Editor’s note: Each week, Cory Perla of The Public asks a local musician to tell us why they love their favorite piece of gear.

Khari Waits is a Buffalo-based hip hop artist who goes by the name Coleman J. Brahski. He’s also in a few hardcore bands, including BastardBastardBastard and On Point.

“My BOSS DR-670 was the first stand alone drum machine I got my hands on and used it to produce my first rap project. What I loved most about this box is how overtly digital it sounded. A lot of drum machines will try to sound realistic, but the DR-670 doesn’t – it knows that it’s a simulation. I relied on it exclusively because I went to a Jack Topht show years ago and saw him do his set from his [Roland] SP-404. I didn’t want to bite his technique outright, but I knew that I wanted to perform with hardware so I could enhance my live shows. Being broke kind of limited what gear I could really get my hands on, but luckily Allentown Music had a DR-670 for like, less than $100, so I snagged it. It’s small enough that I don’t need to lug a lot of gear to a show.” — Khari Waits