Da Beatminerz

The production team known as Da Beatminerz came together in the late '90s to rejuvenate hip-hop with their purist aesthetics, which looked back to the genre's pioneering New York-based producers rather than the contemporary synthesizer-based sounds that were suddenly becoming the norm. The five group members, led by brothers Dj Evil Dee and Mr. Walt, honed their beat-making skills individually before joining forces and crafting the collective's trademark "boom bap" sound: an emphasis on the bottom end, the bass lines, the hard kicks, and the snares. The collective's breakthrough came on their debut album for the prestigious Rawkus label in 2001, Brace 4 Impak, making them one of the few production-based acts in hip-hop to release an album under their own name. Like their contemporaries -- Hi-Tek, Jay Dee, and Pete Rock -- they left the rapping to a disparate, yet impressive, roster of their hometown's finest.



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