San Francisco's Dan "The Automator" Nakamura has had platinum-selling success in the music industry, but still manages to fly under the radar of being a household name, even at home. It's rather ridiculous that he's not more well known, considering he's engineered the sound for animated cartoon rock stars (Gorillaz) and animated human rappers (Kool Keith's Doctor Octagon alias and his own Handsome Boy Modeling School project with Prince Paul), the type of artists that earn massive hipster followings. Last fall, DTA released the full-length 2K7. Here he works with top MCs from just about every part of the country, from Oakland's Hieroglyphics and New York's A Tribe Called Quest to Chicago's Lupe Fiasco and Houston's Slim Thug, crafting a charismatic and individual instrumental for wildly differing lyrical and vocal styles. What masquerades as the soundtrack to a basketball videogame is truly an impressive showcase for the producer's versatility that certifies him as one to watch as he progresses to bigger and better endeavors — and larger name recognition.