In the twenty-tens, if you found yourself listening to artists like Rae Sremmurd, Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne, you were in good company. So did Tape B, the barnstorming dubstep and bass music producer who is channeling the nostalgia of their timeless hip-hop to cultivate his beloved “Old School x New School” style.
Tape B’s real name is Kemal Berk Alkanat, though he’ll introduce himself as Berk since his first and middle names got switched in the midst of his move from Turkey at just three years old. Now 26, the DJ has found himself on a snowballing trajectory to superstardom.
Though his steps into electronic music’s limelight are fairly recent, Alkanat has been producing music for 10 years. That means his Tape B project was well underway at the young age of 16. But it wasn’t until recently—through a pandemic-spurred move home to Boca Raton, Florida—that Alkanat had a lightbulb moment leading to his now-signature sound.
“I was in this rut where I can make good music but I just don’t know who I am or what kind of music Tape B is,” he recalls in an interview backstage at the dazzling Breakaway Festival in Minnesota.
Through listening to dubstep from the iconic UKF channel along with loads of SoundCloud rap, Alkanat says he experienced an epiphany of sorts, deciding to remix the music he used to listen to in high school since he was home and “everything felt nostalgic” at the time. As it turned out, adding newfangled sounds to long-since popularized tracks seemed to fit what he wanted: a vibe of his own.
“It clicked immediately after I made the first three,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Yo, I’m actually pretty good at making these remixes.'”
Though the songs he reworks are fairly recognizable among fans, Alkanat adds, he chooses their subject matter based off of his own perception of nostalgia.
“I always try to keep it something niche to me where no one else is remixing it,” he says.
As his music grows increasingly popular music, Alkanat highlights another element that has become a signature: vowel bass, the deep and growling sound he endearingly refers to as “the yoys.” This slithering sound is in the underbelly of his fan-favorite remix of PEEKABOO and LYNY’s trap hit “Like That.”
Alkanat recognizes that fans are starting to associate his name with vowel bass, but he wants fans to know that he adopted the sound out of respect to its progenitors.
“I feel like I did play a part in bringing that sound back, but it’s just been such an iconic sound for decades,” he explains, crediting dubstep icons Zeds Dead and Doctor P with its popularization.
Though the seismic sound is in much of his wobbly hybrid music, Alkanat strives to keep “the yoys” on a tight leash, emphasizing that he spaces them out in music releases and DJ sets alike.
He identifies inspirations behind other Tape B sounds as Claybrook, SVDDEN DEATH, Space Laces, Getter and REZZ, among others. Though he mentions that his sound doesn’t much mirror that of his inspirations, it’s the curation of an atmosphere surrounding their music that inspires him. “I just think they’re extremely unique; they do them very well,” he says.
Another major inspiration lies behind his adored tagline, “Yo Tape B, show ’em how it’s done.” He credits influential trap producer TroyBoi with the idea to split up the line and strategically place its fragments throughout his tracks.
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Now, after filtering through inspiration to find his own clarity in his direction, it’s undeniable that he’s achieved the perfect concoction of sentimentality, novelty and in-your-face bass. And his career has progressed exponentially, recently dropping high-flying sets at Coachella and Ultra Music Festival, just two of a plethora of major appearances. He’s now gearing up for his own headlining tour in the fall—the largest of his career to-date.
Pulling the yarn of his “Old School x New School” direction switch, Alkanat recalls a surreal moment at last year’s Electric Forest that served as a crucial validator.
“When I looked out, I couldn’t believe how big the crowd was,” he reminisces with a smile. “I had prepared so well for it. I played my first song and I was immediately so happy—I was like, ‘I know exactly what I’m doing, I’m so well prepared.’ And I was so in the moment for that, and that was the day it turned around for me.”
For many fans of EDM and hip-hop alike, Tape B’s recent track “Trippy Land,” a collaboration with Mersiv and Juicy J, was an instant playlist staple upon release. Working with the iconic rapper, Alkanat says, helped to legitimize his work in hip-hop.
The track’s release also catalyzed the outreach of more artists he hadn’t even dreamt of working with yet. Despite his excitement and gratitude, he emphasizes that when it comes to collaborations, he doesn’t want to rush it.
“I want to make sure I have stuff that I’m really proud of before I send a lot of my favorite rappers and influences something to work on,” he says.
Other rappers he dreams of working alongside include Meechy from Flatbush Zombies, Schoolboy Q, Waka Flocka Flame and A$AP Rocky, the lattermost of whom tops the list.
For Alkanat, the key to navigating his rapid ascent was getting over the fear of freestyling rather than having his sets planned out. “When I freestyle it’s just so much easier,” he says. “I know exactly what I want to play… it was really just getting over that fear of freestyling in front of thousands of people.”
Knowing that freestyling led to his best work but fearing the potential mistakes that come with an unplanned set, it took some rationalizing to overcome his doubts. “Back then all I did was show up with a laptop and my controller and just read the room for four hours, and I thought I was way better back then at DJing,” he explains. “So now I’m like, ‘I was good then, why don’t I just do this in a bigger setting?'”
“It was kind of a mental battle, but now I’m very comfortable freestyling up there,” he continues, highlighting the connection it cultivates with his fans. “I think it’s more fun for the fans to just be in the moment and play what feels right.”
His approach extends even further, like in his fan-favorite “Cartunes” and “Driptapes” volumes released via SoundCloud. According to Alkanat, these mixes pay homage to his top live tracks of the year.
You may be surprised to discover that he sits down and assembles these mixes all in one go. Alkanat says he finds himself consumed by a “random manic state” as he sits down to work on longer mixes and EPs, and the spontaneity with which he changes elements.
“The ‘Dopamine’ VIP, with the Rae Sremmurd vocals over it—I made that the day before the mix came out and I’m like, ‘I think this would actually fit!’ And now it’s a lot of people’s favorite part from the mix,” he reveals with a laugh.
In the same vein of feeling and fun within his own studio, Alkanat wants to encourage a sense of community with his nostalgia-fueled music. So take it from the producer himself that his music and sets are there for your entertainment and escape—along with the occasional headbang”.
“At the end of the day, as long as everyone’s respectful, and they’re kind to each other and having fun, that’s what it’s all about,” he says. “We’re all here to get away from real-life shit and just have fun and listen to music.”
Follow Tape B:
X: x.com/tapebbeats
Instagram: instagram.com/tapebbeats
TikTok: tiktok.com/@tapebbeats
Facebook: facebook.com/tapebbeats
Spotify: tinyurl.com/mwvmuh8v