This is relatively old news, but I completely missed the boat on it when it first came out, and it’s dope, so I’m posting it anyways.

14KT is a producer from Ypsilanti, Michigan.  Apparently, the beats on Nowalataz were made as a sort of tribute to Dilla.  Here’s 14KT describing it in his own words:

“Here it is… a project I unofficially had done since 2006. It started when James Yancey a.k.a. J Dilla passed that February. To cope with the death of my favorite producer, who I liked to call my unofficial “musical mentor,” I started making ‘donuts’ …uncontrollably. I never planned to release any of the material out of respect for Dilla & his craft. I’ve shared some of the music with others, in which they would repeatedly ask me to hear it, so I decided to put a little something together and make it official. JUST FOR YA’LL.This is a collection of beats created about 3 years ago. Some ‘donuts’ style, some just around that era of 14KT beats. “Now & Laters” were always a favorite candy of mine. I used to go to Mindell’s Pharmacy in Ypsilanti back in the day and buy ALL of them. Sadly, I even stole change from my grandma’s (RIP) purse for them. They are addictive, yet fun to eat… something I found mutual when making music at the time. Ironically, I fell back in love with “Nowalataz” around this era (ask my homey Sarah “Merk Merk,” haha). Enjoy.“

As you might’ve guessed, Nowalataz has a distinctly Dilla vibe to it.  Chock full of well-chopped soul samples and hard hitting drums, this LP is a regular slice of Detroit boom-bap goodness.

Download it here: 14KT – Nowalataz

Image credit: 2dopeboyz