Style X, Vol. 1 is the debut EP from Bryan "Cryptic-X" Jenkins, CEO and head engineer of Killing Field Records, released 06/18/2021. It's the follow-up to Style X (2002), but updated with everything he picked up over the next two decades, turning that growth into a focused seven-track beat tape. The project plays like a series of late-night scenes, moving from the clean foundation of "Back to Basics" and "Street Lights," into the rougher edges of "Glitch" and "Loitering," then finishing strong with "Psychic Force," "Lake Erie," and "Ode." A number of these instrumentals have since been used in other artists' tracks, proving the tape wasn't just a standalone drop, but a source for future records. Style X, Vol. 1 is also available in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music for an expanded, wider listen. It sets the tone for the Style X trilogy by mapping one street across three timelines. It’s the blueprint for the rest of the series.
You can hear him flexing engineering instincts too: tight drum pockets, deliberate space, and textures that feel like city air at midnight. It’s lean, but there’s a lot of narrative detail tucked into the mix.
Style X started in 2002. I was twenty, in North Platte, sitting in front of a hacked copy of Cakewalk and building five bass-heavy tracks out of sounds I pulled off IRC one file at a time. A little rapping over the beats. The mixing was whatever I knew how to do at the time, which wasn't much.
I burned ten CDs by hand, printed the covers myself and sold every one. Maybe four went to people I knew. The rest went to strangers, including a guy who heard the bass coming out of my 1996 Ford Probe GT at the Time Saver on the one-way and walked over to ask what it was. I told him it was me and sold him one right there. I've never found a copy since. That's why the original doesn't count in the series.
Nineteen years later I picked the name back up. Vol. 1 came out in 2021 with everything I'd learned in between. Vol. 2.5 (2024) is the deluxe of Vol. 2 with three added songs, so it's the one on this page. Vol. 3: The End (2025) closes it out. That's the Style X trilogy: one street, three timelines.
These are instrumental records. A number of the beats have since ended up under other artists' songs. I made, mixed and mastered all three. Read the full story in From 10 Handmade CDs to Dolby Atmos.
