• Courtesy
• G Hanz, SUPLEXUS

(Self-released, digital)

Instrumental hip-hop is not a hugely lucrative line of work. Even some of the biggest names in the business are earning a middle-class income at best. Making beats, then, is largely a labor of love, a subculture full of fanatics. Plattsburgh, N.Y., producer G Hanz is a proud part of that subculture, and his latest project, SUPLEXUS, is proof. Densely referential and grounded in a long tradition of sound wizards flipping samples and drums, the album is his best yet.

Plattsburgh has been having a minor hip-hop renaissance in recent years, spearheaded by the work of the Joint Commission, an extended crew with whom G Hanz has been collaborating. His previous instrumental LP, The Streetlight Era, was an ice castle of synth sequencing and planet-size trap drums. Which is to say, highly enjoyable — but also very different from SUPLEXUS. Everything still sounds huge, but this is a return to the roots, a collage of chops and loops that's full of nods to the greats who influenced his style.

How the album was made is most likely only of interest to fellow producers. To everyone else, all that matters is whether the beats are hitting. The verdict: This man is a top-tier technician, and if you enjoy the genre, his work is very much worth your time. This is a bright, fast-moving and engaging playlist — and an unusually accessible beat tape.

That's not to say G Hanz is playing it safe. He's a big fan of jarring transitions that still somehow work. There are some audaciously sharp turns on SUPLEXUS, but the producer is a confident composer with a big range. Opener "Head Case" is some bruising filth that sounds like El-P making a beat for Cypress Hill. It crashes into the colorful and laid-back "Eye Spy," and then things get even smoother on "Speak Easy," a tripped-out pop song with an R&B intro and a trap outro.

Not only is the sequencing surprising, but everything is layered with vocal samples and flamboyant effects work. This is a carefully considered album, a proper listening experience rather than a collection of beats without rappers.

The unifying thread here is twofold. First and foremost, everything bumps. SUPLEXUS sounds superb, from my headphones to my studio monitors to my badly beaten car stereo. Second, G Hanz has an educated melodic ear that sets him apart from most of his peers. No matter which subgenre he takes a detour into, it's a genuinely musical arrangement — and catchy, too.

I hope this latest beat tape gets G Hanz the attention of artists far afield from the Champlain Valley. His product is impressive and his potential is immense. With two back-to-back heaters under his belt in the past year, he's clearly just getting started. His competition may not be able to ignore him by this time next year.

SUPLEXUS is available on SoundCloud.