HayZee
Next Level
The concept for Next Level is flawless – it’s a beat tape inspired by old school 8 and 16 bit games with our hero HayZee programming every sound himself. You’ll be hooked as soon as you hit play. But don’t confuse Next Level for a cheap gimmick or stylistic exercise - HayZee has a gift for crafting fat beats and letting tunes ebb and flow that’ll keep you coming back for more. And the best part is you don’t need to worry about running out of change to feed your addiction - you can download it for free here.
If yours was a wasted childhood then you’ll know exactly what Next Level sounds like from the hours spent cracking Super Mario and Megaman. It follows the same structure with titles that take you from “Press Start” to “Ending/Reset” and a cool little motif that signals the transition from one track to the next.
There’s a nice balance between the tracks that seem to have been ripped straight from your SNES like the second part of "Orbitworks/Fireworks" and those which are more individual – like "Y3ah" or "Grimey Cutman". These last two are pretty much my favourite tracks on Next Level, with "Y3ah" recalling Ruff Draft era Dilla and Grimey Cutman doing exactly what it says on the tin with a straight-up filthy grime beat.
Other highlights include the electro romp on "Final Form" that (I assume) is the celebration after overcoming the morose "Last Boss", and the epic "Spacedoll", but it’s the attention to detail that really marks Next Level out. Everything here is in the right place, from the titles to the snares to the interludes to the synths to the artwork.
Next Level announces the arrival of a serious new talent on the scene. It’s got enough strength and character to make it on its own, but over the course of the 33 minutes Hayzee shows a range of talent that hints at greater things to come.
The twist in the tale is that Next Level comes with an invitation for MCs to lay down their rhymes over it and send them back to Hayzee. I think the highest compliment I could pay HayZee is that I’ve got no idea who could do this and get away with it – maybe MF Doom, but if you’ve got the flow to match these beats, it’d be worth hearing. The challenge has been laid down…