4qS7HeRH9ZSV63GnAzE1u?usp=sharing

From the start of this year I knew I wanted to update the mix on Crime Side, thought it would be dope to have a full length remix of C.R.E.A.M. over that beat, and had been planning on dropping that on 26th July. On Monday 13th June I was trying to work out what to do as a remix for that week, and I decided to see if I could do anything with ‘Bring Da Ruckus’. That immediately got me thinking about doing a full length remix album for ‘Enter The Wu-Tang’, and the rest is history. The last month and a bit have been crazily intense but I was so motivated to get it done and each track kept me dedicated to completing it. There were times when I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to remix every track cause I didn’t want anything sounding forced, but I kept coming back to certain tracks, trying out different beats and eventually got everything worked out. ‘Clan In Da Front’ and ‘Shame On a Nuh’ are the two last tracks I worked out, and they ended up being some of my favourites off the album. Very glad I persevered and got the whole album done, it got me thinking about the future too, this is without a doubt something I will be doing again for different artists: MF DOOM, Nas, Big L, Mos Def, the list goes on. I’m very happy with how this project turned out, and think it works well as a tribute to one of my favourite albums by the Wu, which if you haven’t heard I highly recommend. Will defo be dong remixes focused on all their solo albums too. Can’t wait to release more projects like this, next one will be a MF DOOM tribute album. Peace and thank you for taking the time to listen, let me know what you think of these remixes!

Tracklist:
00:00 Ruckus
04:05 7th Chamber
08:25 Mad Deep Methods
12:06 Can It Be (Ways We Were)
16:22 Clan’s In The Front (Ways We Are)
20:31 Chessboxin’
25:33 Shame
28:53 Keep It Raw Interlude
30:59 Nuthing Ta F’ Wit
34:40 Death Penalty Interlude
36:12 Crime Side (Extended Version)
39:35 Tearz Time
43:18 Protect It’s Magnetic
47:49 Lifetime Chamber
52:45 Ojay Outro
53:46 Crime Side (Remix)

Tapehead - Enter The Crime Side (36 Chambers Remixes) (Full Album)

Track 2 off the album 'Enter The Crime Side (36 Chambers Remixes)': https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-enter-the-crime-side-36-chambers-remixes-full-album  

Instrumental: 
https://open.spotify.com/track/43VeHU1H4jUPCQxP77vMTO?si=c855505777d84718
https://music.apple.com/us/album/7th-chamber/1637200056?i=1637200058
https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/7th-chamber

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber' by The Wu-Tang Clan

Visuals: https://youtu.be/ITHInp7AHwY

I switched the beat multiple times here, wanted to match the different energies that each verse has on this acapella. I thought the boomy low end heavy beat fit the start of the track, setting the tone for that hardcore style. I thought it was then cool to go into a smoother beat, it just felt right as a switch up, and the way Ghostface's verse sounded over that beat was sick, I even added an extra layer of drums to try and emphasise how hard the flow was hitting. For ODBs verse I thought it made sense to then have an even smoother beat that fit the laid back slurry flow. 

I do think these 3 beats work well together here, have also released them separately, here's the links to them in order:
https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/sick-influences-instrumental
https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/guitar-swing-instrumental
https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/street-dreams-instrumental

7th Chamber

Rest In Peace

Roughs & Rares Bonus Remixes: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/doomsday-tribute-remixes-roughs-rares

Instrumental Album: 
https://open.spotify.com/album/73pCwiQHHv0WnZXL8bPtvA?si=tkTpBWB_SEO0AUfQIpV1rw
https://music.apple.com/us/album/doomsday-tribute-beats/1651521860
https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/album/doomsday-tribute-beats

Beats, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals by MF DOOM, MF GRIMM, Tommy Gunn and Count Bass D

Visuals: https://youtu.be/A3m2K5zpGpU

I've got serious love for Hip Hop and a real wide range of artists inspire me, but there's a special place in my heart for DOOM. When I first discovered his music I listened almost exclusively to his different aliases (and MF GRIMM) for a year straight - the year before I decided to get into producing my own beats. I really think DOOM's approach to music properly inspired me to make my own, his style is so unique it really cements the idea of anyone being able to do music as long as it's what they're passionate about. I hope people enjoy the remixes I made with these beats, always trying to pay tribute to DOOM and celebrate his legacy. Peace and thank you for listening.

