Sharp.

The Puerto Rican/Dominican beatsmith discovered Hip-Hop early on as the airwaves served as hubs for legends like DJ Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Pete Rock and Marley Marl, and the late Mr. Magic. The avid baseball fan found that roaming Fordham Road gave him unlimited access to the music that informed his youth. The late 1980s opened new levels of participation in Hip-Hop for a young SHARP, first as a dancer and DJ for his fledgling Hip-Hop group. As the 1990s rolled in, SHARP opened the next chamber of his artistry by creating pause tapes for the group while learning the finer points of crate-digging, sampling, and music production. Under the tutelage of former MTV VJ K.K. Holiday in the mid-1990s, SHARP’s grassroots foundation was upgraded significantly, and a move to Atlanta proved fruitful as he worked within a production team that shaped the early sounds of Ludacris prior to his major label deal with Def Jam. After the turn of the century, SHARP continued to perfect his sound via the MPC3000 and later studying at Florida’s Full Sail University, earning a degree in music production. While in the Orlando area, SHARP crossed paths with one of the region’s sharpest lyricists in MidaZ the Beast, forming the “steel sharpens steel” partnership that exists today. SHARP’s debut instrumental album, THE THUMP COLLECTION, arrived in 2010 and the following year a DJ residency in Central Florida opened the pathway for the producer to dive into music full-time. In 2012, SHARP and MidaZ released the LOOPS album, an acclaimed collection of razor-sharp verses and well-honed production that garnered the attention of tastemakers and listeners, including The Alchemist. SHARP credits !llmind for expanding his technique beyond sampling, taking the celebrated producer’s suggestion to study music theory and work outside his traditional confines. Prior to this meeting, SHARP relied on samples to create his sound​ and the creative shift added layers to his formidable strengths. SHARP’s ever-curious approach to music and production inspired him to create original sounds and rely less on the dusty crates of his youth. This gave way to working with an agency that placed his productions across various networks such as Viceland, HBO, ESPN, and Nike. Even with his professional advancements, SHARP remained true to his core as a sound provider for artists that embodied the drive and hunger he too shared. Most notably in 2016, Long Island’s Hus Kingpin enlisted SHARP to remix a track from the Wave Lord’s HOKTRE project. In addition to MidaZ the Beast, several artists that have since commissioned dubplates. Queens veteran Tragedy Khadafi, Mount Vernon legend CL Smooth, Washington, D.C.’s yU, Michigan wordsmith Willie The Kid, prolific Atlanta bar warlord Tha God Fahim, and Hus Kingpin’s compatriots in Smoovth and ROZEWOOD are among a number of satisfied sonic partners. The sound of SHARP defies definition as the nuances present in his work are numerous. At times mood-shifting and melodic, SHARP isn’t simply a producer who shapes sounds. He is a prime example of how “the Bronx keeps creating it” at a high level. by D.L. Chandler