soulja boy

A lot of people have said that hip-hop is dead. With songs like “Turn My Swag On” and “You’re a Jerk” topping the charts and artists like Soulja Boy and Gucci Maine ruling the radio, who can blame them? However, there are quite a few artists out there who are revitalizing hip-hop and making it a respectable genre once again. Working right alongside these artists are some amazing producers, young and old, who are helping these artists bring hip-hop back. We’re going to introduce you to some amazing upcoming producers who we believe are the future of the game. Today is volume 1 which features one of our personal favorites, Xaphoon Jones.

1. Xaphoon Jones

Not many people would expect a white boy from Philly to become one of the best new hip-hop producers out there, but Xaphoon Jones is perhaps the most exciting figure in the future of hip-hop production. Working both in his band, Chiddy Bang, and as an individual DJ, Xaphoon has some incredible skills when it comes to music manipulation. Just listen to “I Wanna Know Now” off the Xaphoon Jones Mixtape Volume I in which he mashes up MGMT’s “Kids” and Bob Marley’s “I Wanna Love You” so perfectly that it’s scary.

For some of his crazy beat-making skills, download Chiddy Bang’s The Swelly Express mixtape. Listen to songs like “Danger Zone” and “Now U Know” and you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about. Even though Xaphoon can conjure up some crazy beats, his best attribute is his incredible ability to build a song around almost any type of sample. Using samples from artists ranging from Passion Pit to Kid Cudi to Sufjan Stevens, Xaphoon incorporates them in ways you’d never imagine and works them seamlessly into his signature hip-hop/electronic style. If you plan on following hip-hop in the future, Xaphoon Jones is definitely a name you’re going to want to remember.

Xaphoon Jones- I Wanna Know Now (Bob Marley x MGMT)