The Opus Explained
| The Opus |
| Origin: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genre: | Hip hop[1] |
| Years Active: | 1994–present |
| Current Members: | - The Isle of Weight
- Mr. Echoes
|
The Opus is an American hip hop record production duo from Chicago, Illinois.[2] It consists of The Isle of Weight and Mr. Echoes.[3] AllMusic described them as "two of the most brilliant beatmakers working in hip-hop circa 2003."[4]
The Isle of Weight (born Aaron Smith) and Mr. Echoes (born Kevin Johnson) first met while attending Proviso East High School together. In 1994, the duo started making music together.[5] The duo handled the production work on Rubberoom's 1999 album Architechnology.[6] [7]
Members
- The Isle of Weight (born Aaron Smith) - production
- Mr. Echoes (born Kevin Johnson) - production[8]
Discography
Studio albums
- First Contact 001 (2002)
- Breathing Lessons (2003)
- Praying Mantis-Plus (2010)
Compilation albums
- Blending Density (2010)
- The Opus of the Opus Vol. One (2010)
- The Opus of the Opus Vol. Two (2010)
EPs
- 0.0.0. (2002)
- Movement One (2002)
- Movement Two (2002)
- Movement Three (2002)
- Movement Four (2003)
- Movement Five (2004)
- Earthwalkers EP (2004)
- Praying Mantis EP (2010)
- The Save Me Gallery (2010)
- March of the Termites (2012)
- Man Down (2017)
Singles
- "Live" (2002)
- "Madhouse" (2004)
- "Up & Away" (2011)
- "International" (2011)
- "A Stainless Steel Xmas" (2011)
Productions
- Rubberoom - Gothic Architecture (1995)
- Rubberoom - Architechnology (1999)
- Thawfor - Where Thawght Is Worshiped (2001)
- DJ Krush - "Trihedron" from The Message at the Depth (2002)
- Sonic Sum - "Films (The Opus Remix)" from Operazor EP (2003)
- Verbal Kent - "Alien Rock" from What Box (2004)
- Eliot Lipp - "Its Time to Leave (The Opus Remix)" from Brolabs (2011)
Notes and References
- Web site: The Opus: Breathing Lessons. PopMatters. Tim. Stelloh. February 25, 2004. July 8, 2020.
- Web site: The Opus Blending Density. XLR8R. Max. Herman. March 27, 2007. July 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20131027142751/http://www.xlr8r.com/reviews/opus/blending-destiny. October 27, 2013. live.
- Web site: The Opus Breathing Lessons. XLR8R. Dave. Segal. March 23, 2004. July 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20131027065621/http://www.xlr8r.com/reviews/opus/breathing-lessons. October 27, 2013. live.
- Web site: Breathing Lessons - The Opus. AllMusic. Charles. Spano. July 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20170405230655/http://www.allmusic.com/album/breathing-lessons-mw0000318085. April 5, 2017. live.
- Web site: Creating a dark, beat-rich Opus. Chicago Tribune. Andy. Downing. January 9, 2009. July 8, 2020.
- Web site: The Opus. Chicago Reader. Peter. Margasak. February 5, 2014. July 8, 2020.
- Web site: Opus Breathing Lessons. Exclaim!. Thomas. Quinlan. March 1, 2004. July 8, 2020.
- Web site: Keeping the beat. Chicago Reader. Leor. Galil. September 25, 2019. July 8, 2020.
