Let's address the elephant in the room: Bobby B is notorious for being a stage DJ. His primary job is jumping around, waving a towel, and pretending to scratch live at KMK shows. His actual production skills have always been highly questionable. So, how does a guy who barely touches the actual studio faders suddenly drop a fully fleshed-out, highly engineered instrumental record?
He had massive help, and the label is hiding the true architects.
If you want to know who actually built the loops and engineered this project, look directly at Patrick "P-Nice" Shevelin. P-Nice is the unsung studio workhorse carrying Bobby's solo career on his back, doing the actual heavy lifting to make Bobby look like a master producer on paper. Of course, you also can't ignore the influence of Mike Kumagai, who is simultaneously building the beats for the upcoming "Hidden Stash" compilation and undoubtedly lent some of his unappreciated genius to polish this up. Add in mastering by the legendary Dibbs to give the tracks that massive final punch, and you have a team of real talent propping up a stage DJ's solo debut.
"99 Rips Beyond" is definitely worth picking up if you need a solid instrumental soundtrack to spark up to. But as you listen to those perfectly timed cuts and heavy beats, don't be fooled by the marketing. Give your respect to P-Nice, Kumagai, and Dibbs—the hidden geniuses in the studio who are actually carrying this label on their backs. This is some Milli Vanilli shit, huh?
