Corry BanksIn the early dawn of the hiphop Internet hustle, you know post “dot-com bubble”, there were no myspaces, twitters, facebooks, instagrams, iClouds or soundclouds. Emcees and Producers huddled up in forums and chat rooms, still relying on printed magazines like the Source and XXL for their monthly dose of whats hot in the world of hiphop music and culture. Mixtapes were actually real cassette tapes. DJing required the hauling of crates and crates of wax and real turntables. Being a beat maker / producer was a bit of an exclusive club and it meant that you had actual gear such as an MPC, SP1200 and/or a synth workstation of some sort in your possession with which to bang out beats.
This was a time when MP3s were literally reeking havoc on the music industry. In this era an indie hiphop record company named SOULSPAZM RECORDS birthed a little known website called BeatSociety.com. On BeatSociety.com beat makers / producers were given a forum to display their work and contact info for collaboration opportunities.
Eventually this turned into a pioneering beat makers show case. The Beat Society showcases featured the who’s who of production today. Cats like !llmind, Hezekiah, J Rawls, King Britt, Kanye West and 88 Keys all eventually rocked at Beat Society.
Earlier this month I had a chance to chop it up with Jim Drew, President of Soulspazm, Inc. and co-founder of Beat Society. In our discussion we touched on Beat Society’s early days, future plans for Beat Society, Soulspazm, legends like Dilla and Pete Rock, up and comers like IMAKEMADBEATS.
Either listen via youtube here…
Or listen to the Audio Podcast Interview via soundcloud below.
Reach out to Beat Society below
