Reviews
RUN DMC
It’s Like This, The Best Of (Sony Music)
LADY SOVEREIGN
Jigsaw (liberator music)
EMINEM
Relapse (Universal)
Janet Jackson
Discipline (Universal)
Pete Rock
NY’s Finest
Show & AG
The Show & AG Experience: Live Hard
Fat Ray & Black Milk
The Set Up
BLACK SPADE
To Serve With Love
LUPE FIASCO
The Cool (Warner)
RUN DMC
It’s Like This, The Best Of (Sony Music)
crumpets: ***
This influential hip hop group of the ‘80s really needs no introduction; the titular album speaks for itself. Even Ray Charles can see this. In anniversary years, reaching the big two-five means gifts of silver are in order. For Run DMC, they drop a ‘best of’ album. It’s like this though: their actual anniversary was last year, so technically it’s not their anniversary album but still, 25 years on 36 hits are slapped on this CD. Coincidence? Perhaps they’re celebrating their recent feat of being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (being the second hip hop group to be inducted). Whatever the occasion, the album has landed and it’s brimming with a selection of songs taken from five of their seven successful albums Run-D.M.C. (1984), King Of Rock (1985), Raising Hell (1986), Tougher Than Leather (1988) and Down With The King (1993) – with most of the crowd faves taken from their Raising and Tougher days. Those were the days when they rapped about My Adidas, told us to Walk This Way, fondly repeated the words Mary Mary and spat It’s Like That. Hip hop at its finest. Buy it if you’re a fan.
b-peasy
LADY SOVEREIGN
Jigsaw (liberator music)
crumpets: **
Get dressed, pour the Bacardi 151 and turn up the stereo. The Ess Oh Vee is back. This time in poppy beats and punchy lyrics format.
Lady Sovereign’s attempt at throwing in the temporary towel has paid off. Perhaps all musicians should say “sod it” and take a couple of years off. Not only has she come back to us with a cute makeover (sans side pony, replaced with hat), her own record label Midget Records and a fresh new album Jigsaw, but the 5ft English scamp has swapped raps for singing, dirty grime for uptempo electro, unpredictability for consistency and attitude for honesty. From the makers that bought you P!nk, Katy Perry and Lil Mama; and Britney Spears, producers Dr Luke and Benny Blanco do what they do best and flood the album with electro pop. See So Human (sampling The Cure’s Close To Me), Bang Bang and I Got You Dancing. Aside from this, there’s some auto tuning going on, questionable raps (‘my ponytail is dead, but I wear a hat instead’) and a whole lotta S-O-V calls throughout. It’s all over in less than 36 minutes – enjoy it while it lasts.
b-peasy
EMINEM
Relapse (Universal)
crumpets: ***
Is there anything Eminem can’t do? Divorce wife? Check. Develop pharmaceutical addiction? Check. Lose best friend Proof (RIP)? Check. A lot can happen in five years. Well, everybody’s fave (or not) Slim Shady is back on the grind with album number six Relapse. Considering his tumultuous personal life over the past few years, you’d think he’d have plenty of material to get off his chest – but nope – Eminem doesn’t do a Kanye West and get all soppy (whiney, even) on everyone’s ass. Instead, he raps about sleeping tablets. And prostitutes. And rape. Gives shit to a wide scope of people including his Mom (My Mom), Christopher Reeves (Medicine Ball) and Mariah Carey (Bagpipes From Baghdad), proving no one is safe from his piss taking.
But for all the heavy issues raised (rape, incest, drug addiction) on 19 of the Dre-beats (Eminem on just one), the pair managed to roll beats, raps, issues, piss-takes and skits into a lighthearted ball; possessing only two collaborations (Fif and Dre) and tracks like Old Times Sake sounding like the Slim Shady we know and love. Sure, he hasn’t given us anything new to work with, but we’ve already established he’s not doing a Kanye. You have to give it to Eminem though. He is one crazy cat that doesn’t give a fuck – even if he does have more issues than XXL magazine.
