Tall Black Guy is far from being the unknown promising producer hailing from Detroit that he was ten years ago. He has become a standard bearer for the current hip hop beats scene. Through a steady stream of productions filled with incredibly clever sample flips and deft production chops, he has won fans across the world, including Gilles Peterson, Lefto, Jazzy Jeff, Questlove and countless others. We usually don’t cover artist that for one reason or another reach his status, because our small reach will be basically irrelevant for them. But Airplane Mode is too good. It’s just too good. And we have to feature it here.

Airplane Mode was created over a few years, having its DNA formed across two continents and a multitude of significant life changes. We’re talking about a sonic space, in which one of the most accomplished producers of our generation uses to highlight questions many of us frequently ask: Why am I here? Am I enough? What makes me happy? How do I move forward? What does real love feel like? Although the answers may be different for us all, Tall Black Guy’s Airplane Mode sets a conscious sonic path that the listeners use to reach their own conclusions.

Tall Black Guy leaves room for people to have their own interpretation, despite of delivering a very intimate project. He creates soundscapes to navigate, to consider, to reflect. And all of that is best achieved when Airplane Mode is played without interruptions. From A to Z. Available via Bandcamp, Airplane Mode captures the essence of so many different facades of an artist’s process.