Tracklist:

00:00 - Smooth Operation
02:01 - DOOMSDAY
06:34 - Dedicated To You
09:37 - Bad Dreams (Gas Drawls)
13:40 - Finest
17:59 - Hoe Tapes
21:56 - Red Morning (Gold Sun)
26:25 - Stretch & Bobbito Freestyle
29:26 - PotS*@%
33:05 - Smooth Hands
34:05 - Dead Gems (Too Good For Me)
37:05 - M I C
39:19 - Some Fancy Clown
41:25 - Ladies
44:14 - Blunted
47:14 - ? (Only We Save We)
50:25 - Voices
54:54 - Hero's Fate
56:53 - Love Rhymes (Not Dimes)

DOOMSDAY TRIBUTE - Tapehead Remixes (Full Album)

Dedicated to my brother on his 21st birthday. Thank you for really putting me onto 50 as an artist, would never have made these remixes otherwise and they genuinely are some of my favourite tracks I've ever made. To me this feels like the best body of beats I've ever made, they all feel like they're in the same world and I've always wanted to make an album which has that cohesive feel to it. Hopefully people feel similar and enjoy these tracks, thank you for listening.

Instrumental album: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-remixes-50-the-instrumentals

Deluxe version with the remixes and instrumentals up on my YouTube: https://youtu.be/QeXpOCwoRbU

Individual Instrumentals available on:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/08tJ85aJnkG3qUW5OfQ4ar?si=DKxHn4b4T2OKOXdbdft8GQ
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/tapehead-remixes-50-the-instrumentals/1681959175
Bandcamp (w/bonus track): https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/album/tapehead-remixes-50-the-instrumentals

Individual Tracks: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/sets/tapehead-remixes-50-full-album

Peace

Beats, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals by 50 Cent, Eminem, Young Buck and Lloyd Banks

Tracklist: 

00:00 I Get Money
01:17 Patiently Waiting
05:07 21 Questions
08:31 I Smell P*ssy
11:49 Gatman & Robbin'
14:59 Beg For Mercy
17:51 Ghetto Qu'ran
22:33 Just A Lil Bit
24:56 Back Down
28:04 Wanksta
31:21 Lay You Down

Tapehead Remixes 50 (Full Album)

Rhythm Roulette (Shows how I made this beat): https://youtu.be/CkQBAxAQbbY

2pac Me Against The World Remix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/against-the-world

Initially this was the beat I was the least happy with from the rhythm roulette video. Worked on it the most after the video and tweaked the flips slightly, worked a lot on the mix too to get it sounding smooth, and am defo a lot more happy with it now. 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7w3fvYTeHIyIjuEpXA5Ulk?si=9ab5116839484b5f
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/against-the-world-instrumental/1708215596?i=1708215597
Bandcamp (Free HQ Download): https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/against-the-world

Against The World (Instrumental)

One of my favourite tracks off The Infamous: loads of hard hitting lines. I knew if I was ever going to remix this it had to be a different vibe to the OG: cause imo that one is perfect: one of the best examples of a hardcore stripped back beat. 

I actually made this beat at work: I was working with some sound effects for the next play at the school I work at: and had to get some choir music for one of the scenes. I was looking through choir music on YouTube and just found this crazy one: downloaded it to use as a sound effect but I immediately emailed it to myself to chop up over my lunchbreak. Soon as I clocked off I was in my office and flipped it on the ableton push: had the ideas fresh in my head so it was pretty quick to flip: pitched up some of the chops to give the melody more variation. Did a bit of layering too: really liked the ethereal heavenly vibe of the vocals. Soon as I had the drums finished I was spitting the hook from this song over it: so I knew I had to see how it sounded. I think it blends well with this beat: the heavenly sound to the vocals goes well with the way this song talks about death in a contradictory kind of way. Not exactly sure how to describe it but it just works for me. 

