rap79 was born and raised in Miami and came to records through hip-hop and sample-based production in the late 90s. Digging for breaks meant picking up a lot of records he didn't recognize, and that habit never stopped. One genre led to the next. By the time he opened Found Sound Records in December 2019, his taste had spread across enough of the map that a radio show with no format was a natural extension of the shop.
DJ KEMS has been collecting since the mid-90s, starting with hip-hop and DJing before the habit took over everything else. He co-founded Hoverrock Records, an independent hip-hop label, and his knowledge of the music runs deep — not as trivia, but as someone who lived through it. The collection sits at over 6,000 records and covers ground most collectors don't touch in the same lifetime. Hip-hop is still the center of gravity.
They've been digging together long enough to shape each other's taste in real ways. KEMS opened rap79 up to free jazz, turned him onto Butthole Surfers and Pissed Jeans. Spending every Saturday at the shop has given KEMS a new appreciation for the quieter end of things — ambient music, the minimalism of Steve Reich. Not Steve Roach. That's a different conversation.
The People
