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.

From Common Sense to Common

The Spin: Common – Universal Mind Control
Released December 9, 2008
2008 Geffen Records
[rate 3.5]

Universal Mind Control sounds exactly like what it is: Common and The Neptunes make a dance album.  Common has established himself as one of the premiere socially conscious hip-hop artists of all time.  Times change.

Common’s breakout hit was “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” a metaphor for hip-hop.  The song put Common Sense’s names on the mind of all the die-hard hip-hop fans of 1994.  He was quickly recognized as an important socially conscious voice in hip-hop, even if he sometimes embraced a conservative morality that passed judgment on those unlike him.  In 2000, Common earned his first Grammy nomination and came into the American hip-hop mainstream consciousness with his song “The Light” from his classic album Like Water For Chocolate.  This was a turning point for Common twofold.  First, it was the first album to prominently feature J Dilla. Second, and perhaps more importantly in respect to Common’s career, it was his first hit love song.  While the lyricism definitely had changed somewhat from “Can I Borrow a Dollar” until then, Common definitely made a conscious decision that we see the effect of today, but amplified at this point.  Every album seems to have exponentially more songs about love, or at least the physical act, at the expense of the socially conscious hip-hop rhymes his most die-hard fans had grown accustomed to.  Forward to this album and Common goes from being the humble man about the people to an ego-maniacal materialistic boy who flaunts disrespecting women. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no “Big Pimpin’” here, but still…

So, the Universal Mind Control’s title track and current hit is an electro track, heavily influenced by Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock,” among others.  In a seemingly unlikely case of plagiarism, the hook features Pharrell intermittently mimicking Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba.”  Lyrically, the song is hit and miss with lines like, “I touch the masses like a catholic,” accompanied by the type of materialism that one would’ve assumed ten years ago that he would’ve condemned, a la “actor tappin’ yo favorite actress, Gucci rockin’, coochies poppin’, movie watchin’, booties droppin’, body movin’, showin’, groovin’, stylin’, and bein’ fly.”

“Punch Drunk Love” features Kanye West on the hook while the album doesn’t feature any ‘Ye beats.  The song is a fairly witty, playful song mostly about sex. The Dungeon Family feature prominently on “Make My Day” as Cee-lo croons impressively on the hook while the beat is produced by Mr. DJ of Outkast fame.  Again, Common does what he does, only romantically.  “Sugar 4 Sex” unexpectedly makes no explicit reference to prostitution, only Common’s sexual craving of some girl.  Musically, the song is an interesting blend of drums and horn synth.  Oddly, Common’s vocals sound like he’s imitating Pharrell here.

“Announcement” sounds musically like an update to Philly’s Most Wanted’s “Cross the Border.”  If you don’t remember the song, go listen to it.  They sound incredibly similar.  Actually, the guitar melody and hand drum parts are nearly the same.  Lyrically, the song features Common and Pharrell talking about the particular echelon they’ve each reached in hip-hop.

The switching back and forth between the drumless hook, which features a vocal and piano sample (I tried and tried, but couldn’t figure out what it is was from) and the drum-heavy verses featuring synth and trumpet, doesn’t seeem to work too well on, “Gladiator.”  The lyrics aren’t awful, but who else is getting tired of references to the fairly recent Russell Crowe movie, and the quotes that come with it?

In “Changes,” we see one of Common’s only attempts at social consciousness on the album.  However, it falls flat with a lack of lyricism and bigoted sentiments like, “See a black man run and we need him to win.”  “Inhale” features a sampled Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest’s “Sucka Nigga.”  The beat’s drums are interesting, but the beat is a little too cluttered to allow those drums to really captivate their audience.  Lyrically, Common’s effort here is mediocre but the content is definitely the sort of fare that his audience appreciates.  The Neptunes emulate N.E.R.D. on “What a World.”  It’s Common’s autobiography.  Did Mr. DJ influence Andre 3000 on “Hey Ya” or was it the other way around?  It’s hard to say for certain, but what is certain is the effect of that on the last track of this album, “Everywhere.”  The beat combined with Martina Topley-Bird’s vocals combine interestingly.  Common’s okay, too.

The Neptunes, while extremely talented and hardworking, seem to be pushing a sound on hip-hop that hip-hop doesn’t seem to want to receive.  It could perhaps be argued that they’re so far ahead of their time that other producers can’t replicate their sound but in reality, the sounds and methods that they use to create their beats are available to any producer with fruity loops and the internet.  That being said, they do create lots of hits, even if they’ve somehow managed to squeeze so much out of something that no one seems to really want that badly.