Thanks for listening: defo drop a comment if you rate this one: let me know any feedback. Peace

Visuals: https://youtu.be/gMD5pvOQMtg

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Cradle To The Grave' by Mobb Deep

Cradle To The Grave

Instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/flashes-instrumental

One of my favourite Raekwon tracks and it isn't even on his own album. To me it's always been mad wholesome how all the Wu featured on each others solo albums, especially Ghostface and Raekwon, and they drop some of their best verses on each others tracks. Always rated how this track is just straight lyrics from Raekwon, dope flow and mad rhyme schemes. Also the OG beat is crazy, one of my favourites from RZA for sure. Went for a completely different sample for my remix, way less stripped back and more full sounding. I really just go with instinct on the remixes, as soon as an acapella sounds right over a beat then I just go with it, don't want to overthink it too much. Overall I thought this was a good fit defo happy with the track. Also wanted to give that one kick a lot of presence on this one. 

Hope you enjoy, thanks always for taking the time to listen, any feedback is always appreciated. Very very excited for April to come around. Peace!!

Visuals: https://youtu.be/otRufzclrYo

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'The Faster Blade' by Raekwon (off the Ghostface Killah album 'Ironman')

Flashin' Gems

Available on CD and Cassette (includes bonus track): https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/album/just-myself

Official music videos are up on my YouTube (more dropping in the next few weeks): www.youtube.com/@Tapehead

Also up on:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3b9IfhMBYhpeGgHBAlqmOE?si=sE1nRkqCQtGesU8CwymAow
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/just-myself/1736574497
Everywhere else: https://linktr.ee/tapeheadlinks

Huge love to my whole family: my Mum, Dad, Brother, Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts for all your support throughout the years before and since I started music. To both Jayu and Josie who aren't here to hear this, you continue to inspire me no matter what, all the positivity and motivation you gave me to work hard and do what I love will never be forgotten, hopefully that shows throughout this album. Huge huge shoutout to Steezy Selections for the dope jumper, and for coming all the way to the beach to get the shots for Light My Life, we've got mad collabs on the way so be on the lookout over on his instagram. Huge thank you and love to my guy Distant Cry (@user-283060156) for all the help full stop: from putting me on crazily with using Crime Side and motivating me to even take music this far: and for all the help with making the Rhythm Roulettes, plus the crazy dedication to film and edit the Raise Up Video in two days, I could go on and on listing mad stuff from you man thank you for the support for real. Peace to @hightopsfeed for teaching me everything I know about mixing vocals, shoutout to Kamaruu too be on the lookout for that project from Hightop hoping that drops asap g. Can't wait to get our collab work moving properly now I've got this album released, we got to drop a project in 2025. Huge shoutout to my brother @lemurecho and @tothenth for shooting the video for 'Words', having me perform at Village 2023 up in Leicester and for always putting me on to the craziest most inspirational hip hop out there. If I didn't perform live last July then this album wouldn't have got made so huge huge credit and thank you for putting me on and having me at the show. Got me mad inspired to make new stuff to share and test out, will forever remember that one. Can't forget Elmo The Spaceghost for shooting the cover art and the videos for the Intro, thank you for really helping me make the album a reality. Got to give props to Cass for helping me record 'I Use It For Expression' and create the 'Tapehead' soundcloud to upload it to that same day. Since then I never looked back, and I'm really so grateful for where I've been able to take it with the help of everyone, most importantly including you reading this, and everyone who plays my music on any platform from the bottom of my heart thank you for everything. I wanted to list everyone but I got scared I'd miss people out. This is what I love and what I live for, it's a real blessing to be able to release and share what I make and get any kind of feedback and support. I honestly look forward to hearing your thoughts each week when I drop something new. I did actually try and list everyone in the booklets for the cassette and CD, so if you cop that hopefully you'll see your name in there. 

