Exile

Exile (Aleksander Manfredi) established himself in the West Coast hip-hop scene as half of Emanon (with Aloe Blacc) and by producing tracks for Jurassic 5 and Mobb Deep, but it wasn't until the release of his 2007 album with rapper Blu, Below the Heavens, that the producer began receiving attention and praise outside his community. The album brought Exile's Dilla-meets-Pete Rock-meets-DJ Shadow beats into the hip-hop spotlight, and also set the stage for a proper solo release. Signed to progressive L.A. label Plug Research, Exile released the full-length Radio, which was comprised solely of a year's worth of samples off L.A. radio stations, in 2009. Remixes and reworks based on the album were collected a year later on AM/FM. ~ Marisa Brown