b-peasy
Janet Jackson
Discipline (Universal)
crumpets: *
A whole album based around one of Janet’s defining aspects of her character – discipline. It’s like De La’s version of R&B…
It’ll take some severe ‘discipline’ to wrap your head around Janet Jackson’s 10th studio album Discipline. The Rhythm Nation slayer (and lets face it – she should’ve called it a day after that) croons more R&B than pop over 23 songs and seven interludes (!). I don’t mind a bit of R&B (I said a ‘bit’) but when you have to sit through an hour of Janet whispering shit nothings in your ear and trying to decipher if it’s her or her older brother Michael singing, because, at times they sound suspiciously similar. You soon realise she’s not giving us anything earth-shatteringly new (besides The 1 featuring Missy Elliot) then R&B should effectively be dubbed R&B, De La style – ‘rhythm and bullshit’. On the flip, Janet’s boyfriend Jermaine Dupre produced it – you’d think he’d help his GF out of her album-rut though – and tracks Greatest X, The 1 and Curtains are mediocre bangers. And she’s not bad looking for a 41-year-old duck – just peep the album art. Hot diggity.
b-peasy
Pete Rock
NY’s Finest
crumpets: * * *
In hip hop terms, Pete Rock has been around for ever and a day. He was been part of one of the 90s’ most revered duos and since parting ways with CL Smooth has remained one of the scenes finest producers. On NY’s Finest, Pete has linked with some of the brightest modern day emcees, some forgotten favourites and proved you don’t need to move with the times if your sound is timeless.
Pete Rock’s productions have always been amongst my favourites, from lacing countless mid 90s classics with CL Smooth through to artists like Biggie, very rarely has my head not bobbed in appreciation. On NY’s Finest not a damn thing has changed; where other follow trends aimlessly looking to sell big or become huge on ring tones (don’t scoff cause it happens), Pete continues to make classic boom bap. Digging deep in his extensive selection for classic samples and breaks, and punctuating them with dope horns or reggae tinged sirens. There is versatility too, as he crafts his productions to suit the likes of reggae artist Chip Fu, through the gangsta style of Styles P, Sheek Louch & Jim Jones. The only guest production comes courtesy of Green Lantern who delivers one of his best for Don’t Be Mad.
Lyrically it is 95% good things hitting your ears. Pete himself surprised me, I had always considered him an average emcee, but one of his solo tracks Don’t Be Mad is close to my favourite and he more than holds his own alongside many high credentialed guests. Guest wise Little Brother shines on Bring Y’all Back while Lords Of The Underground had me searching for their debut album in my collection with the dope The Best Secret. Also featuring is a seriously faded sounding Raekwon & Masta Killa, and Royal Flush reminding everyone how dope he is ripping the beat on Questions. The only lyrical downers come from the somewhat lackluster Papoose, one of my favourite up and coming emcees his contribution to Comprehend is flat.
There is no more compelling reason for you to buy this than the fact it is Pete Rock, this should feature highly on many yearly top ten lists.
Xpizzle
Show & AG
The Show & AG Experience: Live Hard
crumpets: * * *
Show & AG epitomize all that was phenomenal about mid 90s New York hip hop. Show created the perfect boom bap soundtrack while AG flexed his lyrical muscle time and again. After a roughly ten year hiatus and on the back of AG’s recent excellent solo, work the duo have reunited for the Live Hard EP.
The EP kicks off with an absolute banger: with Show on the boards, AG on the rhymes and DJ Premier on the cuts, it’s a wet dream for any hip hop fan born prior to 1985. Show keeps his production fairly simplistic throughout, with the beats running quite simple loops and sometimes lacking variation, but still thoroughly enjoyable and perfectly suited to AG’s style. On Can’t Relate, AG flexes his credibility. reminding insignificant emcees he doesn’t relate to them because he has always been above their level. The other real lyrical standout is Land Of The Free featuring fellow **DITC member OC on the hook, AG rides the beat to perfection, sharply analyzing the current position of the US in the world and the hardships the entire planet faces. Closer Magic features the only guest production from E-Blaze, but he to keeps it true to the DITC sound.
While Show seems happy with a somewhat stripped back production sound, AG has elevated his game over time. While many classic emcees return after a hiatus as a shadow of their former selves, it may actually be possible that Andre the Giant has gotten better. The package also includes five instrumentals meaning a whole new breed of emcees can compare themselves against classic artists on their own tracks. From Runaway Slave to Goodfellas to Live Hard, all hip hop fans should own all Show and AG releases.
