Gensu Dean

Texas-based beatmaker Gensu Dean (aka Eddie Alexander) has managed to stay under the radar despite being highly prolific and working with dozens of well-regarded hip-hop artists since the '90s. An avid record collector, he utilized an SP1200 sampler to hone his production style, which recalls legendary New York beatsmiths such as <a href="spotify:artist:6GEykX11lQqp92UVOQQCC7">DJ Premier</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:01nVIuD8YZsnFH6x6Cc9rX">Large Professor</a>. Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, he first appeared in the late '90s, producing tracks on Grey Skies, the sole full-length by <a href="spotify:artist:7jFaoqWPhYLrKzjzlpXmUO">David Banner</a>'s early group <a href="spotify:artist:4uPI1ODsyrhne86KYLAXC8">Crooked Lettaz</a>. From there, he relocated to Dallas and built up a sizable résumé, producing tracks for <a href="spotify:artist:2WSnJlJ0uGTjye4jGSN1GG">Lord Jamar</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7fDLDq2weBagiAFD2j17Al">Sadat X</a> (both of <a href="spotify:artist:3YyZFf9ZN2YbkqeZia8zHX">Brand Nubian</a>) as well as remixing <a href="spotify:artist:6KlvHf09XcDPOu6jV6r8Ro">CL Smooth</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:50NoVNy9GU1lCrDV8iGpyu">Ol' Dirty Bastard</a>. Dean collaborated with <a href="spotify:artist:01nVIuD8YZsnFH6x6Cc9rX">Large Professor</a> on the 2010 single "Forever," and released his debut album, Lo-Fi Fingahz (featuring guests ranging from <a href="spotify:artist:3P1ULKxhVEpywj0hogWT44">Count Bass D</a> to <a href="spotify:artist:5X0V59ipZnbvnubW0rQVri">Roc Marciano</a>), on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Mello+Music+Group%22">Mello Music Group</a> in 2012. He then collaborated with Planet Asia on the 2013 full-length Abrasions, followed by the Dice Game: Shaken EP (with <a href="spotify:artist:0Zji66LHK0QCC8AUMuyp3h">Guilty Simpson</a>) in 2014. His instrumental beat tape Algorhythms was released in 2015. In 2016, Dean teamed up with <a href="spotify:artist:6o8VpmZLTJZfFUQhKCDYoZ">Denmark Vessey</a> for the full-length Whole Food. Later in the year, he released the solo album RAW, which featured guest appearances from <a href="spotify:artist:2RdnkH5txHb9c4vGwq0I31">Georgia Anne Muldrow</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:1YypK4ExBm4UY1TRAOur8M">Diamond D</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5bb5uytW59wDF0gpv8iQbE">J-Live</a>, and many others. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi