IP‘s steelo is definitely Midwest-the laconic tone of Common and plainspeak verbals of All Natural inform this Cincinnati emcee. And while his laundry list rhyme technique isn‘t enough to lift the final-8 placer at Scribble Jam above the average, guests like King Solomon (Greans Crew) and Piakhan help sizzle up the “Beyond” remix. “Fly” fares better, a “reminiscing” cut propelled by an uptempo funk-rock sample.
Voice Mediocre
LA‘s Voice has a personal, low-key poetic delivery; a tradition established by fellow Angeleno emcees Medusa and T Love. The songs are straight forward, literate, and literal-“LA Contradiction” is about just that, how a city‘s vibe can be the opposite of an artist‘s spirit. And while Voice‘s flow is sometimes awkward, it‘s nothing a few more appearances at the Good Life‘s open mic sessions couldn‘t remedy. Production by Da Grassroots and Moonstarr ensures the music is as creative as Voice‘s lyrics.
Lynn Ness Feat Yesh, L*Roneous & Sach Ain‘t So Much
Lynn Ness (meaning “For the people” in Arabic) is a South Bay Area producer steeped in the MPC-wrought early ‘90s sound made famous by Pete Rock, Large Pro, and Stimulated Dummies. Combined with three MCs that been there and done that in rap (Coney Island‘s Yesh, SF‘s L*Roneous, and Sach from LA‘s The Nonce) who add clever wordplay to the project, and the prognosis is already positive. Ness may yet usher in a second “golden era.”
Praveen Backed By Spirits
New York City IDM-operative Praveen Sharma could not have found a label more apt for his debut album. Softly fragmented melodies and iridescent ambience swirl together with subliminal depth on tracks like “Cecilia‘s Fruit” and “Melody” while “New Lovers” and “Piano in a Hurricane” complement the label‘s signature fusion of organic instrumentation in the artificial realm. “Real Memories” steps through a cooled cascade of symphonic echoes at a glitch-punctuated hip-hop tempo, followed in form by “Float” and “Haze” with further rhythmic explorations. The sonic imagery of Backed By Spirits is so vivid, you can almost watch the entire album.
Fenin Grounded
Having made a name for himself with his uniquely threaded minimal techno style, Lars Fenin makes reggae the centerpiece of his new album, Grounded. Does it work? To a degree. The production is clean and balanced, ranging from electrified reggae-vocal numbers like “No CIA” and “Thrill” to the deeper techno dubbery of “Stony Road” and “Got It.” However, the digital cleanliness seems to beg for a little filth to richen things up, and coupled with some overall lo-cal sequencing, the album comes up a little thin in the original flavor department.
Prince Paul Itstrumental
Prince Paul is no doubt hip-hop royalty. With a resume as long as it is brilliant, the clown prince of production returns with another quirky record full of breaks, attitude and comedy. If his contributions to The Gravediggaz, De La Soul, Stetsasonic, and Boogie Down Productions cemented his legendary status, then Itstrumental is a friendly reminder of his constant aim to entertain. Tracks such as “Live @ 5” (where all instruments are played by Paul himself), “Flattery,” and “El Ka Bong” reflect a hip-hop heavyweight who refreshingly takes his music more seriously than he does himself.
Likwit Junkies One Day Away
Leave it to these fatalistic LA residents-from a land of freeway shootings and police brutality-to translate that city‘s tension into hip-hop. On “One Day Away” Defari and Beat Junkie Babu reflect on how daily encounters-from crime to God-are always close to transforming your life forever. I was surprised by the track‘s shuffling polyrhythmic beat-it‘s a shift for Babs, who I always considered more a disciple of Primo than Timba. But then things change, don‘t they?
Broadway Project In Finite
Hardly anyone captures malaise and misanthropic tension quite as well as Dan Berridge. In Finite exceeds in cinematic scope and instrumental proficiency his deceptively dense 2003 album The Vessel, yet sheds a bit of the hazy anxiety and murky emotional underworld he so aptly depicted in his stunning 2001 debut Compassion. Less introspective and more worldly, Berridge‘s latest effort is a cleaner, more polished and, in some respects, more aggressive exploration of the shadowy sonic territory connecting jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. Opening strong with urgent strums and ethereal bells in “K,” Berridge quickly descends into a tightly packed mélange of beats, breaks, exotic instruments, and punishing bass in “Blood in the Temple” before pulling back and retreating slightly into a fog of despair, tentative hope, and pain brought to sharp and unforgiving light in “Debouch.” In Finite is a remarkable album of unsurpassed beauty.
Damon Aaron Ballast
This is the type of album to get lost in-all gentle strumming, tuneful melodies, and carefully rendered chord progressions. Damon Aaron‘s startlingly powerful yet quietly introspective vocal delivery draws the listener into an intensely private world. Subtle clicks, pops, and whirs swirl about mellowed hip-hop beats and strings in the intro before sliding into the almost pastoral folk of “Road Map.” Songs like “All I Need” take on shades of retro electronica beneath layers of acoustic guitar, and a head-nodding interlude provides a brief moment of head-clearing before plunging back in. Lovely all around, Ballast is unassuming at first but reveals its depth with each successive listen.
Mr. Scruff Mr. Scruff
Before he carved out a place of honor in the Ninja Tune stable, Mr. Scruff was a nubile young thing developing an impressive back catalog on Pleasure Records. His pre-Ninja material is surprisingly fresh nearly 10 years on, and here one sees the genesis of his cut-and-paste beat doctoring on “Bass Baby,” his knack for sampling disparate elements in the frantic whistle-and-drums classic “Chicken in a Box,” and his affinity for loose-limbed jazz in “Bobby‘s Jazz Pony.” Scruff‘s mastery of hokey beats and catchy tunes had to come from somewhere, and Mr. Scruff offers welcome insight into his creative growth.