Very very very happy with how this album turned out, the support for this has been so crazy I've been insanely motivated and I'm already halfway through making my next one, so until that drops, I really hope you enjoy this one. Thank you so much for listening, if you left any feedback I'll see you in the comment sections asapp, very excited to talk about this one. Peace one love!!

Produced, written, mixed and mastered by Tapehead

Tracklist:

00:00 - Intro
01:00 - First Steps
02:21 - Time's Racing
04:04 - Strife
05:55 - What Love Is
08:21 - Back To You
09:40 - Light my Life
11:21 - Going Along
13:03 - Lovesick
16:17 - Mistakes
19:12 - Words
20:53 - Clearly See
23:30 - Stressin'
26:53 - Raise Up
30:38 - Change Up
32:17 - Myself
34:14 - Realise
36:49 - Got Love
38:57 - Beginning

Just Myself [Full Album]

OG always hits so hard, especially when playing Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, track kinda comes out of nowhere and the beat is just ridiculous. Defo happy with how this remix turned out, had a lot of fun with this sample completely chopping it up and flipping into a new rhythm. The intro melody is the more conventional flip of the sample following the original rhythm, and then when the drums drop I bring in how I really flipped the sample into something completely different. Also no disrespect to Raekwon's verse at all I really rate it, just couldn't get the acapella sounding good and the flow wasn't matching my drums, so I left it out of this mix. 

Hope you enjoy, thanks for listening. Peace!

Visuals: https://youtu.be/S3M6_JKfmc4

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Ice Cream' by Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Cappadonna and Method Man

Ice Cream

Instrumental: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUO4aBcNacU

Mannn been wanting to remix this one forever. So glad to have done it, feel like this beat matches how serious this track is. No games at all with this one imo just facts. Hard to pick a favourite Nujabes track but this one is defo up there for me.

Hopefully I did it justice here.

Peace!!

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Think Different' by Nujabes and Substantial

Think Different

Instrumental: https://youtu.be/OnScaLqM0Lk?si=Z3ptd6JMS_OtTnis

Man I really do not rate the app tik tok at all, find it so weird how it works, to me it's so baitly designed to waste your time and hook you it's crazy it's even legal, especially for kids to use. That said I still post there loool tryna keep up with the times I guess but at least im not posting nonsense, I don't even have a smartphone I just don't rate them at all. Timewasters imo. 

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Tic Toc' by Lords Of The Underground

Tic Toc

Moment of Truth is such a crazy album, I love playing that version of Work in the gym, crazy motivating music. I didn't make this beat with this track in mind, but cause the sample was called 'Workin' It' by Teddy Pendergrass I thought I'd see if Guru's flow from Work fit and it acc fit crazy well imo.

Lmk what you think, peace!!

Work!

Made this one with Distant Cry in the studio, I probably would have thrown this beat away otherwise cause the sample had no bass, but he laid down the bassline easy, really made this one work imo. Of course Nas flowed over this perfect, being real I think it's fully fair to rank him as the greatest to ever do it. Just my genuine perspective. Like for real this song is insane the way he rhymes from a guns perspective, never really appreciated it before but when I was mixing this it just stood out how well he did that.

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'I Gave You Power' by Nas

Gave You Power

Mannn very proud of this one, defo one of my favourite 2pac songs never really thought about remixing it before. All Eyez On Me is a mad strong album not sure if it's my favourite by 2pac but Book 1 is defo up there for me. This remix for sure has a very different vibe to the OG, this beat is another Smiths sample, really like working with their stuff. The basslines are crazy to chop up and Morrissey's vocals are so on point for emotional chops. The whole 'see you' vocal had me thinking of this song by 2pac, and I really just hoped that the hook would be in the same key as the sample. I don't even know if it is but it sounds good to me which was gassed, let me know any thoughts on this one. Overall just crazy happy all around on this, both the sound and especially the structure of the beat, all the layers add the variation and just hits at the right moments with the way the acapella is structured.