Xpizzle
Fat Ray & Black Milk
The Set Up
crumpets: * * *
After the booming street sounds of Guilty Simpson’s release impressing in 2008, two more Detroit artists look to prove that there is much more to their city than Eminem.
Black Milk and Fat Ray are two thirds of the Detroit posse BR Gunna, who previously caught some regional US buzz with the release of their 2004 LP ‘Dirty District Volume 2’. Black Milk will be the more familiar name here, as his release of last year ‘Popular Demand’ was a hot one, although it was also somewhat slept on. He also had a beat on the aforementioned Guilty album. ‘The Set Up’ is eleven tracks of underground US goodness, proving that there is still thoroughly enjoyable music coming out of the States if you are prepared to dig a little deeper.
All eleven tracks are produced by Milk, and he shows several facets of his arsenal throughout the album; from the Neptunes styled spacey beat of ‘Lookout’, to the Reggae tinged sounds of ‘Bad Man’ and the simple-yet-ill key driven beat of ‘Ugly’. In between he creates more traditional hip hop beats that are a cut above the generic fodder often filtering from the US to our ears. On the microphone Ray and Milk have great chemistry, although lyrically there is nothing out of the ordinary. It’s pretty much the standard braggadocios flow meets street tales you get on any hip hop release, although the finished sound keeps you hooked. The addition of the laconic sounding Guilty Simpson lifts ‘Bad Man’ to another level, but the only real letdown is the terrible choice of hook on ‘Ugly’.
With only eleven tracks – one of these being an outro – this is short, sharp and sweet. It’s a quality release and definitely one that should alert more fans to the good things coming out of the Motor City.
Xpizzle
BLACK SPADE
To Serve With Love
crumpets: * * *
This debut release from St Louis artist Black Spade hits stereo speakers with pretty much universal praise from the likes of URB, Fader and Vapors. Spade himself is something of a one man band, as he produces, provides samples, rhymes and sings across the nineteen tracks. This is his take on the future of hip hop.
I really want to like this release a lot more than I actually do. I have given it repeated listens searching for the all important x-factor needed to elevate it into the realms of ‘classic’, but I just can’t find what it’s missing. The production here is thoroughly enjoyable, it is heavily layered in parts and quite minimal in others. Spade’s eclectic tastes range from Dilla and Prince through to Bloc Party, and it’s evident in the – at times – quirky production. It’s hard to pigeonhole his style, but I guess that’s what keeps it interesting and provides a quality backing for his lyrics.
The lyrics are, unfortunately, where it falls down. While the harmonies and rhymes do fit nicely together, too often the subject matter left me feeling bored. The first half of the album is almost like a lyrical take on late 80s love songs, with the title track joined by others like Her Perfume She Wore, Love’s Right Here and She’s The One. Maybe I’m just a little too musically rough in my tastes, but the limited subject matter had me reaching for the skip button. It was a case of style in abundance, but substance sorely lacking. Things do pick up in the latter half of the album, as we finally get some lyrical variation with tracks like Actioneer, Good Crazy and Not For The Bullshit. They’re all bangers that demand your repeat attention.
Perhaps I’ve been a little harsh here, but my expectations were built up with quite a bit of hype for this album. The album is solid, and it’s definitely a long way from horrible, but it just isn’t as good as some had promised it to be…
Xpizzle
LUPE FIASCO
The Cool (Warner)
crumpets: * * *
The long awaited follow up album to Food And Liquor, sees this skateboarding Muslim nail it again with his panache for indie hip hop. The food is consumed, the liquor dried up… time for the next feast of Fiasco fine dining. With extensive wordplay up his LRG sleeve, Lupe possesses the vocab of 10 rappers and the attitude of at least three in this concept album about (what else?) life on the streets. Like MF Grimm’s The Hunt For The Gingerbread Man, Lupe’s gem revolves around four main characters: the streets, the game, the cool and Michael Young History. Like Kanyeasy’s Graduation, the hooks, beats and indie hip hop vibe is on the same eclectic tip. Like Common’s hit single Drive Me Wild with Lily Allen on Finding Forever, Lupe too has a catchy single Superstar featuring Matthew Santos (sounding eerily similar to Chris Martin from Coldplay). Like Jay-Z, please don’t retire anytime soon. Coolness to the max.
b-peasy
