A producer almost a decade into the game, levitatingman’s work carries a serious legacy. An initial glance at his production credits will tell you that he’s worked with some of the most vital underground artists of the past 7 or 8 years, and his skills are only growing with each passing drop. I’ve caught up with him on this blog before, but I wanted to take the time to really highlight some of the distinguishing moments throughout his career and evaluate his current place in the scene.
Perhaps his most well known credit, Black Kray’s ‘Ending Prayer Goth Luv’ is a victory lap on a project packed with amazing beats. The mournful yet triumphant horns worked into the beat harmonise beautifully with Kray’s funereal singing, making for one of his most epic closing tracks ever. This was 7 years ago and levitatingman’s production style has evolved immensely since then, but it was an important jumping point for a talent that rightfully recognised from the very inception of the era we now recognise as SoundCloud’s golden age. Goth Money’s association with the producer didn’t end there, as we later heard him on Marcy Mane’s 30 K Diamonds and Tears album. Here, the atmosphere that is now associated with his sound comes to fruition, ghostly synths swaying ominously behind skittish percussive patterns. In the early part of the decade, levitatingman’s intensely detailed work was largely utilised by more melodically-inclined rappers (a trend largely kickstarted by such valuable Goth Money cosigns).
Underground legends continued to form working relationships with the producer. Rozz Dyliams (who briefly lived with the producer and contributed significantly to exposing his talents to the scene) hopped on many a levitatingman beat to deliver his characteristically gruff, post-punk-influenced vocal style (‘Murican Banstan’ is my favourite of these), while Chxpo became one of the first artists to tackle his beats in a more technical manner. At this point the beats began to sound much more cybernetic in sound, which led to a set of killer collabs with Sub9K in the form of the I Am Sora EP. His productions didn’t lose an ounce of detail however, as on songs like Drippin So Pretty’s ‘Baby Wrist’ the cloudiness of his beats had never been denser. A good example of a happy medium between the subterranean menace found on Sub9K’s ‘Hold Me Down’ and the serenity of something like Alvin Abyss’ ‘Ride 4 Me’ is Cowboykiller’s ‘Work X3’, a track as tense as it is gate-bustingly powerful.
One of levitatingman’s most key collaborators and one of the artists with whom he seems most dedicated to building a sizeable discography with is Lil Xelly. On their newest collab ‘Walk’ the duo have delivered a perfectly wintery trap banger. The frost-tinged production bristles beneath Xelly’s bellowing raps, making for ideal listening material in these harsh months full of hardship and frustration. It is key to note that I have gone through this entire article without mentioning the artist’s beat tapes (which can be heard here), as well as the many equally talented producers that he has cooked up tracks with. Forever a staple of the underground scene, levitatingman is deserving of immense respect. Buy a beat from him, and be thankful that such a great generational talent are as down to earth and headstrong as he is.
Check out a playlist of levitatingman productions on his SoundCloud below. Follow him on Twitter here.
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