Archive for November, 2005

Artist: Kanye West

Reviewer: A to the L

I can’t stand Kanye West. He’s got a big head. Literally. Every time I see him on television his head has grown another 5 inches in circumference – rumor has it that after his Bush/Katrina comments, he actually had a spot behind his left ear populated by several thousand evacuees for 6 weeks. And if you hadn’t noticed by now, the man’s ego has actually grown at a faster pace than his head… the hype around this album was incredible with only Curtis and his bovine experiments outdoing Kanyeezy in the ‘on-MTV-every-43-seconds’ stakes.

And you know what? While many will hear me call this album hugely disappointing and defensively state that my opinion is borne simply out of dislike for West, they couldn’t be farther from the truth. I actually like many of his past efforts – at several times in the past few years, NO other producer could touch what Kanye was doing on the boards, and its testament to his skills that so many other producers jumped on his ‘sped-up soul sampling’ steez. “The College Dropout”, despite being incorrectly labelled as some kind of classic by many who should know better, was nevertheless one of the most enjoyable albums of 2004.

The problem for Kanye, as with many other more and less talented individuals before him, is that following the warm reception for his debut album, he’s actually started to believe his own hype, resulting in endless tantrums in endless interviews, toys out of prams at the Grammies, a hilarious (for us) ‘Punk’d’ episode, and ultimately “Late Registration” being filled full of below average work both on the boards and on the mic (which no doubt has been ‘yes-men’-ed to death so that to him, everyone will think its as dope as he does.) The inclusion of some more pointless college skits, featuring idiotic fraternity chants and the return of the Bernie Mac impersonator also grate more and more as the album plays.

Things kick off with the heavy drum track of second single ‘Heard Em Say’ which is quickly spoiled by an irritating Natalie Cole piano loop, and some horrible Timberlake-lite ‘Timberlite’ crooning from that Adam Levin Maroon 5 fella. Stick to your own genre, homeslice – methinks you need another single since your little band largely fell the fuck off after ‘This Love’. Kanye greets listeners to the first track of his sophomore effort with some mindless grunts before lazily bullshitting his way through three and half minutes of turgidness. ‘Touch The Sky’ meanwhile goes to incredible lengths to prove the ‘phoning it in’ theory. Looping Curtis Mayfield’s most familiar bars is a move a world away from the ‘most talented producer in Hiphop’ label that Kanye would like many to tag him with.

‘My Way Home’ sounds like something scraped off the floor from the “Be” sessions, with a lukewarm beat and repetitive Scott-Heron sample doing little to lift the track as Common outshines Kanye with little effort and STILL manages to deliver little more than a tired 16.

‘Gold Digger’ meanwhile has been played to death by everyone and their mother. A shame really, because it actually is a decent track. Unfortunately I fear that I, like many have been conditioned to reach for ‘skip’, once Jamie Foxx drops the intro. Despite the recycled ‘Stand Up’ drums, this is one that will be worth returning to once commercial radio removes its fangs.

The middle section of the album is paticularly uninspiring, beginning with ‘Crack Music’ where Kanye acts tough over limp drums because Game is in the studio to deliver a hook (and reportedly a verse which 50 nixed), and ending with ‘We Major’ where people have worked themselves into a masturbatory frenzy because of Nas mumbling over a Kanye cast-off. In between, ‘Roses’ tries to discuss the importance of the family unit, but is buried under a flood of Patti LaBelle-esque wailing; ‘Bring Me Down’ is nothing more than Brandy’s latest demo; ‘Addiction’ has Kanye ticking off the perils of the Hiphop industry in songform – unfortunately pondering why things that make you feel good are so bad for you is handled every week, and with less clumsiness and clunkiness by Jenny Craig; and ‘Diamonds From Sierra Leone’ meanwhile is one of those tracks that you’ll either love or hate. While people will kowtow to Kanye’s genius to sampling Shirley Bassey, I’m sure I’m not the only one who just can’t stand the bloody song. While Jay-Z’s stellar verse on the remix easily makes it a better listening option than the original, that doesn’t actually say much – the actual track is just irritating as fuck.

On the positive side, ‘Drive Slow’ rocks a Hank Crawford sample to spectacular effect, invoking Pete Rock on the horns, as Kanye drops a simple story of girl-chasing in the whip. Sometimes simple IS the best bet.

