Tag: Hip-Hop

Run The Jewels 2

October 28, 2014

Text by @KralTunes

American hip hop duo Run The Jewels (Killer Mike and El-P) have returned to right all that is wrong with the world with one of the most bad mama-jama rap albums I’ve heard in a long time.  Now I may not be a connoisseur of the rap game, and my track record in such maters may not be so stellar  (I probably assumed that Ice Ice Baby was the greatest thing since my Cinnamon Toast Crunch back in the day), but I am pretty confident when I say that Run The Jewels 2 is probably the best rap/hip-hop album you will hear all year.

What makes this one a clear winner?  The fact that one album can be so ridiculous one moment and then immediately flip on its head to offer you some truly interesting and thought provoking lyrics the next. On the ridiculous side, you get quality lyrics like “Blockbuster Night Part 1″s epic: “No hocus pocus, you simple suckers been served a notice/Top of the morning, my fist to your face is fucking Folgers” (you see?).  Not to be outdone is “I smoke the kush/I eat the puss” off of “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry”.

A polar opposite to the recently reviewed MILO album, this release is full of self-aggrandizing, self-importance, boasting, braggadocious, unyielding, cocky (I’m running out of adjectives) , and every bit fun as that sounds! As an added bonus, we are treated to a less than subtle male/female reproductive anatomy lesson courtesy of the duo and Gangsta Boo on “Love Again (Akinyele Back)”, with lyrics that my boss @tonightatdawn wouldn’t dare let me reprint here.

Even while the content can be ludicrous at times, there are moments of seriousness baked in, such as in “Early” with Killer Mike spitting out “I apologize if it seems I got out of line sir, cuz I respect the badge and a gun/And I pray today ain’t the day you drag me away right in front of my son,” and that’s right before things turn grave”. “Close Your Eyes (And Count To Fuck)” is a highlight, which is only made more pleasing with Rage Against The Machine’s Zach De La Rocha on loop.  What’s more, it is another example of cleverly written verses that pull no punches on its target:

“The vision becomes a vow to seek vengeance on all the vicious Liars and politicians, profiteers of the prisons The forehead engravers, enslavers of men and women Includin’ members of clergy that rule on you through religion (So strippin’ kids to the nude and then tell ’em God’ll forgive ’em)”

  The beats come fast and furious with little give, matching the energy and intensity of the lyricists blow for blow.  This is a collaboration in the truest sense; each member pulling their weight throughout.  Everything about this release works perfectly.  Some tracks may not be as great as others, but they all mesh to reveal what will hopefully be a long and creative future for the rap game.

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BANG BANG…Flying Lotus

October 10, 2014

Text by KralTunes

Unlike the bulls eye-like focus on his previous album, Until the Quiet Comes, You’re Dead! finds the maestro in familiar territory on his 5th album.

FLYING LOTUS (Steven Ellison) brings us an even more fly by the seat of your pants in an album reminiscent of Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.

You’re Dead! moves from a very jarring, jazzy opening to a song like “Dead Man’s Tetris” whose crunchy beats and bloops harken back to those glorious NES days.

The longest song on the album, “Never Catch Me” features sped up chipmunk-like vocals courtesy of Kendrick Lamar, touches on darker overtones (“I can see the darkness in me and its quite amazing/ Life and death is no mystery and I wanna taste it”) and soars by so fast that you’ll need 3 or 4 listens to listen and comprehend the thought provided in these intelligent verses.  This is the only track that could ever survive outside of this album.

Unfortunately, the album suffers through a middle phase of tracks that are just ‘there’ – which can be worse then being good or bad – as they are simply forgettable.  The run of “Siren Song” through “Moment Of Hesitation”  provide pleasant sounds and rhythms, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before and it’s nothing to highlight.

Quirkiness takes hold with “Descent Into Madness” and “The Boys Who Died In Their Sleep”. The unique, eerie lyrics and vibes on this pair break up the monotony of the previous onslaught.

The 19 tracks seem to whiz by; the lyrics come just as fast and furious as the beats. The listener is left without breath and with something to think about in the afterglow.

“Please don’t bomb my nation, embalming fluid waiting
I got mind control when I’m here, you gon’ hate me when I’m gone
Ain’t no blood pumpin’ no fear, I got hope inside of my bones
This that life beyond your own life, this say this go for mankind
This that outer-body experience, no coincidence you been died
Bitch, you’re dead!”

I’m conflicted. This ‘brew’ was on a trajectory towards being a great album, and then it sputtered and got stuck at “good’. It may not be a shabby effort at all but I am sure that this is not Ellison’s best effort.

You’re Dead! now serves as a reminder of the excellence that the Flying Lotus can tap into when motivated.

Milo, A Toothpaste Suburb

October 7, 2014

Text by KralTunes

Lets play a game…you drop as many pop culture references from the past 20 years as you possible can, and we’ll see if you can match the amount delivered by our own Milo on A Toothpaste Suburb.

I know who I’m putting my money on.

Immediately, I can tell Milo is not looking to make his mark as the prototypical “all about me-me-me” rapper that exists in our culture today.  In fact, he is very much the opposite of such stereotypes (you will not find any forms of materialism or braggadocios “cock of the walk” strutting on this album).  Instead, you are treated to verses that possess a bit more intelligence, whether humorous or not, than the standard contemporary rap song.

