Like, my beat 'Realist Alive' samples the song 'Hometown Glory' by Adele- it's not a weird source, but I just make it sound weird. 'I just do it for a hobby,' he told me in a recent phone interview. After making beats in his spare time in high school, he started messaging MCs on MySpace in 2007 and simply 'sent beats to whomever answered.' He's currently interning at a hospital full-time and doesn't have any big rap-producer dreams. It's an intoxicating sound that recalls singer-producer How to Dress Well's Xanex'd approach to R&B (though Volpe has never heard HTDW's music).Ĭurrently residing in Nutley, New Jersey, Volpe is the son of a musician father and started playing drums at six.

The recent mixtape highlights his signature style, which combines thick, East Coast snare and bass hits with blurry, almost-new-age-y samples. But he's been chopping drums for about 10 years, first for fun and then for an increasingly high-profile group of rappers including web sensation Lil B and Soulja Boy. If you find a mud-filled center, a possible though unlikely scenario, toss it and be glad that it didn't get into your food.Hip-hop producer Clams Casino- aka 23-year-old physical therapy student Mike Volpe- just released his first beats tape for free online. If there's a plump clam inside that smells fine, then go ahead and use it. In the rare event that a clam absolutely refuses to open even after prolonged cooking, try sliding a knife between the shells. And even when they do, in some cases they'll open just a crack and not all the way, which is fine-just pry the shells open. Some clams will take a surprisingly long time to pop open during cooking, but they almost always will eventually. So, most importantly, don't buy or cook clams that are wide open and refuse to close when prodded, because they really are dead and could make you sick. The only clear sign of a dead clam is a clam that's gaping open. A clam that's closed tight is a live clam fighting a respectable-but futile-battle.

Second, there's a bit of folk wisdom out there that claims you shouldn't eat a clam that refuses to open during cooking.

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