Underground throwback joint, remix of The Controls “Coward of the Year”. Two of the illest goin’ in, simple as that.

“An angel gets it’s wings with every blue note I release? Could this be lies, ’cause I’m a spit cobalt ’til every angel flies.”

Aus der albernen Tourbuswette, wer wohl zuerst die Schauspielerin Christina Ricci aufgrund seiner Wortgewandtheit in die Kiste bekommt, entstand 2002 das spontane Albumprojekt Felt: A Tribute To Christina Ricci. Murs aus dem Kreis der Living Legends und Slug von Atmosphere waren die beiden Akteure, die sich dieser Herausforderung stellten – zu Gesicht bekam Christina am Ende jedoch keiner. Auf ging es also mit dem nächsten Wortgefecht um die Gunst eines Hollywood-Starlets: Felt 2 und das Tribut an Lenny Kravitz’ Ex, Lisa Bonet, war geboren. Mit einer Hommage an Rosie Perez geht die Kultserie nun in die dritte Runde. Diesmal hat sich kein Geringerer als Aesop Rock vom Definitive Jux Label den Produktionen angenommen. Nachdem mit dem Opener Protagonists besonders DJ Big Wiz durch erquickende Cuts auf sich aufmerksam macht, treibt Rock die zwei reimenden Wettstreiter anschließend mit seinem komplexen Bassmonstrum Felt Chewed Up zu ersten Höchstleistungen an. Abstrakt, verschachtelt oder einfach nur grotesk, lässt sich ein Zugang zu Aesop Rocks vielschichtigen Beats meist erst nach mehrfachen Hörgängen erschließen. Like You, bei dem Aesop die Hookline gleich selbst einrappt, schmiegt sich mit sehr eingängigem Thema hingegen direkt ins Ohr. Anders als die Vorgängeralben, die Ant und The Grouch produziert haben, trägt die Rosie Perez Widmung eine weitaus finsterere Handschrift, wie die düster komponierten Tracks Permanent Standby oder Ghost Dance Deluxe verdeutlichen. Mit brachialen Bässen sorgt Aes für mächtig viel Druck und ergänzt das bestens miteinander eingestimmte Felt-Team perfekt. Im Back-to-back sorgen Murs und Slug für ein ausgewogenes Zusammenspiel an Rapzeilen und überzeugen einmal mehr mit Wortwitz und ausgefeilten Lyrics. Neben ihrem Faible für weibliche B-Promis der amerikanischen Filmlandschaft, zollt das Independent-Rap-Duo auch Respekt an seine musikalischen Wegbereiter wie EPMD oder Run DMC. So liefern sie mit We Have You Surrounded einen postmodernen Ansatz einer Neuinterpretation des Klassikers Sucker MC’s. Murs und Slug in bestechender Form, unergründliche Beats von Aesop Rock und jede Menge Scratcheinlagen von Big Wiz machen Felt 3 zu einem innovativem Gesamtkunstwerk. Für den Fall, dass es diesmal mit Rosie wieder nicht klappen sollte, hat Slug vorsorglich einen vierten Teil von Felt angekündigt, bei dem bereits das in Hollywood-Kreisen umtriebige Callgirl Heidi Fleiss in der engeren Auswahl steht.

Andreas Margara (18. November 2009)

For me personally, the announcement that Aesop Rock was producing this album, this summer at the infamous Colorado venue Red Rocks, was a nice shot in the arm.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Ant.  I think he’s brilliant (who else uses slide guitar in Hip-Hop).  But after a brand new Ali record this year produced entirely by him (which is a great record), as well as Lemons last year and a whole slew of local work, I was ready for something different.  Now, I guess us locals got that in some very atypical Hip-Hop releases this year from the Twin Cities:  Eyedea & Abilities‘ “By The Throat” takes the boundaries of rap music and slices them to pieces with revolutionary turntablism and pseudo-singing, and POS‘ newest album is both melodic and heavy with both singing and screaming (I hear he’s up for some MTV awards??  Good for him).  But bringing in a Def Jux dude like Aesop Rock to produce the new FELT record is simultaneously similar to the “Hip-Hop variation” previously mentioned, and something else entirely.

