Fresh Friday Drop #1: taeOne - Midnight

I kinda dropped the ball on this one. My man taeOne hit me up back in July about getting this album up for him and in my increasingly crazy summer, I slipped and forgot about it. I didn't forget about his music though as this freebie has been a regular on iPod all summer. You may remember the name from our Spotlight with WYDU fav, Lex of the New York Rhyme Exchange and he also remixed Lex's "Vague Clarity" album. -Trav

Album Download

Born and bred in Washington Heights, notoriously a hotbed for hip hop, taeOne first dabbled in the scene as a graff writer, roaming the streets and subway tunnels of New York's underground. After getting popped by the cops for vandalism, he got his hands on an Akai s20 and decided to use his creative energy more productively as a beatsmith.

taeOne curates a sound that captures and expands on the spirit of 90s hip hop. Naming the Beatminerz, Organized Noise, and Jay Dee as influences, no sound or tempo is off limits. TaeOne's versatility means his beats are at home in the seediest strip clubs and the finest upscale lounges.

His new album, Midnight, is dedicated to all those who thrive on the energy of the dark and eerie early hours. The calmness/ dread that nighttime brings has always been a real inspiration for taeOne musically. A lot of what made 90's golden era hip hop (Mobb Deep, Nas, Black Moon, Wu Tang) so classic was the dark sinister tone of Giuliani era New York City, especially at night. With this album taeOne expands on that tone and breaths new life into a generation of Hip Hop that is close to lost.