Extra Medium x Zaki Ibrahim – ‘Extra Medium’

Extra Medium is a production duo (Buscrates 16-Bit Ensemble and Sam Champ) that came up together in Pittsburgh, PA, digging for vinyl at Jerry's Records and chopping samples in an effort to outdo one another. The friendly competition continued after Sam relocated to Brooklyn in 2001. Buscrates now plays keys for boogie-funk group East Liberty Quarters (ELQ) and lives in Atlanta. Sam has held down various DJ residencies in New York City, released a massively popular D'Angelo Live mixtape in conjunction with Okayplayer, and produced an unofficial remix album featuring D’Angelo, Erykah Badu, Usher, and others. He now lives in San Francisco. This is their first official project together.

The concept for the EP and upcoming album is that the foundation for every song is based on a single sample source: a particular jazz record that's neither rare nor well-known, outside of a handful of producers. The tracks were compiled over the course of several years. And what began as a friendly two-man beat competition grew into a full scale project that includes over a half dozen MCs and vocalists, an executive producer (OP! from I Love Vinyl), and a Philadelphia-based record label (Record Breakin' Music). The EP will be available both digitally and as a limited pressing 10". It includes three tracks from their upcoming album release and an instrumental that is exclusive to the 10”.