Wuki has delivered Beats I Can’t Release Vol. 1, compiling bootlegs and remixes that have become social media phenomena.
Grammy-nominated producer and DJ Wuki aka Kris Barman has built a global fan base around his hard-hitting mashups and viral flips. Started as a series on Instagram and TikTok, Beats I Can’t Release Vol. 1 has now been produced into its very first mixtape.
Built on the backs of 200 tracks to date, with view counts in the multi-billions, the mixtape seamlessly flows together in a way that only the mind of a madman could concoct. Because of copyright boundaries, almost none will ever make it to release. Longtime fans of his Wukileaks releases on SoundCloud can attest that it was this same eclectic style that helped jettison his career.
“This is about freedom,” said Wuki. “I make music because I love the feeling of creating something that surprises me — and I think fans can feel that. Beats I Can’t Release is me having fun again, and that’s what this whole thing is about.”
Diving into the mixtape to better understand the mad lad, one finds Abba‘s “Dancing Queen” mashed up with Khia‘s “My Neck My Back” to create a new disco bop. He also included a Venga Boys VIP edit of “We Like to Wuki” that curiously complements Juvenile and Soulja Slim‘s “Slow Motion.”
Wuki rounds out the mixtape with a series of remixes: Notorious B.I.G.‘s “Big Poppa,” FISHER‘s “Take It Off,” Georges Bizet‘s “Habanera,” and Black Eyed Peas‘ “My Humps.” All are ludicrously fun. Somehow, Offenbach‘s “Infernal Gallop” with Big Sean‘s “A$$” hits time after time.
“This series started because I had all these ideas that couldn’t make it to Spotify or Apple Music — but they were too fun not to share… It’s become this ongoing outlet where I can experiment, reconnect with my roots, and make the kind of wild edits I grew up loving. It’s honestly some of my favorite music I’ve ever made.”
Wuki
Wuki’s still been tearing up the charts with what he can release. Last year, his track, “Sunshine (My Girl),” garnered over 600K social media engagements, 1.5 billion views, and 100 million cumulative streams. His latest release, Ring Of Fire, brings Jonny Cash’s classic into the 21st century with a hefty bassline, but also the sonorous twangs of the original into breaks. He also has a track with Lee Foss titled “IDFWU,” from Big Sean and E-40‘s “I Don’t F*** With You,” and all are featured in the mix.
A title like Beats I Can’t Release Vol. 1 invariably means Vol. 2 in this series of genre-hopping cavalcades of sound will definitely not be too far out on the horizon. This is Wuki at his most raw. The unfiltered, creative earworms for which he has become so well known can only mean more madness is to come.