There have been comparisons between Universal Mind Control and Electric Circus as these are the only two well-known Common albums to not feature music developed around soul samples and the like.  However, the two albums are quite different in tone and scope.  Electric Circus, as criticized as it might be, was an experimental album that brought together some of today’s most recognizable names and voices to create an incredibly interesting and fresh, albeit perhaps mostly inaccessible, sound.  Universal Mind Control brings a lot of sounds that we’re already familiar with to Common’s new found booty-conscious lyrics.

I don’t know what to think of this album except that it’s a disappointment.  That doesn’t necessarily make it bad, it just makes it less than what I expect from Common.  There’s a bid drop there.  Common’s supposed to be a nasty MC who speaks for the Common man.  Instead, he approaches this album as a lazy MC who’s mostly just looking out for himself, mostly his sexually aroused self.  Its relevance pales in comparison to past works, both content-wise and lyrically.  Basically, this is Common going from positive to negative.  It’s Common selling out.  I give the album three and a quarter stars.  It’s funny that his change of name from Common Sense to Common is now seeming to bear relevance.

Illa J – Yancey Boys

The Spin: Illa J – Yancey Boys
Release: November 4, 2008
2008 Delicious Vinyl, LLC
[rate 3]

Illa J’s Yancey Boys is a somewhat unexpectedly, relatively disappointing debut for the younger of the Yancey Boys. The only real consolation to this album is the musical production of James “J Dilla” Yancey. In fact, the vast majority of people that this album will appeal to at all, even if only briefly, are those whom have an interest in the work of the senior Yancey.

When analyzing Dilla’s career, it is significant to note that there were basically three phrases. In the early ’90s, Dilla became prominent with his brand of jazzy hip-hop beats used by popular acts of the time like The Pharcyde and A Tribe Called Quest. This was followed by his unique Neo-Soul beats used by artists and groups like Erykah Badu, Common, and The Roots. These beats are marked by soulful, ethereal vintage keyboard sounds, active synthesized bass lines, and simple but effective drums.  They almost single handedly (D’Angelo also played a significant role) carved out a new sub-genre in popular music.  In the late ’90s and early 2000s, he opted for a more experimental approach, making greater use of samples in more creative ways and conversely making songs where melodies and harmonies were completely constructed with synthesizers. The two latter stages garnered him the most critical acclaim, and the last stage particularly resonated amongst the most devout hip-hop enthusiasts and a broader range of artists.

It is interesting to note that John “Illa J” Yancey opts on this album for beats that sound more like pre-Ruff Draft (around when phase three initiated). Instead of choosing beats that would have a more mainstream appeal in the current hip-hop climate, Illa J takes a risk and uses more soulful, atmospheric beats. We certainly hope that the Yancey family will continue to ensure that the expansive vault of Dilla beats will continue to be brought to the listening audience’s attention. That being said, Illa J does not bring a lot of creativity to his lyrics. His rhymes are often monosyllabic and easily predicted. There is a lack, if not a void of internal rhyme, alliteration, metaphors, etc. The content of his lyrics is nothing short of what you might expect to hear from a Souljah Boy Tell ‘Em track. In short, Illa J is not the lyricist that you look to for inspiration. Another big problem lies in Illa’s singing. It’s not necessarily that Illa J is a bad singer, but it often seems that his vocals are not as confident as one would like to be. His melismatic runs, while well-orchestrated, are not executed with sufficient effectiveness.  Basically, while he seems to have learned enough from Dilla on how to record and arrange vocals, it just seems that he didn’t put enough time and thought and rehearsal into his own.

If this were an instrumental album, it would almost certainly get five stars, but Illa J’s lyrics and vocals are not just mediocre, they’re distracting. He does a good job of producing the vocals during his raps, but the lyrics are simplistic, predictable, and not substantive. It is worth stating that a great number of artists that Dilla worked with had quite a bit to say and did very well at saying it. Illa J is content with talking about his jewelry, sex, and his legacy. Any number of mediocre hip-hop artists from “The A” would’ve made the same album from these beats, only a little more deftly. Simply, Illa is not as ill as his predecessor, and he’s riding very, very long coattails. While this might allow him some time to catch his stride, he simply isn’t there yet.

To sum up this album as simply as possible, you’ll bob your head some, yawn, get slightly frustrated, and wish for the instrumental version. It gets three stars, with a huge debt to the late great J Dilla. R.I.P.

Images courtesy of www.myspace.com/illajmusic

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