Apollo Brown Rhythm Roulette Beat Session By Mass Appeal

Prior to the sampling and chopping, Apollo Brown first payed a visit to the Record Graveyard in Detroit for blind crate digging. With several funk and gospel records, the process began. In particular, Apollo worked with a Lucille Pope record and the use of drums to compose a beat that’s spontaneous and original. Apollo’s sampling style is reminiscent of the boom bap era of hip hop music, and is a testament to the influence of hip hop legends such as Pete Rock, J Dilla and DJ Premiere.

Apollo Brown produces for Mello Music Group and has had the opportunity to work with cats such as Ghostface Killah, Planet Asia and Ras Kass, to name only a few. He’s had multiple collaborative albums reach Billboard’s R&b charts and has recently released an album entitled “Grandeur” in September 2015. The album features artists such as Barrel Brothers, M.O.P., Masta Ace, Oddisee and Rapper Big Pooh. Be sure to look out for Apollo Brown on Big Noise Radio, his tracks are in full rotation on the station.

Published in July 2014: Apollo Brown “Rhythm Roulette” Produced by Mass Appeal, Released by Mass Appeal. On this episode of Rhythm Roulette, we travel up to “The D” to meet up with the King of ’97 Cool Edit chopping, Apollo Brown.

Artist Bio via Facebook: Apollo Brown is different than most producers. He grew up on the Seals and Crofts – not the Isley Brothers – version of “Summer Breeze.” Born into a bi-racial family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his early influences skewed more toward the music of Journey and The Carpenters than the urban genres his peers often cite as inspiration.

This is not to say that once hip-hop came into play, Apollo wasn’t all in. Just as easily as he can praise the virtues of yacht rock, the 29-year-old beatsmith can name personal heroes… Gang Starr, Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Nas, and Black Moon, from the early 90s period in which, for him, beats and rhymes became life.

In 2009 Apollo won the Detroit Red Bull Big Tune Championships and competed in the national finals. He then signed as a producer with the Mello Music Group in December of 2009. Apollo’s credo is simple: “Everything I make, I try to make it my favorite album of all time.”. 2010 is the year in which he stakes his claim to make Apollo Brown a household name.

Beat Making Tip: When making Detroit style hip hop beats, the type of drums you select and the drum patterns you program are critical. Selecting proper samples also plays an important part in the sound. 1970’s black film soundtracks and/or soulful samples tend to work well. To update or modernize the sound of your Detroit hip hop, try adding neo-soul organic timing to the top end of your drums. If you are someone looking to perfect the Detroit hip-hop sound as a beat maker or music producer, Big Noise MPC has the resources you need to deliver the goods. Video tutorials, hip hop drum samples, soulful sound packs and a niche collection of analog audio gear. All part of the select offerings designed to help you achieve success. Quality that sets you apart from the competition.