Also I don't know how the Snoop outro goes so hard cause he's fully just talking, but to me it goes crazy, always been one of my favourite parts of this track

Peace!!

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocal from 'All About U' by 2pac, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg

About U

What's your favourite DOOM alter ego? For me it's defo Viktor Vaughn, I'd honestly say Vaudeville Villain is my 2nd favourite DOOM album full stop, Operation Doomsday is number 1 for me.

Peace!

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from Lickupon by Viktor Vaughn

Lickupon

Word Life is the most underrated Hip Hop album from the 90s imo. It's on par with classics like Illmatic. Crazy I haven’t remixed OC in over 4 years, I only think of his vocals when I make something really serious, cause he’s such a serious emcee. Beyond happy with this one, hope you enjoy too. Had a blast making it fr. One day I will remix the whole of this album and drop it as an album, defo defo possible.

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'No Main Topic' by O.C.

No Main Topic

One day I will have remixed the whole of Illmatic and then I can finally drop a full remix album, done so many over the years but there's still a couple tracks I've never done. This is one of them, never remixed Memory Lane before, happy with how this one turned out. Always been one of my favourites off the album. Of course you can never match the originals especially for Illmatic but I had fun with this one regardless. 

I actually got this sample off the soundtrack to the 1970s soundtrack to Nosferatu, did not expect to find this kind of vibe on there at all. Added the bass to give it more weight, really enjoying practicing that still.

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Memory Lane' by Nas

Memory Lane

Next album on the way!! Maybe early 2026 drop now, want to get the videos as good as I can. This is actually the first track I made for this new album, kind of the starting point cause it defo takes a big journey from here.

Filmed this vid with Distant, had the idea of using the ring light as a way to have some intense lighting to fit with the title of the track. I also didn't want to use a mask for this video, and instead managed to edit it so the contrast is way up and it kind of obscures my face that way plus with the intense lighting. Just experimented a bit with it really. Let me know what you think, I might do away with the mask but I do also want the identity to not be the focus, like DOOM says the main thing is about the music I don't want it to be about me if that makes sense. 

Anyway I'm for sure happy with this track, hope you enjoy.

Peace!!

Video: https://youtu.be/h21g5QPOII0
Bandcamp: https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/heaven-sent
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7rHKxkGxBHtqfMdszfzSuD?si=8e495ff93cf94194
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/song/heaven-sent/1843911899

Heaven Sent

I'm dropping a new single for my next album on my main channel this coming Friday 17th! Premiere will go up in a few days, you can presave it on Spotify here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tapehead1/heaven-sent

I have no idea what my favourite De La Soul album is, they all have their own flavour and stand out moments that make them classic imo. Do you have a favourite album or track from them? They defo have one of the most impressive overall catalogues of music in Hip Hop.

Peace!!

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'Big Brother Beat' by De La Soul and Mos Def

Big Brother Beats

Double X Posse are a dope group, defo pretty unkown. Both their albums are worth checking out, their debut has a really cool uptempo vibe on a lot of the tracks, very high energy. And man their second album is a must listen for any fans of the hardcore east coast sound, has a lot of beats by Lord Finesse and they go insane, especially the track 8 bars of terror.

Hope you like this remix, this is another smiths sample, pretty simple flip but added the bassline etc, thanks for listening!

Not Gonna Do It

RIP DOOM

Mm..Food has never been my favourite album of his but it really grows on me with each listen. Thought this track fit well with the hardcore vibe of this beat. DOOM tracks are so fun to remix cause of how varied and versatile his flows are.

Peace!!

Beef Rap

Next album drops 5th December!!

Music Video: https://youtu.be/4KWM3joo61I?si=svhZyk36ML4jDMgv

Peace!

