As OG as MC Ren, Akai Pro’s new(ish) MPC Renaissance is both a nod to the past, but embraces the future with open arms at the same time.

Akai Professional has been a pivotal brand in the world of hip-hop since the beginning. Classic MPC’s such as the MPC60, the 3000 and 2000 were (and continue to be) the tool of choice for some of hip-hop’s most prolific and revered beatmakers of all time. Dilla, Premier, Pete Rock, Just Blaze, Dre, Kanye – it’s a veritable who’s who of super-producers.

Whilst staying true to their roots, the all-new MPC Studio and Renaissance have stepped away from the “in the box” mentality to take advantage of the power of modern computers. No longer are you limited to 128MB of RAM (or less), storing samples on disk or outdated components – the new MPC’s use your laptop or desktop computer to turn them into MPC’s on steroids. Same proven workflow, same signature timing, and in the case of the Ren (which has an onboard sound card), same classic MPC sound… but HEAPS more power and a lot more potential.

In Australia, artists such as Dazastah, Chasm, Amin Payne, Hazel, Daltron, Trials and Setsa have all stepped up to the new MPC’s, as have many other worldwide. And with the landmark MPC Software update v1.7 just around the corner, I’d imagine there will be lots more producers adding an MPC Studio or MPC Ren to their studios soon.

More information can be found here.