My Top Five Tracks - Dr Wippit
- Flex Admin
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Dr Wippit on Confidence, Colorado, and Coming Back Swinging
There is a particular satisfaction in watching an artist find their footing after years in the background, and Dr Wippit’s new single ‘Yup’ has the unmistakable quality of someone who has done exactly that. Relaxed, groove-heavy, and built with a directness that a lot of more calculated music simply does not have, it is the kind of track that makes an immediate impression without trying very hard to do so.
Dr Wippit is not a new name. He spent years at the centre of Chicago’s underground scene, first with hard rock outfit Chronic Jaywalker, whose local airplay in the 1990s suggested bigger things were possible, and later with The Kenilworth Project, a ska and hip-hop collective that showed a different side of his range. The intervening years brought family, day jobs, and music made quietly on his own terms. Two solo EPs followed in 2023 and 2024. Now, based in the mountains of Colorado and energised by what sounds like genuine momentum, he is pushing harder.
‘Yup’ is the evidence. Built in FL Studio from a repurposed MIDI bass groove and anchored by live electric guitar, it sits in loose company with 311, the Beastie Boys, and Gorillaz without sounding like a tribute to any of them. It sounds like Dr Wippit. That, after everything, is the whole point.
We sat down with Dr Wippit to find out more about the music that influenced him, the reason behind it, and what sounds shaped this talented force.
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime - Faith No More
This album to me really showcases why Mike Patton is one of the greatest vocalists in rock. The songs cover so many genre's including really heavy rock alongside soul, big band, country, bossa nova and more. When it came out I was an angry young man and I related to a lot of the heavier stuff, but I really enjoyed shifting gears into songs like Evidence, Take Bottle, and Star A. D.
Broken Machine - Nothing But Theives
There aren't too many more recent albums I really love front to back, this is one. It's another album that has multiple genres and moods, it's mostly guitar oriented rock and that's typically my wheelhouse. Conor Mason has a "love it or hate it" voice that I think is simply stellar. His ability to go from whisper to a scream is amazing. Every song feels like a journey which makes it a great choice for listening on a drive that's long enough to hear the whole thing.
Revolver - The Beatles
The Beatles are probably my biggest influence, and primarily because they took each song and followed it down its own path. This is the first album that really showcases this, up to this point everything is still pretty much guitar based rock and roll. Here we have the experimental tape loops and backwards guitar, but also horns and strings. Songs like Got To Get You into My Life and I Want to Tell You sound so far ahead of their time, the guitars on tracks like She Said She Said and And Your Bird Can Sing just hook me every time.
Check Your Head - Beastie Boys
I'm a huge Beastie Boys fan. This album was a turning point for them as they became a live band playing guitars and drums in addition to rhyming over beats and samples. When it came out it was jaw dropping. Pass the Mic and So What'cha Want are still so fun, Professor Booty with everyone getting a full verse on their own, and then reaching out into entirely new genres with Lighten Up, Something's Got to Give, In 3's and Namaste. There's just so much here, and I saw them live several times, they never disappointed.
Labcabincalifornia - The Pharcyde
I saw The Pharcyde open for 311 and Cypress Hill around the time this came out, I wasn't familiar with them yet. They were such a fun group, I immediately had to pick up their current album. I wore this cassette out in my car. The videos for Drop and Runnin' are just fantastic. While some of the lyrics are serious, there's some fun rhymes on every track. It never sounds like showing off, it just sounds like a group of friends having the best time together making a great record.
40oz. To Freedom - Sublime
Certainly on of the greatest tragedies in music is the death of Bradley Nowell, but he did give us a couple of fantastic albums, and this one is my favorite. His vocals are so full of emotional intensity, and the guitar playing is fantastic. I know the Sublime album has all the "hits" people know and love, but this album has its title track, Badfish, great covers of the Dead's Scarlet Begonias and Toots and the Maytalls 5446 That's My Number/Ball and Chain, and so much more. It would become a huge influence on the music I made with The Kenilworh Project a decade later.
