Tag Archives: solar shield

Soothing Sounds :: (iN)Sect Records Presents Usedtobe Self-Titled Release

Posted on August 31, 2021 | Leave a comment

A bit of information on Usedtobe, courtesy of our friends at (iN)Sect Records :

Chris McDowell; aka Solar Shield (Austin Boogie Crew) aka Very Rich (Growth In Decay); is now also known as Usedtobe,

Usedtobe came from long nights in art school in Georgia. I had finally gotten the Mirage to actually read the floppy discs it came with, sitting on an endless pile of sampled drums from the internet, with the DX7 and Mopho and no plans outside the house. I was digging deep into the question of ‘what counts’, with file names like isThisFunk? and maybeEnough.

His debut long-player consisting of Boom Bap 90s beats, modern funk sketches and soul flips clocking in at 36 songs and 50 minutes. At 32, he’s been making music for over half his life under different monikers. He also owns a synthesizer company called supersynthesis.com, a musical instrument design and manufacturing firm based in Austin, TX, where he was born and raised. He plays drums, bass, guitar and is absolutely blessed on the keys.

For this record, the equipment he you used: Yamaha DX7, DSI Mopho, Ensoniq Mirage, Ableton Live, the web at large.

This one is money. Check it out, support if you can, and share regardless!

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Underground Me Now

Tagged (in)sect records, abelton live, austin, austin boogie crew, chief, dsi, dx7, ensoniq, georgia, growth in decay, mirage, mopho, solar shield, supersynthesis.com, the doomsday device, tx, usedtobe, very rich, yamaha

Get Lifted :: 5-D Drops ‘On It’ Single

Posted on February 7, 2020 | Leave a comment

5-D (DoubleDeuceDuoDuplicateDeluxe) is my kind of crew. HBZ and RuDi Devino, with the help of Solar Shield on the tracks, stays putting out high quality, lyrically supercharged songs about the finer things in life : burgers, basketball, and such (usually meant to disguise the celebration of vices we all love and partake in). One topic you can always count on the guys to deliver gold from, however, is green. With Shrubbery and High already in the catalog, the crew has dropped another gem with On It, an ode to being prepared to set off (and always down to partake in) a green session. Solar Shield goes off in particular this go-round, keeping the crew’s signature high energy in his production, but reeling back on the BPMs and instead dropping a midrange speed track with tons of flourish and presence, but not so much that it drowns out the rhymes. Definitely high quality work from a high quality crew, so leave a like and a comment, and share it around for everyone!

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged 5-d, austin, chief, chief and thedoomsdaydevice, hbz, hip hop, on it, rudi devino, solar shield, the doomsday device

Fine Dining :: 5-D Drops Another Gem With ‘Burger Cheese’

Posted on November 19, 2019 | Leave a comment

It seems that variety is the wave once again in hip-hop, and luckily, Austin has a diverse selection of MCs and producers to provide us with a large variety of hip-hop locally. Local legends HBZ and RuDi Devino, collectively known as 5-D when they connect with Solar Shield, have been flexing their creative range as of late, and their latest single is a monster. Burger Cheese finds the duo dropping bar after bar about ascension and standing out, and do so by mixing in a metric ton of visual imagery and metaphor over a beat that swings way harder than it has any business doing so, and it all mixes together perfectly. This one is an earworm for sure… you’ll probably run it back a few times on the first listen, and it’ll definitely stick with you for the long run. Check it out, like and leave a comment, and spread the word about 5-D and Burger Cheese for others to enjoy and do the same.

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, Underground Me Now

Tagged 5-d, austin, burger cheese, chief, hbz, hip hop, rudi devino, solar shield, the doomsday device

Tenacious Types :: 5-D Drops ‘D-Up’ Single

Posted on August 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

Austin supergroup SubKulture Patriots may not be active these days, but don’t sleep on the individual members of the crew, as many of them continue to put in work. One of the most active members has been RuDi Devino, who along with fellow MC HBZ and producer Solar Shield has formed a formidable crew of their own, 5-D (DoubleDeuceDuoDuplicateDeluxe). Their latest single, D-Up, is a summer jam in every sense of the definition… monster beat (courtesy of the homie Mikulak), infectious energy, high-level and clever bars, and a chorus that you can sing along to that gets you as amped as the chorus originators. In all honesty, I’m hoping the cats drop a video for this one, because there are plenty of Austin beatmakers and MCs I could see making court cameos. This one is a banger for sure, so put it in your rotation, share it around, and encourage others to do the same.

-chief

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Posted in General Information, ShuffleCast, Spotlight, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Underground Me Now

Tagged 5-d, austin, chief, d-up, doubedeuceduoduplicatedeluxe, hbz, hip hop, mikulak, rudi devino, solar shield, the doomsday device