Austin producer BoomBaptist is finally starting to get some national (and international) recognition, but as he demonstrated with the first volume of Lost Files, hip hop production is not a new found interest. He’s been making beats for years, and as he demonstrated in the first and now second volume of Lost Files, the talent was always there.

This collection is on the shorter side, with ten tracks clocking in at just over twenty two minutes, but that just means that there’s not a lot of wasted space. He covers a decent amount of ground over the course of the album, starting things off with “Brazilian Wax,” a nice reworking to a old big band samba recording. “Evander Holyfield’s Ear” delivers on the aggressive boom bap promised by his name, and “NO! MTV Raps” takes things back to some early ‘80s R&B/funk. “Orange Soda” draws heavily on some ‘70s Bay Area funk, and with the development of the beat, is probably the best stand alone track on the record. By the time we get to the closing track, “(Gypsy) King of the Beats,” we’ve covered a lot of ground. To a certain extent you could say that the ideas don’t get fully formed, and he’s trying to be too eclectic, but I think that misses the point of this collection. I think it’s much more helpful to first listen to it as a beat tape, in which case there are really good grooves that’ll make you bob your head. Then, go back and listen to it with the idea that this was made by a young producer was still trying to find his voice. I think you’ll find that it’s enjoyable on both counts.

I don’t know how many more volumes BoomBaptist is planning to release, but I hope we get a couple more. Austin, for all the music its unleashed on the world, hasn’t given us much in the way of hip hop producers. I’m excited to see where BoomBaptist is headed, but I’m also enjoying learning where he’s coming from.