Hopefully Not the Last from ‘Kiss

The Spin: Jadakiss – The Last Kiss
Released April 7, 2009
The Island Def Jam Music Group 2009
[rate 4]

If you’ve followed Jadakiss’ career at all, it’s easy to see that he’s consistently put out some of the most solid work in the genre since as far back as The Lox. Although every album has its fair share of what would be deemed commercial songs (and they’re just as good as anything else you would hear on the radio), he hasn’t managed to reach the type of mega-stardom as Lil Wayne or 50 Cent or even gained the type of mainstream notariety as someone like Mims or Chingy. I think plenty would argue that Jadakiss’ lyricism would have him fare well in a battle with any of these guys and the beats that pervade his albums are definitely good, if not equal to his rapping.

“The Last Kiss” finds itself again without a huge hit, but has managed to garner plenty of praise and respectable sales. But also like most of his albums, it’s sort of a mixed bag and lacks continuity. There are a couple of Neptunes beats that stick out, there are beats that sound just five minutes too dated, and then there are southern-style club bangers in the middle of it. Content-wise, Kiss is equally sporadic.

In “Who’s Real,” we hear Swizz Beats’ familiar voice and horn arrangements. For whatever reason, Swizz Beats has certainly mastered his particular brand of simple drum patterns and synth arrangements (which he’s claimed to accomplish in fifteen minutes or less), although he does add in samples, from time to time. His lyrics definitely have not received the same amount of attention for good reason. However, Swizz Beats, in collaboration with other artists, provides a recipe for very effective rap tunes. Thankfully, Jadakiss does a good job of complimenting the track. OJ Da Juiceman provides fairly weak guest lyrics.

Anyone who’s heard a Jadakiss album knows that he’s fairly obsessed with guns. “Smoking Gun” serves as a manifestation of that, but with a sort of twist. This song is a sort of Bonnie & Clyde tale, but more socially conscious and more vengeful. Yeah, actually, it’s more like one of those highly entertaining albeit cheesy revenge flicks from the seventies. At any rate, the content of the song is really interesting and the beat’s pretty nice. I don’t want to give away more than that because it’s such a cool song. Instead, I’d encourage anyone to check it out.

“Respect My Conglomerate” is a Busta Rhymes song that is included on the Itunes version of Kiss’ album. The female vocals sound like they’re sampled, but they’re not. The hook is really cool. The beat’s fairly poppy and simplistic, but effective. Busta Rhymes delivers as always and Jada doesn’t disappoint, either. “Grind Hard” and “Something Else” serve as Jadakiss’ attempt to get in good with the south, even including a verse from Young Jeezy on the latter. “Grind Hard” features a hook by Mary J. Blige and is appropriately catchy.

If I had to describe Jadakiss’ career to someone, I’d say something like, “Jadakiss is a five-star lyricist who consistently makes four-star albums.” It’s hard to not feel like if he just had an album with two or three really big hits that he could be on the same eschelon as someone like Jay-z or Nas.
I think it’s unfortunate that this isn’t the case, but I certainly keep hoping for it, and considering that he’s one of the only good hip-hop artists still doing big things in New York, his time may be yet to come. Predictably, I give this album four out of five stars.

The Breakfast Club

The Spin: Donny Goines – The Breakfast Club
Released May 19, 2009
2009
[rate 4]

Donny Goines is back again and this time with a fresh spin on hip-hop that does justice to the title of his latest hit album, “The Breakfast Club.” Everything from a screaming electric guitar loop in “Oh No (Ft. Patent Pending)” to sizzling horns over a chunky funk kit on “Whatever It Is (Ft. Mela Machinko),” Donny Goines brings the eclectic sounds of a lifetime of media influence that brings back memories from my 80′s childhood.

Check out Donny on myspace to find out more details on how to get your hands on The Breakfast Club.

Keeping the prosumer audiophile in mind, the download is thoughtfully bounced to 320 kbps (higher quality means happier ears).

Coachella 2009 Part 2

From the moment you step on Indio field you wonder how the organizers of this year’s Coachella kept everything so, well, organized. Every minute detail down to the art exhibits, the “green” aspect of the concert (recycling everything down to the cups the frozen lemonade came in) to keeping the peace. Of course, the band choices were excellent and with two outdoor stages and three tents there was plenty to see.

All in all, I hit up 11 out of the 43 acts there on Friday, April 17th which doesn’t seem like a lot but it was 11 hours of constant music. From The Airborne Toxic Event with their full string quartet, to Steve Aoki’s crowd surfing on an inflatable raft in the Sahara tent, to Beirut’s unexpected huge crowd that knew all the words, to Paul McCartney’s two and a half hour set complete with fireworks during “Live and Let Die,” this concert can only be described in one word: Epic.

I’ve been to other Coachellas over the years but for some reason the buzz was huge this year, partly because of Sir Paul’s highly anticipated set. Walking with the crowd to the final act of the night, through the lit up art exhibits, including a circle of lit torches and a myriad of tents with red tented lights signaling the middle of the field, I was surprised as to how many families had come to see the show. From little kids to grandparents, everyone was there to witness a little magic from a man who changed music forever with “a little help from [his] friends.” Let’s just say the man delivered. But it wasn’t just that.

Each band that came on all of the stages was so grateful to be at Coachella and made sure the crowd knew that. Silversun Pickups’ lead singer Brian Aubert told the crowd that, although they had played at Coachella two years ago and had seen the world since then due to their excellent 2006 release “Carnavas,” they were extremely humbled to be invited to play at Indio Field again. It’s just one of those concert experiences that you will never forget and the fact that it’s a visual spectacle as well as an attack of the eardrums makes it one of the must-see festivals of the year. However don’t take my word for it. You can see all of the videos here:

Do me a favor. Go next year. You won’t regret it.

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