New Hip Hop

[Seattle93]

Usually if somethings good I'll just say it is. However, since this is for the benefit of all y'all, I thought I'd try and do this like one of those pretentious assholes who write magazine reviews.


Atmosphere - Seven's Travels
- The follow-up to last year's amazing God Loves Ugly doesn't disappoint. The rhymes are equally crisp and biting showing disdain for mainstream rappers ("This is a career, not a hobby") and showcasing Slug's storytelling over Ant's raw beats.

Stars: 5/5


Aesop Rock - Bazooka Tooth
- Good, but not great. It's not as, for lack of a better word, accessable, as "Labor Days" but it still pushes forward with spaced out beats, Ace's signature obscure lyrics, and an awesome tag team rhyme session with Mr. Lif. Good stuff!

Stars: 4/5


RZA - Birth of a Prince
- If you've liked anything RZA has done in the past, you will probably enjoy this disc. I found myself not paying much attention after awhile because he raps about the same things over and over. The production is top notch and the beats are thick, but RZA needs to buy a thesaurus that contains more than synonyms for "penis".

Stars: 2.5/5


Kid Koala - Some of My Best Friends Are DJs
- If you've ever wondered what turntables would sound like, used as a blues instrument, this is where to hear it. Layering the scratching and breakbeats with more melody and combining them with his trademark off-the-wall samples, Kid Koala makes this a must-have record.

Stars: 4.5/5


Jaylib - Champion Sound
- Rapper Jay Dee and the multi-talented Madlib come together to show all the pretenders what a real rap supergroup should be. The guests are a who's who of indie hip hop (Talib Kweli, Quasimoto, Percee P.) and the production by Peanut Butter Wolf and Madlib is excellent. The rhymes are tight and the beats are fresh. The title track shines.

Stars: 5/5

[onest2.0]

Themselves - The No Music

Themselves - The No Music of Aiffs (remix album)

These two releases from jel and doseone of the Anticon Collective break new ground in the convergence of indie hiphop and indie rock. jel's production is off the wall without being annoying (like Kid 606) and doseones lyrical delivery will have you perplexed one minute and singing along the next. As if the original wasn't good enough, the remix album (featuring artists like Hood, The Notwist, Hrvatski, and Why?) solidifies Themselves and their friends as groundbreaker-beatmakers.

check em out.

[drworm8]

Outkast
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below


Incredible. Best rap album of the year.

[Pretend Girl]

I just got the new Viktor Vaughn album. For those who don't know, this is another pseudonym of MF Doom (King Geedorah, etc.). This guy is most definitely the illest.

[bond]

ok. now that i finally went out and got some atmosphere (the lucy ford/atmosphere eps) i'm hooked.

what do i get next? their new stuff? their old stuff? someone help me out here.

(also, a ditto to the themselves recommendation.. like nearly all anticon stuff, it's infuriatingly hit-and-miss, but the 2-3 songs on it that *really* hit [dark sky demo, good people check..] might just be the greatest hip-hop tracks i've *ever* heard. the production and flow made me completely rethink the way i lay down beats, they just tear apart the idea of a "rap song" and build this beautiful new thing out of the broken pieces.)

[coreyhemp]

I love the Lucy Ford eps. But I'm not too crazy about anything after that. Haven't heard much of the new one, but it sounds alright. I'm just getting sick of his delivery and voice.

If you like Anticon stuff, check out Buck 65 and MC Paul Barman.



Here's a review:


Ludacris - If you like his voice and his delivery, you'll like this album. It's pretty damn good. There are too many skits and slow songs, but that's expected.

[WalterSobchak]

Originally posted by bond
ok. now that i finally went out and got some atmosphere (the lucy ford/atmosphere eps) i'm hooked.

what do i get next? their new stuff? their old stuff? someone help me out here.

I'd go with "God Lves Ugly" it was his next full length. The track "Saves the Day" aill let you know if you'll like the album.

[onest2.0]

I'd say go with their first one, Overcast. 'Scapegoat' is quite possibly the most memorable hiphop song since Tribe's 'Scenario'. Then visit Deep Puddle Dynamics, which features Slug,doseone, sole, and alias. Then you might want to check out controller 7's solo. Buck 65 is good too, get Man Overboard, then maybe try greenthink and/or cLOUDEAD. Can you tell I'm an anticon fan??? Oh, and definitely get why?'s Early Whitney EP and download why?'s live album that you can't buy in stores.

I don't like all of anticon's stuff, but I'd say a good 75-80% of it.

The label of 2004 is going to be Chocolate Industries. Nothing but good stuff coming out of that place. You heard it here first.

[bond]

i *love* that early whitney ep. 'darla' has been my favorite song this fall, i just can't believe how great it is..

nearly everything i get from anticon amazes me with certain tracks, but fails as an album.

i'll have to check out buck 65 and that deep puddle dynamics.. i'm already a big fan of mc paul barman's old stuff.

[WalterSobchak]

In other news a new mitsubishi commercial drops Deltron 3030.....

Anyone else for People Under the Stairs? "Acid Raindrops" makes me feel funny.

[bond]

the new missy elliott disc is fantastic. timbaland keeps making the neptunes look like hacks, and missy is pretty much the only mainstream hiphop artist who seems at all concerned with putting out a truly *solid* disc from start-to-finish. total dancefloor genius.