Review: March 2009
More Grey Hairs – Reks
Reks sequel to his highly rated 2008 release ‘Grey Hairs’ is likely to further delight those of us who rate him as one of the most underrated arists in Hip-Hop. Take the lyrical variety and concepts on display – ‘Stereotypes’ humourously explores the cliches applied to whites, blacks, gays etc without being offensive, ‘Play My Music’ has Reks literally begging MTV and BET to play his songs, tracks like ‘Lights Of Mine’ and ‘Year Of The Showoff’ have a more hardcore, bragging edge to them while ‘I Ain’t Shit’ gets political, echoing Obama’s remarks of some Ameicans being bitter grasping ‘guns and religion’. Not necassarily the most innovative stuff, but the point is every track has a lyrical point, a distinctive reason to exist, which ensures the listener’s attention and a lack of filler throughout.
Reks lyricisism and varied flow is backed up the likes of DJ Premier and the always consistent Statik Selektah, although its the lesser names of Dj GI Joe, with his boom bap banger ‘System’ and Dj Sprino, with the nice Snoop cut on the hook of closer ‘Til Ya Hiars Turn Grey’ that impress the most. It all makes ‘More Grey Hair’ probably the most impressive and tightest Hip-Hop release of 09, and a true must buy.
Rating: 4/5
All In A Day’s Work – Saigon & Statik Selektah
I’m not going to bore anyone with the story of Saigon, so lets simply say it comes under the never-ending column of ‘young artist being fucked over by major label’, and be happy that this young artist(eventually) managed to get an album out. Recorded in a day, hence the title, Saigon’s debut it completely produced by prolific indie beatmaker Statik Selektah, whos consistent, sample-driven beats give Saigon the perfect platform for his cocky rhymes and powerful vocals. Statik’s production is what you expect – all soul samples, all positive and up-tempo, the most notably cut being the banging ‘The Rules’, with Saigon on particular form, attacking the mimicking of the south by east coast artists and going old school with ‘buck ‘em down’ chants. Similarly ‘Spit’ and ‘Prepare For War’ have that authentic hardcore edge, while the vibe of the album switches up again and again like with the introspective ‘The Reason’. Best of all, the album is a neat 30 minutes in length, and virtually filler free.
Rating: 4/5
Dirty Genes – Mojoe
Texan duo Easy Lee and T.R.R.E and their band make up Mojoe, describes themslves rather aptly as ‘The Roots meets Outkast over dinner with Marvin Gaye at D’Angelo’s house’, a cocky description that once the opening title track kicks in is apt and almost justifiable. Because they rock with a band, Mojoe’s music has a rich, organic feel that mixes R’n'B and Hip-Hop perfectly, while they have an ability to write songs that is beyond 99% of rap artists. Indeed, there is a wide range of abilities on display – besides the rhyming, they sing their own hooks like a Devin The Dude or Andre 3000, hitting memorable and soulful melodies throughout, while they nicely switch up their sound, from the ridicously smooth like Let’s Chill to the hard-hitting World Premiere.
However, the comparison to Outkast doesn’t quite stand up, for one the spirit of experimentation of Andre and Big Boi isn’t as obvious with Mojoe, who are more satisfied with a exceptional but straight mix of R’n'B and Hip-Hop and while lyrically its very competent but their is nothing exactly off-the-wall or jaw-dropping on show. Also, the LP doesn’t really justify its 56 minute running time – the second half in particular has a couple of filler tracks, while ‘Rain’ and ‘Smoker’s Section’ would have been better and more seemless as the closing tracks. Nonetheless, for any fans of Devin The Dude, OutKast, Goodie Mob etc, Mojoe’s ‘Dirty Genes’ is a must, and stis alongside Rek’s release as the finest in 09 Hip-Hop.
Rating: 4/5
De Aqui y De Alla/From Here To There – Lineage
An Irish/Spanish duo situated in Kerry, Lineage are bound to stand out in Irish Hip-Hop. For one, the MC’ing consists of Spanish, as well as English spoken with a think western Irish accent, that gives the album an authenthic and brave edge to it. Most importantly there is some experimental, innovative production here – ‘The Beauty Of Life’ has a gorgeous, almost ambient vibe to it, even with a little guitar towards the end and one of the better hooks on the album, ‘Jah Seh’ has a lovely dark shimmering feel to it, ‘En Esta Family’ has a Portishead-esque hook while the closer title track has classical piano on repeat. The MC’ing works a little less well, some of the lyrics are a little too blatant, to the point of being corny – ‘My heart it bleeds appalled’ on Snake’s & Ladders or ‘Like farmers we sow our seeds’ on The Beauty Of Life – but these are small points easily improved on. You can’t doubt the ambition and honesty of the album, and if this experimental edge is the way Irish Hip-Hop is heading then that can only be a good thing.
Rating: 3/5
The Delightful Bars – Rapper Big Pooh
With Little Brother’s Big Pooh newest solo album The Delightful Bars, their is one serious highlight – Khyrsis beatmaking. Quickly becoming one of Hip-Hop finest producers, his work on the opening half of The Delightful Bars is organic, distinctive and heavy as fuck, ‘The Power’ in particular impressing. Unforunately, once his beats disapear the album suffers – for one thing, Pooh tries hard and puts a lot of effort in but is still a limited MC and lyricist, which he can get away with while acting as Phonte’s gangster foil on Little Brother but not on a solo album. Thats not to say this is a bad album, the beatmaking is solid enough to the end, but its just that it becomes increasingly less interesting once Khyrsis beats are used up.
Rating: 3/5
Read More Tags: DJ Premier, Khrysis, Lineage, Little Brother, Mojoe, Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, Reks, Review, Saigon, Statik Selektah