This is no more evident than on the opening track, “Salladhor Saan, Smuggler”, where he’s talking about something as commonplace as the cost cutting methods utilized when renting your first apartment (“We got our first apartment and spent six months in the front room laughing/Darkness was attractive/Dust in the cabinets cause we could only afford paper plates, no napkins”).

Milo continues to showcase his better than average wordplay through

wit,

“The image is a prison of the soul
Heredity and education have been exposed
Vices and aspirations have been disposed
I just thought you’d like to know”

introspection,

“If I was a necromancer, I wouldn’t be a fucking coward”

social commentary,

“Reality is scripted

And rappers no longer spontaneously rip shit

It’s calculated, studied and designed

Binary code, asterisks and dollar signs”

and, of course, a shit ton of nods to pop culture. His references the gamut from COMIC BOOKS, Kevin Smith’s CLERKS, THE NEEDLE DROP, PITCHFORK  to even WALTER MATTHAU, of all things. Despite some strong lines, he presents with what I’ve dubbed the ‘A.D.D. rap’ trait; Milo spins through all these topics at breakneck speed and drops them as if he doesn’t have the attention span to delve deeper into them.

Unlike his lyrics, Milo’s delivery is monotone throughout, Tyler, the Creator. There really is no change of pace found anywhere on the LP, so tracks begin to bleed into each other, and they develop that ‘samesy’ feel to them and it drags down the album.

Beatwise, this album offers an enjoyable slew of rhythms, and do supply the listener with several slightly askew time signatures and effects to keep them on their toes.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is a great sampling of beats, but they do help to diversify the tracks as opposed to the vocals.

So what’s the sum total of “A Toothpaste Suburb”? The album kicks off well but falls short in the end, and therefore, it results is a criminal waste of the Walter Matheau name drop.

Banks-Goddess

September 16, 2014

Text by Joe K.

Aaaahh, another dream pop, trip hop review…I seem to be falling into a trend here lately.  Banks is actually Jillian Banks, an alternative RnB artist who has recently toured with the Weeknd.

Much like How To Dress Well or FKA Twigs, Banks offers morose, late night beats – albeit murkier and more distorted. Although her verses are sometimes more pop oriented than her predecessors, the lyrics focus on lonelier themes.

One advantage she has over her contemporaries is her ability to become a vocal beatbox; she is able to mold her voice to fit the mood of each track. One moment she can be a sultry songstress and the next moment, part chipmunk. Her versatility can be a blessing and a curse; on one hand, it maintains diversity amongst the tracks but it weakens the album’s cohesiveness.

Ultimately it’s a basic alternative RnB album and Banks only shines on a few tracks. “Brain” happens to be one o those exceptions, from the vocals to the lyrics (“I can see you struggling/Boy, don’t hurt your brain/Thinking what you’re gonna say”), it’s pretty damn near perfect. “This is What It Feels Like”  is another standout. Its entire arrangement and the contortion like intro make for a sonically pleasing experience.

There are some welcome curveballs thrown in the mix with more acoustic-centered compositions like “You Should Know Where I’m Coming From” and “Someone New”. These tracks serve as nice intermissions from all the bells and whistles thrown at the listener during this marathon of an album.

The album chugs along, offering the same old all the way to the end – nothing extraordinary, nothing terrible.

Beast Coast: The Underachievers- Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium

August 18, 2014

Text by Joe K.

When it comes to Hip-Hop, FLOW is half the battle.  You can spend 6 minutes rapping about doing the dishes, but, as Chris Rock so eloquently put it, “If the beat is right, she will dance all night”.  Fortunately, there are those artists that attempt to offer lyrics of substance rather than a diatribe of deviant sexual acts.

With that, I present to you the psychedelic hip-hop of The Underachievers on their official debut album, “Cellar Door: Terminus Ut Exordium“.

While there’s plenty of the egotism that appears to be requisite in hip-hop (Chrysalis: “As I blow my smoke and continue my reign, Cause that royal blue blood in my veins, I’m a king”), duo AK and ISSA GOLD counterbalance the bravado with intelligent and meaningful lyrics such as,

“Elevate your mind n—- play your part, Don’t waste no time cultivated by dark”

(ironically followed up by the sage-like proclamation, “Now you all can eat dick but at least get a tip”).  Additionally, the duo  outlines their take on a model utopia in “Metropolis”, “Build a metropolis, call it Indigo Providence”.

The Underachievers spit out verses as if time is a precious commodity; there are no intros/outros or choruses to be found. Although some broader musical experimentation may have enhanced some tracks, the beats on this album are not pedestrian. The beats on “Incandescent” would fit right in on a John Carpenter film soundtrack whereas “Quiescent” and “Felicity” allow the listener to catch their breath while relaxing to denser, more melodic rhythms. On the other hand, “Amorphous”, which samples Portugal, The Man, delivers the most poppy sound on the album.

It’s apparent that someone broke out the SAT prep manual to name some of the tracks (e.g. “Sonorous”, “Chrysalis”), which is apropos, because it can feel like an exam when your trying to keep up with the break neck speed of their rhymes.  However, once you buckle down and process the commentary, it’s clear that The Underachievers provide more than just flow.