Equipped Music just go from strength to strength with their series of trip/hip-hop loop libraries. This latest hip-hop release, for example, kept bringing to mind classic Gangsta records like Snoop Dog’s Doggystyle , Dr Dre’s The Chronic , and Tupac’s The Don Killuminati, as well as Notorius BIG’s Ready To Die ? which can only be a good thing, though whether it’s safe to mention all those guys in the same sentence, I’m not quite so sure…



Spanning a tempo range of 85-95bpm, the drum loops exhibit a deep and easy swing reminiscent of Tupac’s ‘Live and Die In LA’ or Ice-T’s ‘It Was A Good Day’. Kicks throb powerfully, as if through a low-rider’s bodywork, while snares combine rich sustain with plenty of punch. Hats take a more background role, merging with the general vinyl patina to subconsciously support the general groove. What always impresses me most about the drums on Equipped releases, though, is their musicality ? where most other developers just seem to be programming patterns, Equipped have found the magic ingredient that makes beats sound alive and dangerous.



Certainly the drums on offer here are more than a match for Smokers Relight (which I praised back in SOS August 2007), while providing a more saturated and gritty sound that provides a useful contrast. If anything, the harder-edged feel here appealed to me personally even more. As usual, every effort seems to have been made to increase the usability of the core beat loops, from supplying various simplified versions to including a capacious one-shot section on DVD two. If this
isn’t enough, of course, the REX 2 files expand the possibilities even further, providing complete multitrack control over the mix.



Moving on from the drums, each beat has an accompanying mixed music loop replete with the kind of sultry added-note electric pianos, vinyl hits and crusty tempo-delays for which Equipped have such a reputation ? imagine a kind of scummy mash-up of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’. However, the sounds are all shot through with a consistent sweltering languor which again contrasts pleasingly with the somehow coolersounding nocturnal material on Smokers Relight. There was the odd occasion when I felt that maybe the company were resting a little on their Smokers-based laurels here, but there’s no getting away from the fact that this is still all really evocative material, with a disjointed, old-school feel that gels beautifully with the beats.



The music loops are also available in deconstructed one-shot form, and the electric piano and bass hits in particular are brimful of Roni Sizeworthy character and grime: pop half a dozen of those and a couple of the beats into an MPC and you’re laughing. As an added bonus, there’s also the best collection of vinyl-noise samples I’ve yet come across tucked away in there, so you can dirty up any other sample library to blend in seamlessly with a Premier Beats-based arrangement.



Despite the large amount of raw material included on the two DVDs (over 2GB of loops and a further 1.2 GB of one-shots, with duplication across Apple Loops, Refill, REX 2 and WAV formats), the quality is maintained at such a consistently high level that it feels like there’s no end to it. In short, I can recommend this library without reservation to anyone with a penchant for powerful G-Funk swagger. Go listen to the demos, but I’m warning you now ? once you’ve finished weeping, you’ll have little choice but to flex that plastic.