“Al B Sure nigga with the hair all wavy
Hit lakeshore girls go all crazy
Hit the freeway go at least bout 80
Boned so much that summer even had him a baby
See back back then then if you had a car
You were the Chi town version of Baby
And I was just a virgin, a baby
One of the reasons I looked up to him crazy
I used to love to play my demo tape when the system yanked
Felt like I was almost signed when the shit got cracked
We’ll take a Saturday and just circle the mall
They had the Lincoln’s and Aurora’s we was hurting them all
With the girls there’s a lot of flirting involved
But dog fuck all that flirting I’m trying to get in some draws”

Paul Wall on verse 2 sounds out of place – this is not the album for him, and I feel that his inclusion and the needless chopping and screwing at the end of the track is little more than some lip service to an area that many Northern artists have ignored, and nothing more than a blatant attempt to push a few more units.

Elsewhere, ‘Hey Mama’ despite its sappy title and subject matter, is actually an excellent track, not only due to it being one of the rare examples through the whole album of Kanye actually sounding believable on the mic, but also because the production instantly puts the listener in “College Dropout” mode again. In fact this track, and the subsequent two tracks, ‘Celebration’ and ‘Gone’ would both be comfortably at home next to ‘Slow Jamz’, ‘Never Let Me Down’ and co. ‘Gone’ in particular stands out, with its bouncy Otis sample, and Kanye going back and forth with Camron and Consequence.

Kanye West is a walking contradiction, straight from the KRS mould. His constantly shifting attitudes and opinions on many subjects, can be thought provoking to some, alarming to others, and plain irritating to many. With this in mind, its a fair statement to note that “Late Registration” is a reflection of West’s life as an artist, a producer, and an entertainer – the album itself contains several contradicting arguments and theories, and a selection of beats as varied as Kanye’s views on homosexuals at the Grammys. Unfortunately the biggest contradiction is the fact that Kanye West and many major media outlets thinks this is a good album… and I just think its shite. Harsh? Maybe. But this is a huge letdown from his debut, moreso due to the fact that all the promises he made about his improvements to production technique, to his emceeing, have simply not been kept. I guarantee that if you buy this, or already have, that you won’t listen to this more than half a dozen times.

Artist: Hot Karl

Reviewer: A to the L

White guy from Malibu raps. Sounds like Paul Barman. Has a blog. Pronounces all his I-N-G’s. Has a Natalie Portman fetish. Is quite shite. The end.

Or so the review should read if things go according to expectations. However Hot Karl isn’t your normal white rapper from Malibu. For starters did you know that he signed to Interscope on the back of a DJ Lethal produced demo, and went on to record an album that featured Redman, Fabolus, DJ Quik, Mya, Sugar Ray, DJ Clue and MC Serch? Did you know that his new album “The Great Escape” features an appearance from Dave Gossett The A&R Man? Yes THAT Dave Gossett, Black Sheep fans. That’s piqued your interest hasn’t it? Lets move on.

The Interscope project never dropped – something to do with scheduling conflicts or something – and Karl negotiated a release from the label which would allow him to go back to the underground and “make Hiphop fun.” Yes, I understand your gay-o-meters may be sounding right about now, but stick with it – check the blurb cribbed from his site (hotkarl.com)…

“I’m only going to speak about things I know,” Karl explains. “My keeping it real is much different than most other MC’s.” Karl has recently signed with EMI Publishing and found his music (as well as likeness) in the video game, NBA Live 2003, proving that leaving a major label is hardly an ending – but rather just another beginning.”

So, lets talk about Karl’s documenting of “his way” of keeping it real – “The Great Escape.” Fourteen tracks covering life in the burbs, the record industry, the life of the white emcee etc etc… all covered before by various other white emcees who’ve struggled in making any kind of dent on the collective radars of Hiphop fans the world over. What make’s Karl different to them (apart from the Portman thing?)

The album opens with ‘Lets Talk’ which features Karl trading verses with MC Serch in a critical beatdown of the record industry and its inner workings, over a beat which sounds like a chopped up sample from the Primo remix of Lina’s ‘Its Alright’. Serch plays the bad guy, talking recoupable advances, TRL and 106 & Park, and the music versus business model, while Karl holds his corner as the cat who is about his art first, and who doesn’t want to sacrifice his principles for the fast cash. Its a decent opener, though by the third verse, Karl’s screaming on the mic gets a little ‘Kim’-ish.