Mystified

Always loved this interlude from Onyx, thought this beat matched the crazy energy. All We Got Iz Us is a top tier album imo their best one.

Peace!!

PunkMuthafukaz!!

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6XKachaRBwOjqJ4czyainZ
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/still-myself/1853294572
Bandcamp: https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/album/still-myself
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6D7yocsbN8

Thanks to Distant Cry and Hightop for everything, this album wouldn't have happened without their help and support. And thank you to everyone who listened and supported my last album 'Just Myself' - I made all of these tracks whilst releasing that album, the support and feedback motivated me so much I just had so much energy to then make these songs. Took me a while to get it all mixed and finally released, hopefully worth the wait. Definitely a sequel to that one, think it follows and continues into a more positive and focused direction.

Peace!!!!

Tracklist:

00:00 - Heaven Sent
01:39 - Reset
03:38 - Chance
06:09 - Had To
08:17 - Thinkin
09:35 - Pretty
12:12 - Listen
16:04 - Forever
17:04 - Mystified
19:34 - Masks
21:12 - Whole Lifestyle
24:09 - Eyes
25:37 - Soft & Easy
28:47 - Stop!
30:41 - Out of Time
33:24 - Execute the Vision
36:44 - Right Now

Still Myself [Full Album]

New album next Friday: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tapehead1/still-myself

Group Home's debut album is DJ Premiers best work, there I said it.

Call me crazy but the beats on that album are just another level.]

Peace!!

Serious

More Of The Raw

Yoooo 200K streams thank you all!!!!!

Debut Album Out April 26th!! https://linktr.ee/tapeheadlinks

50 Cent Remix Album: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-remixes-50-full-album

MF DOOM Remix Album: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/doomsday-tribute-tapehead-remixes-full-album

Full Length Crime Side Album Out Now! https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-enter-the-crime-side-36-chambers-remixes-full-album

Extended Version: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/crime-side-extended-mix
Crime Side Remix: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-crime-side-remix

Behind the scenes of how I made this beat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOv3jo2zljI

Thank you so much for 100K streams: happy to say that the instrumental is now out on Spotify (and other streaming services):
https://open.spotify.com/track/7E7XrsH9croPa5CCiRy0DB?si=e9841bdf0b7a4d96
https://music.apple.com/us/album/crime-side-instrumental-instrumental-single/1577843527?uo=4&app=apple+music

Beat by Tapehead
Vocals from 'C.R.E.A.M.' acapella by Wu-Tang Clan

Instrumental now available:

https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/crime-side-instrumental

Crime Side

Debut Album Out April 26th!! https://linktr.ee/tapeheadlinks

50 Cent Remix Instrumentals: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-remixes-50-the-instrumentals

MF DOOM Remix Instrumentals: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/doomsday-tribute-tapehead-instrumentals-full-beat-tape

Full Length Crime Side Album Out Now! https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/tapehead-enter-the-crime-side-36-chambers-remixes-full-album

Full length remix over this instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/crime-side-extended-mix

Behind the scenes of how I made this beat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOv3jo2zljI

Now out on Spotify (and other streaming services):
https://open.spotify.com/track/7E7XrsH9croPa5CCiRy0DB?si=e9841bdf0b7a4d96
https://music.apple.com/us/album/crime-side-instrumental-instrumental-single/1577843527?uo=4&app=apple+music

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nArcfLLPFnY
Bandcamp: https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/crime-side-instrumental-2019
Crime Side: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/crime-side

I made this beat in February 2019. I had just spent all night in a library to meet a university coursework deadline, and got home at 6am wide awake from all the caffeine I'd been drinking.

I thought I'd want to relax after working all night but I really felt like making a beat to celebrate I guess. There wasn't space for tons of vinyl and a turntable in my room that year, so I was sampling through YouTube. I can't remember the name of the sample sadly, but I know that these strings were at the start of the track and as soon as I heard them I went into autopilot and turned on the MPC to chop them up. 