I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a thing for the Def Jux sound.  El-P, Cage, Mr. Lif, Rob Sonic, I love all those guys.  My favorite set at this year’s Soundset festival was probably Dibbs and El-P (although, seeing DOOM was dream-like).  And that particular sound is very much felt on FELT 3 (I couldn’t resist it, I’m an assbag, I know).  Aesop has been making his own beats since he began.  Since then, his music has refined itself to a sort of trance-y, industrial-hop that’s catchy and weird at the same time.  2007’s solid “None Shall Pass” had it, and so does this album.  There’s a good balance of complexity/simplicity in his production; tracks might contain verse rhythms with very little to them, a few drum hits and some bass, but they’ll quickly evolve into a layered “wall of sound” (I wonder of Phil Spector will be fucked with in prison?) type production with melody and hook.  It’s the type of thing that keeps one’s ears perky, that’s for sure.  And, like I drove at earlier, it’s very refreshing to hear.

SLUG and MURS are good rappers, in general and on this album.  That should come as no surprise to anyone even thinking of reading this.  Murs not only seems to get better and better with time, he also seems to expand his reach more and more with time (what a combo, eh?).  He’s a little bit snarky on this album, talking shit and taking names, but it works for him and he isn’t a dick about it.  Murs is still a hard-working everyman’s type of MC who relishes in connecting to the listener (this is probably more obvious on “Murs For President“), and it still feels like he’s out to show the listener he’s there for them, and his skills as an MC. 

Slug, on the other hand, feels like he’s to the point where he doesn’t feel like he needs to prove anything to anyone.  This is both good and bad.  Even on the latest Atmosphere disc, it felt like he was stepping backwards from irony splashed quick witted rhymes of his previous self.  The good news is his lyrics are more mature, they’re immensely thought-out and carefully delivered.  The bad news is they don’t seem as desperate (in a good way) as they once were.  It’s like he’s turned from a young blue-collar type to a retired old writer of novels sharing his wisdom with the world.  It’s interesting to listen to, and beautiful in a way, but not quite as much fun as it once was.

But the three indie rap icons come together well in the end.  I really think the highlight is the production — and who knew Aesop could scratch like that? — although there’s really no two rappers who didn’t come from the same crew with as good a chemistry as Slug and Murs do.  And that meet-up at Fifth Element looked awfully fun, too bad I missed it.

-Sonny

Grab your backpacks and litotes, kids… Ace Rizzle is back on tour, covering both sides of the country.

But yeah, theres a catch: looking at the fine print its actually only Denver, Austin and Pitt. Way to rep. Not like we need a show back home or anything.

“We Do The Work, You Do The Pleasure”

A thunderous track from
the Definitive Jux Presents 4 comp.
Central Services was a duo formed by
the phenom Camu Tao and El-P.
“We Do The Work..” features a berserk Camu spraying
vocal projectiles over loud and manic production.
The lyrics are pretty dense on here, too.
Rest In Peace, Camu Tao,
a true genius.

∆

Genius… LOVE this Beat!!

Sometimes rappers and labels can penetrate the race barrier (white) with a platter of strategic compromises, everything from marketing to intellectual content. While the likes of G-Unit and Def Jam infiltrate the minds of the rural white youth, I call them the ‘red kids’, it is the indie labels like Stones Throw and Def Jux that have captured the attention of the Bohemian youth. These youth are looking for content over stigma, and relevance over popularity. At least that’s what most indie rap kiddies would want you to believe, that they exist as an exclusive minority of fans single handedly keeping hip hop alive by bumping intelligent rap. Essentially we have a class of rap fans that mimic the intelligentsia class of any given civilization, they are the archetypal elite.

Stones Throw beatmaker Oh No via Egon’s catalog is going to drop a new digital album, titled Ethiopium, inspired-by and sampled-from rare 60s and 70s Ethiopian funk, jazz, folk, soul and psychedelic rock. This complex package of refined hip hop is going to be accompanied by a product, coffee manufactured with comme il faut partner, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea. The digital album drops in early November, but you can cop the coffee today at the Stones Throw store, just click the coffee image above (retails for 19.99). I don’t care what this album sounds like in the end, it’s not my sub-genre of choice, but I do care that hipsters/Bohemians/urban white kids possess this sub-genre with an attitude that exudes elitism. So come holiday season be mindful of privileged kids listening to sampled Ethiopian beats packaged with coffee from Kenya, a genuine cultural experience.   To them I say this: wake up and smell the coffee, the proverbial kind, not that 20 dollar commie coffee.

