I first learned of Bristol producer Awkward through his contributions to Open Mike Eagle's Art Rap Party. Amidst a list of famed L.A. producers that included Alwayz Prolific, Maestroe and Exile, Awkward measured up to his contemporaries to share the glory on one of 2010's finest solo records. Despite being across the pond, he linked up with Los Angeles based Machina Muerte records, becoming an integral producer in shaping the camp's sound.
Awkward dropped his solo on Machina Muerte entitled Grand Prize yesterday. I expected Grand Prize to be an instrumental excursion featuring intermittent contributions from MCs, but it turns out Awkward is a producer-on-the-mic. To gather further insight into Awkward's west-centric beat vibes check out “Build Lights” in our player and download the preview mixtape, which includes a couple songs from the album, including the bugged-out “Rare Form” that features Awkward trading bars with Isaiah Toothtaker.
A little birdie told me Awkward is working on collaborative albums with Open Mike Eagle and Machina Muerte artist Alex Pathetic, both of which should be the new dopeness in 2011. Stay tuned.
Get Grand Prize here.
