Brooklyn native/Bay Area transplant Niamaj nails it with his cool, laid-back rhymes over warm, jazzy guitar loops and homegrown beats and scratches from producer/DJ/label head Kero One. On “The Vibe,” his train of thought makes a nostalgic stop or two, but deftly avoids the dogmas that all too often plague underground hip-hop. “Yagotta” chronicles Niamaj’s endless laundry list of life’s must-dos, and the Raindrops remix features Kero’s subtle Fender Rhodes work.
Jennifer Johns Heavyelectromagnetic…
Oakland native Jennifer Johns will inevitably draw comparisons to Jill Scott, and possibly to fellow Oakland Youth Chorus alumnus Goapele, but be clear: Johns is her own artist. From the opening 808 kick of “Heavy” to the spoken word/d&b of “Do You Believe In Love” to the doleful ambitious cover of Sade’s “Cherish The Day,” Johns proves that she’s an original voice.
Soul Position Inhale
Fat Beats gets serious with Soul Position’s “Inhale.” MC Blueprint practices perfect breath control and lets it all out over rock beats chopped up by RJD2; the remix is even heavier and on “Right Place, Wrong Time” the lines between indie rock and indie rap are further blurred. Elsewhere on Fat Beats, MC J-Zone’s “Friendly Game of Basketball” is a hilarious potshot at celebs who think they can ball.
Afrika Bambaata Dark Matter Moving At The Speed Of Light
Over 30 years after Bam ditched the Black Spades gang and formed Zulu Nation (helping create hip-hop in the process), he’s back and showing the neo-electros how it’s done. You’ll have a hard time finding a better party album in 2004, especially one with Gary Numan on it. “Got That Vibe” cranks forward with a butter-smooth rap from King Komonzi, while Numan’s turn on “Metal” tosses you in a time machine and glues the door shut. The space funk of “2137” sounds like The Gap Band jumped R2D2 and started sequencing his innards. Careening confidently between Bollywood, salsa, African polyrhythms, jazz and Bam’s patented planet rock, Dark Matter should be mandatory listening for crunk suckers everywhere.
Saul Williams Saul Williams
The most recognizable poet in America might have a way with words, but he’s got an ear for beats as well. Williams’ self-titled second full-length is stacked with his own homemade syncopation; and, coupled with his rapid-fire linguistics, the multitalented artist might just embed his patented punk-hop into popular consciousness. He’s got good company; bad-asses as diverse as Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine), Serj Tankian (System of a Down) and Ikey Owens (The Mars Volta) show up for the proceedings, helping inject steamrollers like “Grippo,” “Act III, Scene 2” and “Black Stacey” into brainstems worldwide. If contemporary “hip-hop is lying on the side of the road/half dead to itself,” as Williams rants in “Telegram,” then this potent dose of hybrid fury and fun should be able to resuscitate it without too much trouble.
Irradiation A Place For Crazy People
If Prefuse 73 and Akufen decided to collaborate on an IDM-electro EP, they would sound exactly like Vienna, Austria’s Patricia Enigl (a.k.a. Irradiation). Six tracks showcase versatile clipped, stuttering beats, oozing bass synths and tight melodic ribbons that seal this confident package. Also on the IDM breaks tip, Kyma & Uberdog’s Emergency Series 1″ (Varial) is highly recommended.
Beat Pharmacy New Dawn
Dub is spouting from New York’s sidewalks like camouflaged wildflowers, their beauty noticeable only after you’re already engulfed. Beat Pharmacy’s debut on Fran¡ois Kevorkian’s Deep Space label is circa ’94 Rockers Hi-Fi mixed by Basic Channel’s Maurizio. Call it subtledub, and brilliant. Going different directions, David Last’s trippy “Badlands” (Agriculture) disobeys all dub’s rules (like the music used to) and wrests African Head Charge beats from a fidgety computer.
Unkle Never, Never Land
I don’t understand why people hate on UNKLE’s 1998 album, Psyence Fiction, nor do I get why they think Never, Never Land is better. While pining and paranoia make comebacks here-as do famous-maker vocals from Stone Roses’ Ian Brown-DJ Shadow’s imagination does not. The falsetto of James Lavelle’s old friend Richard File replaces Shadow’s electro here, and there’s a bit of 4/4 juice in UNKLE’s blender now, making for a more clubby blend that goes down easier. But despite decent tracks and the duo’s attention to mood and songwriting, Never, Never Land is missing the balls that made past installments so novel.
Various Artists NewSoundTheory Volume 3
Atlanta, GA, is the spaghetti junction of the South: a lot of inroads, but not so many outlets. This led James and DeAnna Cool, who record as Madison Park, to create their own label, BasicLux, and compilation series, NewSoundTheory. Along the way, the Cools crystallized their philosophy of a nu-lounge sound “lifestyle,” which references the aqueous forms of boutique house and contemporary “dad jazz” equally in a gently emulsifying chemical process producing disco-tinged downtempo. It’s the dry vermouth of music-it mixes in unobtrusively but would likely be missed if absent. Volume Three of the series sees tracks by regular contributors Chris Brann, Lumiere, Goldlust, Kemit and GrooveOholics, plus samba-funk and prismatic prog-house standouts by Solu Music and Mudfish.
Various Artists Lackluster: Remixselection One
Not only does this Finnish IDM wunderkind make icy angelic music himself, but he can posses other people’s tracks with laptop-powered clackety percussion and optimistic soaring synth visions as well. And it doesn’t really take a full 12 remixes to make this compilation’s ethos as clear as a mountain lake. Ninety seconds into his EEDL remix, and your parietal lobe is getting caressed like Pegasus’ rainbow-colored mane being stroked by a nine-year old girl. Then he wreaks perfect havoc on an aggressively dissected Lord Fader, and he just keeps on going from there. Overwhelmingly good.
