Funkmammoth is a producer from Ames, Iowa how has been putting out music for a couple of years now. His last release came last December, when he dropped his album Night Shift. Now he’s come back with a beat tape tribute to the Midwest, Pride of the Prairie.

There’s not real secret to Pride of the Prairie. This is a beat tape that is built off of soul samples from Midwestern artists, and it’s good. It stays at a midtempo groove for most of the tape, and Funkmammoth is able to create some good hooks and memorable melodic moments from flipping the samples he uses, and he’s able to make them his own. It might lack a true stand out moment, since there’s nothing too unusual about what he’s doing, but at the same time, there’s no weak point either. This is a beat tape that sounds great on a sunny day, where you can just get lost in the grooves as you walk around and take in the sunshine. Where Funkmammoth is able to add some interesting elements to the proceedings is when he sneaks in some spoken clips here and there, just giving you some food for thought every once in a while. It’s like he’s asking a rhetorical question, and then just throwing on some great boom bap while you chew over how you might answer the question.

Pride of the Prairie might not be the standout beat tape to blow you away at first listen, you also can’t deny that Funkmammoth is doing a good job of rocking these midtempo beats. The grooves are good and enjoyable, he just needs that extra push to make his project stand out amongst a crowded field of instrumental producers. I don’t know what his next project is going to be, but hopefully it will have that extra element to spice things up and take his music over the top.