by Ben Boddez

You have to love a couple of instrumental hip-hop nerds that got big enough to recruit some of their heroes. Inspired by the jazz-rap sounds of J Dilla, Madlib and Q-Tip, artists like Redman and Frank Nitt, a frequent Dilla collaborator, appear on Nick Wisdom and AstroLogical’s latest collection of smooth sonics, adding to an impressive roster of icons who have rhymed on Potatohead beats.

In a traditionally sample-heavy field, this duo actually creates all of their own instrumentals from scratch, despite the vintage vibes on display – AstroLogical calls himself a “professional excavator” of his favourite sounds of the past.