Download – The Ashtray

Direct Download link.

Even if you don’t recognize his name, chances are that you’re familiar with DJ Burn One’s work.

The mixtape DJ and producer who had a hand in accelerating Gucci Mane, Freddie Gibbs, Pill, and Yelawolf’s careers comes through with this well-put-together instrumental album.

Album trailer:

Favorite Track?

Download – “Live”

via Smoking Section.

Here’s the second leak off of DJ Burn One’s upcoming instrumental album, The Ashtray.  If you’re unfamiliar with Burn One, I suggest you watch our feature interview, as the Atlanta DJ had a hand in launching Pill’s career and jump starting Yelawolf’s.

Thoughts on the instrumental?

Download – “Bobby Cox” via Smoking Section.

DJ Burn One is gearing up to release his instrumental album, The Ashtray, and “Bobby Cox” is the first leak.  If you’re unfamiliar with Burn One, I suggest you watch our feature interview, as the Atlanta DJ had a hand in launching Pill’s career and jump starting Yelawolf’s.  Shout out to Walter Live, The Professor, and Ricky Fontaine on producing the live instrumentation for “Bobby Cox!”

Below is Freddie Gibbs and Pill’s “Do Wrong,” produced by DJ Burn One.

Thoughts on the instrumental?

A little over a year ago, Burn One and Pill released 4180: The Prescription, a mixtape that would eventually take the Pink City native to the cover of XXL Magazine and place him on the roster at Asylum Records.

Striking early this year with Yelawolf’s January first release of Trunk Muzik, Burn One contributed to the Alabama artist’s quick rise in popularity and recent deal with Interscope Records.

Now, setting his aims on more cohesive projects, rather than the average “mixtape,” Burn One plans to create a number of albums containing roughly 10 tracks where an artist of his choosing will go in over his production.

DJ Burn One recently stopped by the HipHopAtLunch.com offices to discuss being on tour with Wiz Khalifa, Yelawolf, and Jasmine Solano, how he came about hosting both Pill’s first mixtape and Yelawolf’s recent Trunk Muzik project, and what he plans on doing next.

Big shout out to WhiteboyD and DJ DIRRTY for introducing DJ Burn One to Pill and Yelawolf’s music!

I like Burn One’s strategy of releasing projects on off peak dates for the extra exposure.  I’ve often wondered why so many artists choose to drop mixtapes on the same day.  I can understand dropping an album on the same day as other artists in hopes that fans in record stores will make multiple purchases, but multiple mixtapes dropping on the same day just creates clutter.

Here are the standout tracks, produced by DJ Burn One, off of Pill’s 4075: The Refill mixtape:

Pill – “Music”

As we heard in the interview, “Music” is the first song these two created together – talk about getting off to a great start!

The motivational intro (seen below) set over a soulful sample has me coming back to this song from time to time:

“I mean, I aint got no choices,
Music is my everything,
It’s all I got,
Aint no turning back from here,
So it’s like, it’s either this or the block.”

If more people felt like that about their profession, the world would be a better place.

Be sure to also check out the other track on 4075: The Refill produced by DJ Burn One, “Coastin’.”

Freddie Gibbs – “Do Wrong” (Featuring Pill)

“Do Wrong” is one of the lead singles off of Freddie Gibbs‘ upcoming Str8 Killa, No Filla mixtape and serves as another example of Burn One’s production skills.  After our interview, he played me a few of the unreleased tracks he produced for Freddie Gibbs’ upcoming projects, and all I could comment on was the way Gibbs killed the smooth laid back production!

Stay on the look out for DJ Burn One to pop up in more music videos and mixtape covers in the near future.  Until then, be sure to check out Burn One’s website, Blvdst.com.

Marcus Krzastek Twitter: @marcusKRZ

Renaissance Gangster is a successful mixtape in many respects and is extremely focused on building two central themes.  The first is DJ Burn One’s haunting production, which accompanies every song, creating an almost ethereal backdrop for the mixtape.  The second is that Starlito is high and plans to stay high.  What makes this CD work is that those are two concepts that fit incredibly well together, with Starlito’s hazy flow mingling effortlessly with the production to create a remarkably cohesive sound.

Outside of “Alright,” which true to its sample is one of the standout tracks, “January Wright 2.0″ shows Starlito’s talent for crafting a song.  The first verse, especially, demonstrates Starlito’s effectiveness when he’s lyrically on point.

“I got bitches, they got bitches,
Some of em realer than some of these niggas,
Some of  ‘em booze, dont none of ‘em snitch,
And they fuck with me and all my homies,
Fuckin’ with me and all of my homies,
Trust me you don’t want it,
We gonna squeeze,
And you gonna leak,
And there’s gonna be a ceremony.”

Reading the lyrics alone doesn’t provide an accurate glimpse at how Starlito fits the bars into the beat, making the awkward structure work.  It’s verses like this that show why Starlito is worth paying attention to.  There are plenty of rappers with similar styles and content but very few who share his musical intuition.  Listening to this mixtape, that’s the thought that stuck with me.  Starlito just flat-out knows how to make the most of a beat and song.

Unfortunately for the mixtape, moments like the aforementioned don’t happen enough.  Starlito is sometimes too quick to coast on his talent, and a few verses come off lazy.  They’re still fine to listen to, but they don’t deliver on the promise showcased in other parts of the mixtape.  This inconsistency is what keeps this mixtape from becoming a break-through moment for ‘Lito.  Despite this, as someone who had only given Starlito limited attention previously, I’m definitely looking forward to what he comes out with next.