Fatgums is a deejay, producer, and the founder of Beatrock Music, a young label out of Long Beach. He’s worked with artists like Bambu, Power Struggle, and Novelists. If you’re not familiar with any of this, don’t worry. This album works as a gateway to this scene and also holds up on its individual merits.

If you hadn’t figured out by the title, these are instrumental versions of songs Fatgums produced over the years. There’s nothing groundbreaking with the techniques or source material here, but that’s not always needed. There’s a reason that soul records are sampled and reworked for hip hop songs, and Fatgums has a good ear for source material. He doesn’t overdo anything, but does enough to make everything his own. There’s a certain warmth and soulfulness to this collection that makes it sound very intimate, and recalls Dilla.

These songs were all produced for other projects, but Gums picked and arranged the tracks well. If I didn’t know any better, I might not have known that this is a compilation. My only real complaint would be that it might run a little long, and could benefit from some trimming.

That said, this is a really solid collection. At times it’s some great chilled out music that I just want to sit back and bob my head and absorb. Then there are moments that it gets so funky that I feel the need to get up and start dancing. It’s a good time record that never disappoints.