If you hadn’t figured out that this is a concept album (along the lines of “Prince Among Thieves” and Masta Ace’s last 3 joints) by the end of the track, then what follows should definitely convince you. Y’see, ‘Let’s Talk’ ends with Serch tossing a 150 grand advance at Karl after ‘convincing’ him that the record company way is the right way. ‘Suburban Superstar’ is a club track (and a bloody good one at that) which features an addictive Mayru-produced backdrop, a breathy female hook, and the standard 3 x 16 bars of nonsense that all commercial records MUST possess (after all the lyrics are ONLY there to separate the hooks, right?

Nas had ‘Memory Lane’. Pete Rock and CL had ‘T.R.O.Y.’ And Karl has ‘Kerk Gybson’ – HIS track of 80′s memories, where he namechecks his major influences and memories from the 80′s – UNLV basketball program, Transformers, 867-5309 Jenny, Rainbow Brite, Tetris, Madonna, Bo Jackson, Molly Ringwald and many others all get the hat tip over a suitably synth-heavy beat (again from Mayru). ‘Butterface’ meanwhile, deals with those ladies who have a hot body, ‘but-her-face’ looks like she’s been hit with a shovel, and calls out Serena, Mya, Macy Gray, and Sarah Jessica Parker amongst others as prime candidates to carry the title. However despite the fact that the subject is covered expertly, the fact that Mayru’s drums limp along under a few sparse computer blips and bleeps means that musically its a little bit of a mis-step.

As is ‘Home Sweet Home’ which covers Karl’s experience growing up outside the hood – again its a case of the lyrics covering the subject perfectly, but the music turning the listener off. This time around, Reggie Watts’ countrified hook kicks the track straight into beer commercial territory, and quickly forces a move to the skip button…

…which you’ll probably press again within ten seconds of hearing ‘Back/Forth’. Karl is the first to admit this is little more than a piss-take of Miami booty music, with Karl bragging about his sexual prowess on 2 verses, before female guest Boobie Poquito shatters his myth on verse three, but this really is little more than a private joke between Karl and his buddies on wax. For the great unwashed outside Karl’s circle of influence it sounds like nothing more than a bad C&C Music Factory track, and isn’t really worth repeated listens.

‘Just Like Me & You’ covers the life of Jean, who moves from North Dakota to Hollywood to pursue a career in showbusiness, but finds that her dreams are unlikely to ever be fulfilled. However, unwilling to accept this reality, she continues to lie to her family and friends about the parties she attends and the stars she has met, to keep up the facade that she IS a success. While the morals of the story are evident, Karl’s delivery on the chorus makes him sound (for the ONLY time on the album) like Eminem, and as we all know that Eminem lives in Toolsville these days, that’s not a good thing, and actually detracts from the impact of the whole song.

(Coincidentally, if you check out the excellent liner notes you’ll find that Karl has addressed the Eminem-ness himself, acknowledging where and why this track turned out the way it did. Other artists, could perhaps take a note from Karl and ?love – rambling descriptions of how each track on an album was made, and the processes behind it are supremely entertaining to read. Especially when you’re taking a dump.)

‘Dreamin’ has rock guitars. When will rappers learn?

Sprinkled throughout the album are several skits featuring Dave Gossett (Yes THAT Dave Gossett etc etc) where he tries to convince Karl to change his style and introduce certain gimmicks and hooks that other popular artists are doing. Although its all done in humor, its actually not to hard to imagine the reality behind it – certainly there are endless amounts of artists who have been moulded by the record industry to reflect what THEY think is popular. So although the ridiculousness of Gossett instructing Karl to channel Young Gunz, Lil Scrappy and co is apparent, the underlying message is real – and thought provoking in the extreme. “Just ask yourself one last time before its all over – do you really think people wanna hear you being yourself?”

‘I’ve Heard’ almost makes up for a few of the other misfires, and indeed is almost worth the price of admission alone. Here, Karl rocks over a beautiful 9th Wonder beat, and comes straight from the heart in as raw a performance from any emcee as you’re likely to here. The reason? Well, stung by the fact that 9th originally didn’t want to let Karl use any of his beats because he didn’t feel any of his music, he sat down and poured out all his feelings on past and present rejections, all the rumors he’s heard about producers talking behind his back, and a gang of other stuff which, to be fair, would test the nerves of most of us, were we trying to make some moves in the music industry. This is a beautiful, poignant song and one which you should do your best to hear, whether you buy this album or not.