It was still early in the morning and all my housemates were asleep, so I made the whole thing using headphones, which I remember being a really immersive experience. Using headphones actually allowed me to be more precise with my chops, and ever since I've always chopped samples this way. I must have chopped around 20 seconds of the track into 16 pieces, because every pad on the MPC was taken up, and from there I was able to just be creative and work out which parts I wanted to use for my flip. I had a couple of loops sequenced but this one was my favourite, so I added drums which I had chopped from a break a while ago.

By the time I had mixed and saved the beat it was the afternoon, so I cooked food and worked on which acapellas sounded good over the beat, narrowing it down to a couple by the end of the day. I crashed at around 10pm, and the next day I finished up the remix, choosing Raekwon's verse from C.R.E.A.M.

Crime Side (Instrumental)

Instrumental out now on Spotify and other streaming services:
https://open.spotify.com/track/4HXXXVWoRG9ubvDXklIvzs?si=fbfd3fedb20b446f&nd=1
https://music.apple.com/us/album/just-zone-instrumental-instrumental-single/1578517704?uo=4&app=apple+music

Remixed and Remastered.

Instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/just-zone-instrumental

Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krt3oKLg0-I&lc=Ugzs4B0w07jS99VzL8Z4AaABAg

Original upload (2018):
https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/just-zone

Memories of making this beat are mad vague and hazy. It was either late 2016 or early 2017, and I was too excited over the sample. Being a very old beat the drums were terribly done, so I've added news drums and balanced out the levels on the sample a bit better.

I've always loved how the Shootouts acapella sounds over this beat, especially this verse, so I've kept that the same, but added the chorus at the start and the end of the track. I don't know why I didn't use the chorus before, because it sounds dope, but then again I was bugging back then. The decision to put Shootouts over this beat was a dope one though, and I'm glad I've got the track to a place where it now sounds a lot better.

Peace.

Just Zone

Instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/lifetime-impression-instrumental

Beat, scratches, cuts, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Visuals: https://youtu.be/zPoxbmlxVGA
Free Instrumental Download: https://tapehead.bandcamp.com/track/lifetime-impression-instrumental

All We Got Iz Us is probably my favourite Onyx album, it doesn’t have a single weak track imo, the album is just mad motivating. I think its mad underrated too, obviously its fairly well known, but cause it came out in ’94 it’s definitely been a bit overshadowed by the insane amount of classic albums that came out that year. To me this album is a classic, one of my favourites from ’94 for sure. The singles are decently known for sure, Last Dayz being the most recognizable, but the whole album doesn’t seem to get as much love as the singles, and the whole project is a must listen to me. Putting the Evil Streets acapella over this beat was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I fully can’t believe how well the Onyx acapella fits, its truly nuts to me, and pretty rare that something comes together this well. I’m pretty sure the hook is ‘sung’ in the same key as the sample I flipped, and all the verses fit ridiculously well, but not just the flows, the voices sound right over the beat too. 

I had to go all out when I mixed this beat. The drums are all layered so thick, there’s about 4 hi hats, 6 kicks, and 6 snares which are all mixed together to give the drums a punch which definitely matches Onyx’s style. The way I chopped this sample left some vocals in for split seconds, which sounded like scratches because of them being right at the end of a chop and cut off, like how a fader cuts out a scratch when the DJ spins a record back. I thought this sounded cool but it only happened once in each 2 bar loop of the sample, so I decided to add some of my own scratches from a few break records I have. I used ‘Super Seal’, and recorded some scratches of snares and the famous ‘yo’ sample at the BPM of the beat. Layered with the drums this sounded crazy to me, it gave the beat a different vibe, I’ve definitely said before how much I love how scratching sounds, and it was cool to incorporate it into this beat in a more permanent, less obvious way, not just something for the hook. Normally I don’t like how censored acapellas sound over beats, but I think with this one it works, because of all of the scratches and cuts that play in the beat, it sort of makes the gaps in the verses make more sense as if the record was being cut up, and then sometimes the scratch/break fills up a gap left by a word being censored, it was definitely a part of what made this acapella work so well over the beat. I also layered the sample 3 times, 2 filters, one high one low, and a standard mix, which I layered, soloed etc throughout the track. This was unbelievably long to do without quantization (which is how I flipped the sample originally), so all 3 had to perfectly match each other, which took hours to sequence. I fully kept giving up but knew the beat needed the layers on the sample to really do it justice (especially the groove that’s added by filtering the lows), so I just stuck by it, and sequenced each chop individually, so I was hitting the pad at the exact right time, which ended up with the beat sequence being 30 tracks on the MPC (they’re usually 15 or so). It was definitely necessary to do this, because the contrast of the smooth flows of the low end to the scratches and samples really gives the track variation, and gives it a lot more presence throughout, definitely was worth the time and effort.

