One of the coolest things happening in hip-hop production right now is the way different isolated microscenes are mining the dance music of the Black diaspora. Look around: In Michigan, there’s been an uptick in producers incorporating the grooves of classic house and techno ; meanwhile, in the UK, the bongology wave has filtered vintage coupé-décalé and Afrobeats through internet rap. Hip-hop producers have been putting twists on the music that soundtracked their childhood family reunions forever, but what’s different this time is that it’s happening everywhere all at once.

Me being an unashamed homer, of course I have to highlight the way this mindset has hit New York City and Jersey in the form of a brand of East Coast zess.…