Overall, I’m definitely feeling where Karl is coming from and despite a few stumbles, “The Great Escape” is definitely worthy of your attention.He’s not trying to play the corniness card like Barman, nor he is trying to be some kind of industry powerhouse like Eminem, nor some kind of white guy trying to be down (which like it or not, is what many pegged his homie Serch as.) Nope – Karl is just trying to be Karl – a regular guy who likes Hiphop music. And that’s the pure definition of keeping it real…

Artist: Various

Reviewer: Nick D

Not to beat a dead horse, but hip-hop music in general has suffered from a chronic monotony over the past decade or so with very few exceptions. While there are many MC s, DJ s, and producers that continually push the envelope, they are a comparatively smaller group than the tired acts which seem to dominate the industry. Whenever the situation looks bleak, however, the aptly named RZArector, and at least some part of his crew from Shaolin-Island, always seem to answer the call.

Created by long time Wu-affiliate Dreddy Kruger as a response to this burgeoning commercial, cookie-cutter song style, “Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture”, in its attempt to quite literally “Think Differently”, abandons the lethargic verse-hook format in favor of the more dynamic posse track. Dreddy combines verses from some of underground rap’s most formidable heavyweights with original Wu-production. The album’s formula, then, is simple, but the results are nothing short of the explosiveness that listeners have come to expect from any release marked by the venerable “W”.

The compilation features the likes of original Wu-members RZA, GZA, and U-God as well as other underground hip-hop favorites such as Ras Kass, Vast Aire, Casual, Tragedy Khadafi, M.F. Doom, Del The Funky Homosapien, Planet Asia, Aesop Rock, J-Live, and R.A. The Rugged Man among others. The production, which is handled by Bronze Nazareth, Preservation, RZA, DJ Noize, and Allah Mathematics, varies enough from track to track to be recognized as unique to the respective producer while remaining hard hitting from beginning to end so as to provide continuity as the album seamlessly transitions between tracks in traditional mixtape style.

After the album’s instrumental introduction, the listener is treated to what is probably the album’s standout track, ‘Lyrical Swords’. In terms of the compilation, this track serves a duel purpose. First and most importantly, it finally pairs arguably the two greatest MC s of all time, the GZA and Ras Kass. Genius and Ras continually distance themselves from other MC s with their concise, clean rhymes and ingenious wordplay. The fact that they have not combined forces is finally reconciled with this track. Secondly, the track foreshadows the rest of the album by disclosing to the listener what he or she can expect from the compilation’s other acts. Instead of coming with their best material, the tandem spits very good verses that are indicative of each of their styles.

This idea is repeated throughout the album. Each MC’s verse, rather than representing the pinnacle of his talent, acts as a cross section of his style and microcosm of his work as a whole. For example, while an MC like Aesop Rock, on his track ‘Preservation’, doesn’t really say anything that the listener hasn’t heard before, his abstract, poetic style is alive and well. Even though the RZA doesn’t come with anything too daring on ‘Biochemical Equation’, he is as complex and scientific on the mic as ever. Although typically a flaw, the lack of lyrical innovation does not hurt the album in the least due to the variety of styles presented in addition to the album’s solid production. The two exceptions to this formula are relative new comer Byata, who displays a hunger and ferocity on the mic that could quickly put her on the shortlist of the finest female MC s around, and U-God, whose dull, spiritless delivery is disappointing in comparison to his classic verses found on ‘Triumph’ and the rest of the Wu-Tang Forever double album.

What “Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture” is not is a Wu-Tang Clan album in the same vein as “36 Chambers”, “The W”, or “Iron Flag” . What it is, however, is an excellent Wu-compilation similar to the “Wu-Chronicles” albums, only this time with more continuity. The lack of lyrical invention, which is typically a downfall, is saved by the large assortment and top quality of the MC s presented. Because of this, “Dreddy Kruger Presents…Think Differently Music: Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture” is a must have for Wu-fans, underground fans, and hip-hop fans who are unfamiliar with the featured artists alike.