This is by far the happiest I’ve been with a remix in time, and it’s all positive, because making this has given me an unbelievable boost in energy music wise, and I’m mad excited to make the next beat, and now for the first time I’m equally as excited about mixing and mastering, because of what I was able to achieve with this one. 
Peace.

Lifetime Impression

Instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/tapeheadloops/watch-me-speak-instrumental

Beat, mixing and mastering by Tapehead
Vocals from 'One Love' acapella by Nas
Visuals: https://youtu.be/teRpSeR39VE

As soon as I’d flipped this sample I knew I was putting One Love over it. I started spitting the verses in my head and was just bugging out. In my opinion, the song is one of the greatest ever written, and this verse is probably the best minute and a half of Illmatic for me. When I first heard the song it really changed my perspective on what music could be, and over the years different aspects of Nas’s verse continue to stand out to me, what he’s talking about is ridiculously layered and complex, and the way it's done is crazily profound it's just mad. I actually wrote an essay on this song a few years ago at university, and for my research I read ‘One Love, Two Brothers, Three Verses’ by Michael Eric Dyson from the book Born To Use Mics, Reading Nas’s Illmatic, who writes “at the heart of Nas’s description is a veiled lament of the illicit lifestyle that snares young lives, not a boast of the drug seller’s gain or glory.” This is what makes the song so powerful to me, and combined with the fact that the song is structured as a letter Nas is sending to someone in prison who is powerless to do anything to change the situation just adds so much to the atmosphere and attitude of the song. Nas is speaking on how things are in the most serious, compelling and tragic way is what I’m trying to say, and its always resonated with me crazily. 

It’s a blessing to be able remix this verse, I really am thankful that the acapella was released on the official 12”. I’ve remixed One Love a few times but I’ve only remixed the 3rd verse one other time, I’m always conscious about having to do it justice. This beat’s atmosphere got me too excited though, I think it matches the seriousness of what Nas is talking about, and I only tend to put this acapella over beats with emotion. Making this beat I was completely going off of the emotion in the sample, it was actually ridiculously long to flip because I was cutting different parts of one song together. The first 2 bar loop came to me pretty quickly but it took ages to work out the next 2 bars, because I was cutting different sections of the song together, so I had to find notes that made sense with the ones I had already flipped, and continued the melody in a way that made sense musically. It took a long time but I gradually worked it out through trial and error, and I was unbelievably gassed with the melody before I had even added drums to it, which is always a good sign. The loop reminded me of the time I made the beat for Night Time Writing, almost 3 years ago now. That was also a very emotional sample, and the feeling I got when I made that beat is exactly how I felt when I put this one together, like I conveyed the exact emotion through the chops that I wanted. Overall I’m just ridiculously happy with how this beat came out, I put my whole soul into this one, and it was worth all the time and effort for sure.

Peace.

Watch Me Speak

Beatmaker / Emcee
Contact: tapeheadloops@gmail.com

<--MPC2000 Classic                     

Underground Airplay

Trying to give something back to Hip Hop - really appreciate any comments or feedback.

Peace

Tapehead

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