]]> http://quietsoliloquy.com/2009/09/05/hail-mary-mellon/ Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:32:16 +0000 theansky http://quietsoliloquy.com/2009/09/05/hail-mary-mellon/

Ace, Big Wiz, RobSon

This is a CLASSIC. Easily one of the top 5 albums of all-time. Production by El-P, rhymes by Vast Aire and Vordul Mega. A hip hop aficionado I used to work with at the record store in Syracuse told me they sounded like every other emcee in Brooklyn. Perhaps he was right. But to me, someone who dabbled on the fringe for several years searching up and down the hip hop underground chutes and ladders, this was the future. This was the high water mark for me.  This record might have been too critically acclaimed. After 2001 everyone snatched up everything El-P produced and Def Jux released. Nothing has been as good since. (I have to admit, I got into Company Flow way after they were important, way after I had already disliked El-P for his record Fantastic Damage, which was ridiculously over-hyped.) But El-P was a fantastic producer and beatmaker.

The beats on this record sound metallic, like if Robo-Cop was a DJ and a not an art instructor with a villa in Italy. He also samples Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio“. One of the better popular American New Wave songs ever! Try to find the sample, it is quite subtle. And the emcees have vastly different rhyme styles and cadences, but they work. They absolutely work. I don’t care that they ended up getting in a physical altercation with Vordul’s jaw broken and have never put out another record together since. Lightning usually doesn’t strike twice. That’s my feeling.

I think it is fitting to end Hip Hop Week #2 with this record. After this record came out, that was it, I was done. I’d heard enough. Madlib and Doom will still always do their thing and some act might surprise me, but as for classic hip hop, this was it for me. I’m done. It’s over. Good night!

R.I.P. HIP HOP

Enjoy/$$$

It’s very easy for me to say that El-P has re-invented the wheel twice in the Hip-Hop game. The first time he did it was with Fantastic Damage (One of the best debuts ever?), and without a question he did it again on I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. Don’t get me wrong, I love both albums as much as you possibly could, I just think Fantastic Damage has a slight edge on ISWYD. The dark, hard hitting, brain hemorrhaging beats on this album are some of the most crazy concoctions my ear drums have ever had the pleasure of discovering. To me it’s no wonder that people were waiting for I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead with such anticipation… they new it was going to be a classic because of Fantastic Damage.

Right from the jump on “Fantastic Damage” you can tell by the synthesizers and baritone blasting beats that this isn’t going to be a conventional album. El even takes a shot at Star Wars while he’s at it, “…This is the third installment of a prequel that was never written right/filmed with that classic Brooklyn magic, without Lucas Arts graphics/rendered cuddly comic relief creatures or terrible child actors/get off that jade elephant (you’re stoned) and remember everything backwards”. The beat on “Squeegee Man Shooting” still manages to mesmerize me every time I hear it, and El-P continues the trend of ripping his spaced-out soundscapes to shreds. He also gives credit to the legends that inspired him as well as his father, “In fact, studied the cadences of Kool Moe Dee and Rick/put my name into their rhymes and then practiced it/put my brain pattern on fly and I mastered it/Dad played jazz when he drank, it’s no accident/hands on the piano and make my foot tap to it/different path, same love, Dad, thanks for passing it”.

If you’ve ever seen the video for the track “Deep Space 9mm” you know that it’s a pretty dark and dismal song, not to mention El doesn’t hide any of his feelings towards Rawkus Records, “…Signed to Rawkus? I’d rather be mouth fucked by Nazis unconscious”. I remember seeing El-P live at the Triple Rock, and my favorite track that he performed was “Tuned Mass Damper”. There is something about the vocal samples that clash with the beat so well that it makes you feel like you are on some type of hallucinogenic drug. I love the track “Dr. Hellno And The Praying Mantus” so much, and I swear I’m damn near laughing out loud every time I listen to it. My favorite verse on “Dr. Hellno…” comes from Vast Aire though, because he spits so many Jimi Hendrix references it will leave you rewinding the track over and over. Vast Aire & El-P making music together is pretty much a god-send (See: Cannibal Ox) and it’s something I would love to see more often. El tells the unfortunate and harrowing story of millions of helpless children who have “robotic parents” on the track “Stepfather Factory”.

