"What's goin' on? My friend Alex Belth referred me to you. I'm releasing an album on Tuesday, [July 19th] on Hip-Hop Indie label Worldwyde Recordings. I'm lookin' to submit to magazines and blogs who write about or review Hip-Hop. Let me know, if that fits what you do," read a rather interesting cold-submitted email I received Friday afternoon; low and behold, Ras Beats is a Queens by way of Denmark Hip-Hop producer and DJ who used to work alongside Esquire Classic Editor Alex Belth at DJ Premier, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, The Beatnuts producer JuJu, Lord Finesse, and Large Professor's favorite late 90's East Village record store, The Sound Library. Rasmus “Ras Beats” Jensen has been "a Hip-Hop head since discovering turntables and records, raised on the greats of the golden era, Ras' production stays true to the original sound of Hip-Hop. Dusty records, drum breaks, chopped up, and re-arranged samples" reads a fragmented chunk of Ras Beats' own Facebook Bio— qualities exemplified time and time again throughout the course of his sprawling 14-track "debut" Worldwyde Recordings full-length, CONTROL YOUR OWN.


"Growing up with a very musical father and older brother, Ras was hooked on Hip-Hop since gettin' his first taste;" CONTROL YOUR OWN houses a wide array of sharp-tongued Hip-Hop luminaries including Gangrene-affiliated emcee Roc Marciano, Masta Ace, Elzhi, Sadat X, A.G. and Diggin' In the Crates emcee O.C. Having raked up some 11,000 Soundcloud plays since being uploaded just under a month ago, Roc Marciano-helmed "Wit No Pressure" has quickly become CONTROL YOUR OWN's critically-acclaimed pseudo-lead single; although, Worldwyde Recordings mysteriously (pre-)released a double-sided 12-inch showcasing Masta Ace & Sadat X-assisted "Let It be/Survive" as early as 2011. CONTROL YOUR OWN's uncharacteristically early Tuesday Worldwyde-release was accompanied by a befittingly no frills "Wit No Pressure" performance video directed by Eddie Costas. Ras Beats is suspiciously absent throughout the majority of Costas' bare bones Queens-style treatment, however, if you pay close attention during the first five seconds (underneath "RAS BEATS") and around 3-3:05, you can see a couple shadowy split-second glimpses of beatsmith Rasmus Jensen himself.