Back in my high school days, I can remember spending hours on end with at the east side Atlanta home of Mike and Bev German. Their son and my good friend, Blake, was just starting to embrace his obsession with making music as a producer and the scary part about it was that even in the beginning, the kid’s talent was beyond good.

Fast forward a few years, and the guy known to most folks as 808 Blake of SMKA has put together his own solo project, an instrumental album called, 808 Blake’s Love Child. I feel like we’re in high school all over again, and I couldn’t be happier for the man I lovingly call, BGeezus.

Here’s what 808 Blake had to say about it:

“This project is an instrumental album have been working on since about June. It’s basically an album that came about due to both frustration and passion which is why I call it my love child. Having been inspired by instrumentalist like, Herbie Hancock, Mandrill, Roy Ayers and even Emancipator, I just decided to do my own project. It sonically combines the 808 southern bass with trippy samples and ambient synths. It’s cool for me because it’s my first turn at being the sole focus on a project.”

808 Blake’s Love Child drops September 18. The cover art comes from CJ Bryant.