( Album Art from official Black Koolaid Album)
Hip-hop and neo soul producer Solomon Vaughn, A.K.A. Boonie Mayfield or Boon Doc really outdid himself with his recent release of music. His long awaited debut instrumental album “Black Koolaid” gained a lot of attention throughout both the hip-hop and r&b scene. Boonie was one of the first producers to use Youtube as a platform to share his music. He makes videos showing each step he made in producing each track. From the drums to the synthesizer, Boonie walks you through the process of making of each creation and while playing difficult chord progressions and drum patters, he somehow makes it look effortless. So, when I downloaded his album I had high expectations based on the music I heard from him previously. Upon listening to “Black Koolaid” I can fairly say that I got what I expected and more.
Boonie is amazing at giving his music an authentic and realistic feeling even though most of his music is produced through programs on the computer. In fact, if nobody ever told you that Boonie uses a computer for most of the records on the album, I think many people would have no clue. The album is very dynamic from beginning to end. Boon Doc uses a mixture of fast, or more up-tempo songs along with slower ballad type instrumentals. His use of technology is vital to his production. For example, If he hears a certain drum sound from an old record that he likes, he can cut that drum sound out and use it on his own songs. This would not be possible if it were not for the technology we have today.
Throughout the songs, it is clear that technology played a major role. Boon Doc adds drops, where the music suddenly cuts out or sounds like a record has stopped spinning, and dj effects to add to the dynamics of each instrumental. The number one reason why technology is such a huge part of Boonie’s music is because it frees him to make music from the comfort of his own bedroom. No longer do producers have to go to multi-million dollar recording studios in order to create their art. This allows smaller, and more unknown producers such as Boon Doc to create a name for their selves; not to mention his use of video and Youtube gained virtually his entire fanbase.
One song I liked in particular was a song called “Mario’s Revenge”. In this song Boonie brings a unique spin to the classic Mario game sound. Throughout the song, which is in stereo of course, boonie uses panning to add effect to the music. The sound bounces from left to right while fading in and out. Without the use of computers, this would not be possible. In this case, I think his use of technology greatly enhanced the overall sound. Boon Doc, in my opinion, has set the standard for computer-produced music.
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