http://ohdratdigital.com

Soul is a term that a lot of producers seem keen to have associated with their music – browse any repository’s soul section and you’ll find a glut of music that… well, isn’t soul.

When Boonie Mayfield calls himself a Hip Hop and Soul producer he means it in the truest sense

We’re not purists per se, but I do think it’s a bit of a stretch to call hip hop beats with soul samples soul. When Boonie Mayfield calls himself a Hip Hop and Soul producer however, he means it in the truest sense of the word. Black Koolaid features 23 cuts, three of which sound like they’ve been pulled straight off old Buddha and Stax instrumental sessions. For my money they’re actually the strongest points of the LP, but that’s not to discount the other 20, which are slices of neck snapping prowess with a definitely Detroit sounding bent. Filtered chords, rimshots and fingersnaps are the order of the day, but there’s enough variation to ensure things stay interesting throughout and with Black Koolaid’s pay-what-you-like price tag, there’s very little reason not to give this a chance to woo you.

Available directly from booniemayfield.com, take a look at a video performance from the launch party below – and we’ll have an exclusive interview with Boonie on Oh Drat next week, so stay tuned!