The standout track, to me, on this album is the cut “Accidents Don’t Happen” where El-P brings along Cage & Camu Tao. All 3 of these emcees leave every bar decimated like an alcoholic on Third Street in La Crosse, and the beat put forth by El-P is nothing short of exceptional. The sinister synthesizer chords might leave you thinking that you are going insane. The synth hits for the most part or low pitched, but El throws in some high pitched noises that are sure to fuck with your eardrums every time you hear it.

As I mentioned in a parenthesis before, this album is so good that it should be considered one of the best debut albums by anyone. There are a ton of cuts that I didn’t highlight because there are literally so many. Fantastic Damage is a front to back album without a doubt, you really don’t need to skip any tracks at all. I have a feeling that Fan Dam is going to be a timeless classic for many decades to come. It’s great to see guys like El-P shake up the genre of Hip-Hop with such utterly astonishing results.

10 Lazerface Warnings out of 10

At the sweaty, smoky dust bowl they call the Fairplex in Pomona, I hid out in the Epicenter artist tent, getting spoiled with laser tag games, free lip gloss and massages. It’s not that I hate music or anything, it’s that other than a curiosity about Street Sweeper Social Club and a burning desire to see Wolfmother and Alice In Chains, I had a tepid interest in the other groups and a strong distaste for the oafs who kept hitting on me. Plus I was getting a sunburn, which kept worsening despite the hazy clouds.

One highlight of my day, OK my week, was hanging out with one of the coolest, funniest and most talented cats in underground hip hop, Aesop Rock.

I swear, if I could only sell one of the networks on a rap sketch show, it’s be a massive hit. I’d add Aesop to my Murs and Me show and that shit would be an instant classic. Guaranteed.

As we sat in the ice cold air conditioning, avoiding the sweaty masses outside, here’s a bit of how we passed the time.

ALI ON THE AIR: Soooo. First things first. Are they remaking Beverly Hills Cop? Or Police Academy?

AESOP ROCK: They are remaking Beverly Hills Cop but I wish they were remaking Police Academy again. Why stop a good thing? It’s pretty much the Harry Potter of the police movie world.

AOTA: I saw the first two Police Academy movies and I wasn’t sure what other scrapes they could get into. To be honest, I’m not sure my heart could handle it.

AESOP: Understood. Tackleberry with his guns all the time…

AOTA: Do you ever sample the noises that Michael Winslow makes?

AESOP: I saw that guy recently on TV and he’s still doing that shit. He’s still doing the robot noise. I found myself wishing I could do it. At first I was like ‘he’s still doing the same thing?’ And then I was like ‘That’s awesome man!’.

AOTA: You have a video on your page about building robots.

AESOP: It has a sad ending. There were three…my friend Cage was with us and…at the end there were supposed to be these theremin style synthesizers that had a robot face and the eyes were light sensitive. It required soldering. It was something we thought we could get stoned and do in a half hour. Six hours later with the soldering iron…we’re like shit. Now it’s a pile of robot guts sitting in the corner of the room that my wife keeps asking if she can throw out. ‘No! One day I’ll fix it!’

AOTA: You probably could’ve recorded an entire album in the time it took to NOT build those robots. But hey, it’s the journey, I guess. You’ve known Cage a while?

AESOP: I met Cage in New York. But I was a fan of his. I didn’t really get to know him until he signed to the label (Def Jux) in 2003or four. He’s been doing underground rap in New York for a long time. He had records out in the nineties. He would go on college shows and for a while I looked up to him. I still do but now I know him. A lot of these guys are a couple years older than me, and they were guys who, when I was trying to make a little noise, it was directly plotting what they had been doing. Cage is one of those guys. And now we’re friends.

AOTA: And you popped up in his video. And you collaborate with him. You started out studying painting. You don’t see collaboration in the art world like that. Except maybe Banksy, but he ain’t exactly asking permission.

Banksy

AESOP: The current generation of street artists who turn into gallery artists do collaborate, but it’s mostly in music. It’s a gift and a curse. You don’t want to see every song have a ‘featuring so and so’ cause it’s like…well what did YOU do? But, yeah, it’s cool I have a group of go-to people. I have a small network of people if and when I need them. At the same time, I try and keep the collaborations to only a couple per album, because that gets to be too much and looks like you can’t complete it yourself. But it’s so cool that dudes I used to tape off the radio, I can now call them and say, ‘Hey do this thing with me’. I definitely never take that for granted.

