Four-beat bizness on this one. Your man X offers up some nice high-register keyboard chords clinging onto a resolute bassline that at first seems pretty straightforward. But that bass soon changes pattern and bubbles your feet ’til you’re rising inches above the floor. The flip, “Killahertz,” does damage as well. Recommended.
DJ Pierre Beak It Down
Whatever happened to Chicago’s Nathaniel Pierre Jones, the man who in 1986 tweaked a Roland 303 with his crew Phuture until he created “Acid Trax” and put dance music on the tongues of millions worldwide? Brother’s still workin’ it, as seen on this opaque follow-up to his springtime epic single, “Overcome.” “Break It Down” offers some of his trademark warped “Wild Pitch” style over a filtered structure, with fractured jive vocals by an unidentified female. The party’s never ended. Go on, Pierre.
Zoo Brasil Feat. Derek Conyer Next To you
If you don’t know Derek Conyer’s work with Chus & Ceballos or Big Bang Theory, this record by Swedish duo Zoo Brasil is a good introduction to one of house music’s most enjoyable chanters. Conyers yowls and grumbles in this yearning little jam, and the Zoo backs him with a poppin’ late night minor-chord arrangement. They remix it to more outer-spacey effect on the flip, giving you a tool to raise the intensity on the floor. Don’t sleep.
Artificial Intelligence Hooked On
Your man Glen turns it on here, with a great use of soul samples and a nicely simple and hypnotic chord progression for some brightly tuned business. And then you tune in to the chaotic synth notes in the far back and you realize how thick this mother is. “100%” on the flip is not fucking around either, but the a-side wins again.
Techelectro Version 2.0
This companion to the recently released album by Techelectro (who are reputed to be a side-project of tech-pimps Solid Gold Playaz) offers diverse mixes of the album’s elements by four underground dons. Tim Shumaker’s Home & Garden,/i> mix brings smooth beats and soulful keys, while Davebot slides in some murky electro noise and DJ Slip centers his take on nifty tonal percussion. Stand back for the highlight: a sweet chunk of dense, dramatic and classically dubby techno generated by your man Landau.
Kice Of Course Competition
Over a sparse beat that never seems to kick in (produced by label owner Mr. Len), Kice lets the “Competition” know how hard he is. Very, apparently. On the flip, “Who You Talkin’ ‘Bout?” is another hypnotic skeleton of a beat with more of the same lyrically. If you’re into raw, grimy, underground hip-hop that will never see the light of a disco ball, bang this on your stoop. If you’re a wanksta, keep walkin’.
Biz markie Feat. Elephant Man Let Me See You Bounce
It’s hard for the Biz to surprise anyone these days-after all, he’s built a career on making the unexpected work-but no one expected him to record with Elephant Man. Biz runs into a stamina problem on this one. He comes correct on his first verse, but his laid-back third verse pales in comparison to the hypeness of verse two, courtesy of the Energy God, who naturally seems much more at home over the dancehall riddim than does his Yankee host.
Venus Malone Pretty On the Inside
Columbus, OH native/Munich transplant Venus Malone gives you an authorized copy of her diary key on her first LP. Cuts like “Phat A55” and “Best Inspiration” display an easy confidence with sonic sex appeal to spare, but it’s the unflinching vulnerability of “One on One,” “Clich?,” and “Eye on the Prize” that make her truly irresistible: “Even when my notes are wrong when I sing my songs’ have no pride’ wanna tell you all that’s inside.” The beats on the album range from lush to soulful to bangin’, thanks to producers Christian H?ck and fellow Ohio natives J. Rawls and Fat Jon.
Planet Asia Summertime In the City
Fresno’s freshest is back with a song for the season. Over semi-psychedelic ’60s samples, Planet A spits his battle-ready lyrics in the sure and steady style that’s made him the “209’s finest rhymer.” But if you’re looking for something to ride to, bump the flipside’s “Gs & Soldiers.” Dogg Pound gangsta Kurupt puts the “G” back in “guest,” joining forces with Asia with heated results.
Mos Def Beef
In two minutes fifteen seconds, Mos squashes all hip-hop beef. How? By breaking down what real beef is. Over a hypnotic head-nodder of a beat, he lists “Mrs. Wallace still don’t know who shot Biggie” and “the cocaine and AIDS epidemics” as a few examples of what’s really real. On the flip, he’s joined by new-jack Cassidy on the dark Swizz Beats-produced “Monster Music,” a loving ode to the complexity of living in the ghetto.
