Small Professor is a producer from Philly who has been releasing music for about fifteen years, working with everyone from Guilty Simpson to Curly Castro along the way. He’s also made a lane for himself with his instrumental projects, most notably with his different “Jawn” releases. Last year, he started a new series of releases called the seven sins (still haunt me at night). In 2022, he’s coming at you with a wildly ambitious new project, the next (temporal pincer) movement.

For this project, Small Professor dropped a list of influences, which ranges from classic tracks like “Paul Revere” by the Beastie Boys and “Drop” by The Pharcyde to newer tracks like “LOYALTY” by Kendrick Lamar and “Neighbors” by J. Cole. He then also throws everyone for a loop by also including an episode of the podcast Heat Rocks, hosted by Oliver Wang and Morgan Rhodes, wherein they and guest Dan Charnas discuss Slum Village’s Fantastic Vol. 2. He then really throws you for a loop by ending the list with Christopher Nolan’s 2020 film, Tenet. Having not seen Tenet, I can’t really comment on how well he’s translating that movie or incorporating elements into his beatmaking, but I can take the music and all of the other influences and discuss that. The first thing to understand about the next (temporal pincer) movement is the way this project is put together. It’s structured to look like a beat tape, with a collection of short tracks, almost all under two minutes in length, but with 48 tracks in total, Small Professor is taking more of a Donuts approach to things, where all of the short tracks are sequenced with purpose and build up into something greater than the sum of the parts. Over the course of the album, Small Professor is giving a clinic on how many different directions you can go in and still work in sample-based production. As you work your way through, you’re hitting on classic boom bap, of course, but also veering off into trip hop, psychedelic, free jazz, and more. At one point, he might be toying with you as a listener by referencing a classic hip hop track with a melodic element, but the next thing you know you’re awash in backward drum patterns and layered horn samples, and you’re clearly off in a unique area, and you just have to hold on and trust that Small Professor will navigate you through this territory. As a result, it’s a listening experience best taken on headphones when you can take a break from the world and just allow yourself to get lost in this sonic world that Small Professor has created.

the next (temporal pincer) movement might not look like that much on paper, but once you begin the journey, you’ll realize just how much work Small Professor put into this project. It’s incredibly inventive and involved, taking you on a wild sonic journey that will just keep rewarding on repeat listens.