Playlist of the Week: Karizma

Karizma .

Jan 8, 2023

One of Baltimore’s most revered dance music exports, Karizma, takes us on a superb house music journey ahead of the release of his Karizma Klassics LP for Beatport’s Playlist of Week.

Hello, I’m Karizma — aka Kaytronik aka K2 aka Xander Knevrmind. I’m blessed to have had a career for over 30 years in this thing we call music. I started DJing at age 13, and by the time I was 17, I began to move towards more of the production end of things. I started out with the Unruly Crew in Baltimore and moved on to production with The Basement Boys/Spen & Karizma. Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many incredible artists, such as Osunlade, Atjazz, Simbad, Phil Asher (R.I.P,) Kyle Hall, Rick Wilhite, Deetron, Ben Westbeech, Dennis Ferrer, to name a few. I’m always working on new music and posting my crazy ideas on Instagram. I plan to have an album out this year with a couple of my friends Kyle Hall, Atjazz, and Osunlade, on the collab tip. I hope you enjoy the selects I’ve picked out for you below.

Karizma Klassics Vol. 1 — a collection of Karizma’s best productions — drops on February 17th via R2 Records.

Check out Karizma’s Playlist of the Week on Beatport.

Nicholas Ryan Gant – Gypsy Woman (Kaytronik Extended Remix) [R2 Records]

I was lucky enough to get a copy of the original version of “Gypsy Woman” from my friend DJ Applejac. He did a downtempo version that was dope, and I thought hmm, I always wanted to do a male version of “Gypsy Woman,” this is perfect. I love working with Nicholas, and we have more music to share with the world coming soon.

Oveous, Don Kamares – Legacy [Yoruba Records]

Oveous and Don Kamares knocked this out of the park. It’s my “go-to get this thing going” record.

Mr. G – That’s Why We? [Phoenix G]

I’ve always been a fan of Mr. G’s production and recently found out he made one of my favorite tracks, Mike Grant’s “My Soul My Spirit (Mr. G’s Freedom Train Mix).” And in my search found this gem… straight fire!

Karizma – The Power [R2 Records]

This is the track that cemented my career and basically gave me the confidence to keep on making music. The inspiration came from a track from Shazz called “El Camino” I used to play a lot, but always had to ride with something a bit harder. So I thought I would make a version I would play, and the rest is history.

Nicholas Ryan Gant – Sweet Love (Kaytronik’s Love is Sweeter Remix) [R2 Records]

After doing the “Gypsy Woman” remix, I asked Nicholas if he would mind doing a version of “Sweet Love” and he said ‘let’s go!’ This is my get the ladies on the dancefloor record for sure.

Karizma – Tech This Out (Kaytronik Dub) [R2 Records]

This is my bridge between techno and house record. Somewhere in the night, this will get me to where I need to go musically when I want to go harder.

Osunlade – Black Woman Cry [Yoruba Records]

Whenever I play, at least three or four Osunlade productions are coming out of the bag. You can’t help but be swept up by the groove.

Atjazz – Enchantment [R2 Records]

If you don’t know by now, Atjazz and Osunlade are my brothers fo’ real. Atjazz killed this joint, and I love seeing the reaction from people when I play this.

Kaytronik – State We In [R2 Records]

I don’t like to share my views of the world often, but sometimes you have to express what you see and feel in that moment. It’s not a dance record. It’s a point-of-view record.

Karizma – Bounce B [R2 Records]

This one right here is my “turn it up” record. I made this track as therapy; those negative feelings/vibes gotta Bounce B****.