Fingertips

iTunes Review

Already well-known to longtime followers of New York hip-hop, Ayatollah is a dope producer who still makes beats on his trusty MPC, favors lush samples over squeaky clean electronics, and has composed classic tracks for a virtual who's-who of NYC all-stars, including Mos Def, Sean Price, and Ghostface, among many others. He is also one of the few producers who drop instrumental albums on a regular basis, and Fingertips is the latest edition to a lengthy discography that includes nine official releases in just the last five years. "Listen to This" is a mellow number that subtly samples a much-loved track from the Doors, "Plain As Day" fuses chopped vocals, hypnotic piano riffs, and freaky panned beats, while "Could Be Him" adds bold horn blasts, exotic female chanting, and understated drums to the mix. Some of the tunes here could definitely get rocked over by aspiring MCs, though most of them stand up just fine on their own; funky but unobtrusive background music for hip-hop heads, akin to likeminded offerings from X-Ray, Madlib, and Count Bass D.