SNES BEATS VOL 1 & 2, Super Nintendo inspired hip hop remixes from Bknapp

One album of chill hip hop videogame beats deserves another. Illinois beatsmith BKnapp dropped back to back albums of SNES inspired beats. I have personally put these beats to the Mario Kart test. For the uninitiated, the MK test is simply, if I toss these beats on, and hit the online in the latest Mario Kart, how much ass do I kick?

Well much ass was kicked over the half hour of BKnapp beats I listened to.

The first beat tape collects classic music from Donkey Kong Country 2, Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, and Super Mario World 1 & 2. Excellent but not overbearing use of in game sound effects keep the original source of these memorable tracks firmly in mind. Every track holds its ground on the album and all are worth a listen.

The "Legend of Zelda - Select Screen" remix is a definite stand out, considering it is based on the Fairy Fountain theme, AKA best song in Zelda history. The beat takes the soothing melody and drops some up tempo drums and adds a few of those aforementioned SFX. It creates a juicy clip of music that I would love to hear an MC spit over, or at least a clever mashup.

BKnapp's second album of SNES BEATS gathers a wider variety of games, adding Super Metroid, Chrono Trigger, Mega Man 7, and the original DKC to the collection. The Super Metroid beat, "Red Soil" is absolutely delicious. The ominous Metroid track pairs perfectly with the deep bass synth to get that deep dark inner cavern vibe going.

Both albums are available for streaming and free download on the BKnapp bandcamp page.