Swaggering and cool, RJD2’s production work is known to many more than probably realize it. He penned the tune used in the opening credits of AMC’s hit period drama, Mad Men. First emerging on El-P’s Def Jux label in the early 2000s, his beats have always been at once forward-thinking and classic NY cool—mixing samples culled from dusty jazz records, cinema scores and world music records in exciting, challenging and yet accessible ways. On 2016’s Dame Fortune, he charts a journey across hip-hop, EDM, prog rock and spacy soundscapes.
RJD2
Sat, 8pm, $20+
The Catalyst, Santa Cruz
