{"id":3591,"date":"2024-07-13T16:20:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T16:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heartbit.me\/?p=3591"},"modified":"2024-07-15T19:54:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T19:54:11","slug":"yo-tape-b-show-em-how-its-done-how-the-rising-bass-superstar-channels-nostalgia-through-his-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/heartbit.me\/index.php\/2024\/07\/13\/yo-tape-b-show-em-how-its-done-how-the-rising-bass-superstar-channels-nostalgia-through-his-music\/","title":{"rendered":"“Yo Tape B, Show 'Em How It's Done”: How the Rising Bass Superstar Channels Nostalgia Through His Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0Tape B<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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Tape B.<\/p>\n

Ricky Guidini<\/a><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u2019t until recently\u2014through a pandemic-spurred move home to Boca Raton, Florida\u2014that Alkanat had a lightbulb moment leading to his now-signature sound.<\/p>\n

“I was in this rut where I can make good music but I just don\u2019t 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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“It clicked immediately after I made the first three,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Yo, I\u2019m actually pretty good at making these remixes.'”<\/p>\n

Though the songs he reworks are fairly recognizable among fans,\u00a0Alkanat\u00a0adds, he chooses their subject matter based off of his own perception of nostalgia.<\/p>\n

“I always try to keep it something niche to me where no one else is remixing it,” he says.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0underbelly of his fan-favorite remix of\u00a0PEEKABOO and LYNY’s trap hit “Like That.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“I feel like I did play a part in bringing that sound back, but it\u2019s just been such an iconic sound for decades,” he explains, crediting dubstep icons Zeds Dead and Doctor P with its popularization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t much mirror that of his inspirations, it’s the curation of an atmosphere surrounding their music that inspires him. “I just think they\u2019re extremely unique; they do them very well,” he says.<\/p>\n

Another major inspiration lies behind his adored tagline, “Yo Tape B, show ’em how it\u2019s done.” He credits influential trap producer TroyBoi with the idea to split up the line and strategically place its fragments throughout his tracks.<\/p>\n

\n View the original article<\/a> to see embedded media.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

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<\/a> in the fall\u2014the largest of his career to-date.<\/p>\n

Pulling the yarn of his “Old School x New School” direction switch,\u00a0Alkanat recalls a\u00a0surreal\u00a0moment at last year’s\u00a0Electric Forest that served as a crucial validator.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When I looked out, I couldn\u2019t 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\u2014I 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.”<\/p>\n

For many fans of EDM and hip-hop alike, Tape B’s recent track “Trippy Land<\/a>,” a collaboration with Mersiv and\u00a0Juicy J, was an instant playlist staple upon release. Working with the iconic rapper,\u00a0Alkanat\u00a0says, helped to legitimize his work in hip-hop.<\/p>\n

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\u2019t want to rush it.<\/p>\n

“I want to make sure I have stuff that I\u2019m really proud of before I send a lot of my favorite rappers and influences something to work on,” he says.<\/p>\n

Other rappers he dreams of working alongside include Meechy from Flatbush Zombies, Schoolboy Q, Waka Flocka Flame and\u00a0A$AP Rocky, the lattermost of whom tops the list.<\/p>\n