Mother Effing DOOM
April 22, 2009
The Spin: Doom – Born Like This
Released March 24, 2009
2009 Lex Records
[rate 4.5]
There’s often talk about the rappers that producers want to work with and vice versa. Three Six Mafia once had an album titled MOST KNOWN UNKNOWN. It seems that MF Doom has become that guy. MF Doom has worked with many of hip-hop’s most recognized producers and contributed verses to many hip-hop projects. His work on DANGERDOOM eventually assisted DJ Dangermouse in winning a grammy, while MADVILLAIN remains one of the most popular albums to date among the underground hip-hop scene. For BORN THIS WAY, Doom shows his production meddle, having produced most of the tracks on the album.
Lyrically, the album, as in all MF Doom’s work, is chock full of internal rhyme and silly, often crude, but clever one-liners. Content-wise, Doom’s always all over the map. His persona entails him speaking from the position of a villain, and as it is hip-hop, certainly a boisterously confident one.
Image courtesy of www.nerdwithswag.com
Those familiar with the work of J Dilla (and if you’re not familiar, you should do yourself a favor and get familiar) will certainly appreciate the collaboration of these two well-regarded artists on “Gazillion Ear” and “Lightworks.” It’s safe to say that MF Doom’s style of production requires some crate-digging on his part, and the Dilla tracks that he utilizes certainly fit very well with his other tracks. Tracks from G-Unit production’s Jake One also stand out. Besides those, MF Doom’s tracks often provide a somewhat whimsical quality, derived from the samples he chooses, often relatively obscure.
Image courtesy of www.photobucket.com
Doom employs vocals from everyone from Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah, as Tony Starks, and Raekwon (on a track that more or less is simply rapped over the oft-sampled ESG’s “UFO”), to Rhymesayers’ brethren Slug, to classic hip-hop veterans Prince Paul and Posdnous. It seems quite an honor to be asked to guest on an MF Doom album, and the artists certainly don’t slack, when given the opportunity.
Image courtesy of www.metro.co.uk
Standout tracks from the album include “Gazillion Ear,” “Rap Ambush,” and “That’s That.” While Doom is certainly a deft producer, many of his beats lack the impact of those of Dangermouse’s or Madlib’s or Dilla’s or Jake One’s. With all the money he’s certainly made from various projects and the success that employing these producers would certainly garner him, I do wish he’d use them more. However, it is a very good album and one of the best to this point this year. While I’m hoping for more Madvillain and the like, I give this album four and a half stars.
…Incidentally, Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame remixed “Gazillion Ear.” It’s pretty cool.
Passports
March 25, 2009
The Spin: Javs – Passports
Released n/a
2009 n/a
[rate 4.5]
Javs is a little-known up-and-coming producer/rapper based out of Southern California and Australia. It’s like he can’t make up his mind about anything. But we thank him for that, as, for some reason or another, it all results in rather dope musical recordings. In a time that sees hip-hop transitioning seemingly toward more electro sounds and party lyrics, Javs provides well-arranged soul samples and lethal drum patterns as his backdrop for socially conscious content.
The album begins with an intro laced with sped-up vocal samples, a more prominent production style on the east coast, but effective here, nonetheless. His vocals chime in, as he tells us of the struggles it took to get him to where he’s at now.
Javs’ voice cuts through the track on “Storm Riders,” thanks to the caliber of delivery that one expects to find when listening to classic hip-hop artists. Routinely on this record, he manages to captivate so much more than the guest artists here. Risky as taking such a classic sample as “Riders on the Storm,” Javs manages more than just doing the sample justice.
“Break It Loose” ticks up the tempo and the energy. While it’s nothing like the hyphy music going on north of Javs’ territory, there’s certainly something here for everyone. Javs shows off some pan-Pacific swag, like, “Doubters just became believers/ Forgive me if these tracks cause fatal seizures/ I’m on the ball, yall watch from the bleachers.”
Javs brings out his inner Blueprint-Kanye for “The World,” while providing his own sensibility. While the beat will certainly leave other producers with 808′s and heartbreak, Kanye’s lyrics pale in comparison. Javs’ ability to change up his flow throughout every verse is impressive, and it’s exemplified here.
Overall, the album has its moments where the lack of professional mastering is noticeable, but the same is true of a great segment of the mixtapes put out by major artists, so considering that this album was done almost entirely by Javs, it’s extremely impressive. It hardly even seems necessary to point out that this album is quite a lot better than many a mixtape, some of which I’ve reviewed right here. 
I give the album four and a quarter stars out of five.
West Indian Future Sounds
March 18, 2009
The Spin: The West Indies – Scratch the Surface
Released February 29, 2009
2009 Western Independent
[rate 4]
My best guess is that this resembles the future of hip-hop. At least, this is what it’ll be like for those that are still interested in hearing hip-hop that adheres to some semblance of the formula requiring some “digging in the crates.” There’s a movement of sorts from the underground of hip-hop. Let’s correct that, I see hip-hop going in three directions right now. The hip-hop on the radio combines a lot of digital drums, mostly resembling 808′s, synths normally to this point associated with electronic instrumental music, and Southern rappers with a fairly simple delivery and mostly pretty simple lyrics. There’s the hipster movement, which seems to be generally combining electro sounds at a faster tempo than conventional hip-hop with party lyrics and throwback lyrics. Then, there’s this. Sa-Ra Creative Partners, J Dilla, Black Milk, Platinum Pied Pipers, and to some degree, The West Indies, among other others, seem to be etching out a formula of combining soulful sounds and mostly electronic synths, with more sophisticated lyricism to achieve this new sound. While the former two formulas appeal to a broader, perhaps less hip-hop savvy and less sophisticated audience, the latter appeals to the hip-hop head that does still enjoy his or her soulful cuts coupled with lyrics that are, on some level or another, more challenging, while keeping it interesting and fresh.
Image courtesy of www.accesshiphop.com
“Advice for Men” and “Advice for Women” are fun, interesting tracks that show off ADAMNT’s scratches, and the group’s sense of humor and interesting musical tastes. They almost seem a little reminiscent of something Prince Paul would get involved in. How’s that for a positive comparison? ;D