AOTA: I should say thank you…and also I hate you, for contributing to the whole nike/ipod song sync up thing. At first I thought it was so cool to have a sensor in your shoe to match up to your i pod and your music. But then, what a nightmare. Now I’m held accountable. My ipod knows how slow or lazy I am. Thanks a lot, Aesop.

AESOP: Oh, hell. I’m not getting on a treadmill. Luckily my wife runs so I was like ‘Oh this will be great. She can be my lab rat and test it out.’ I’d make ten minutes of music for them…they said ‘We need it in forty days’. Now, I’d been working on my own album for two years. It was about an hour plus of music. And they want this in forty days? So I’d say ‘Hey honey, here’s seven minutes of music. Go run to it!’ It worked! She’d have some notes about where the levels of intensity should go and I’d rework it and send her out again.

AOTA: Why do I see you like Burt Young, the coach in Rocky, driving along side her in the car, making her run in the street?

AESOP:  Yeah. The best is when I turned it into Nike before it was fully mixed. They had a room full of people running on treadmills to it. And the runners had notes for me! Part of me wanted to say “Fuck you! You don’t understand what I’m doing with my music.” But it was to serve a purpose. It’s for people who run. Gotta meet in the middle as what’s best for a runner and what’s best for a stubborn little musician guy.

AOTA: For some of the milestone points, they had people like Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods with pre-recorded congratulations messages. They didn’t have you do that. I want to hear what you would have said at the ten mile mark.

AESOP: I would’ve said “Fuck you! You’re never gonna make it, you pussy!” HA! Cause every time I’ve joined a gym and they give you a free training session I’m like, ‘Cool, let me cash in on this.’ And last time, the trainer…I just hate having people telling me what to do. They’re there to push you, but they’re just yelling at you. My last trainer experience, ugh. He googled me. Half way through I knew I was never coming back. I had to write a letter saying ‘Hey it’s been cool and you worked me hard, but I feel like crap. So I’m not coming it tomorrow…but you’re awesome!’. And then I’d keep seeing him at the gym. So now I don’t go.

AOTA: Felt 3? You’re not allowed to talk about it? Is it like Fight Club?

AESOP: No, I can now! I’m producing it. I can’t say who the dedication is. It’s definitely a woman. And its definitely an actress.

AOTA: Paris Hilton.

AESOP: I said an actress. And one that kinda hasn’t been in the spotlight for a while.

AOTA: Paris Hilton.

AESOP: I can tell you it’s NOT Paris Hilton.

breaking news - it's Rosie Perez

AOTA: But I’m close? See? I’m getting answers out of you. So, Dewana’s Bridal. A film short. You’re doing the score?

AESOP: Yeah, I’m psyched! Ace Norton, a director who did the video for Coffee off my last record (None Shall Pass), he did a horror movie style video. We hit it off really well. Now when I go home, there will be a cut of the movie. It’s officially scoring something.

AOTA: Yeah and you don’t have to make people run.

AESOP: No! I get to sit there in the dark and eat Junior Mints.

AOTA: That’s the opposite of running. So you’re performing later at this here Epicenter festival. Which is the name for an underground explosion. What do you think is the next big underground explosion?

AESOP: Uuhhhh, I don’t think it’s here today. Musically?

AOTA: Whatever. Music. Junior Mints. Cake.

AESOP: I do love Ace of Cakes. Did you see that cake in the gifting suite we were in? The woman was like, ‘Look at this cake. It’s make by a rock n roll bakery.’ And it’s totally just a bullshit version of an Ace of Cakes cake. B rate Ace Of Cakes. I love those Ace guys and the people over there should be fucking ashamed to be in the same category as creative cake makers.

AOTA: You need to use REAL guitar strings when you make a guitar shaped cake. None of this licorice whip string bullshit. I want to be able to play a b flat!

AESOP: Agreed! I want engines and small motors! Hmmm. Where’s the underground explosion? When I took Black Moth Super Rainbow on tour with me last time I thought they were really good…I would sample them if they were obsure and from another decade. I thought they were doing some cool shit. And the other thing I like about them…I feel like I fumble through everything I’ve ever done. I look around here at this KROQ festival and I’m like, this is ridiculous. What the fuck am I doing here? And Tom is a ball of talent who is nervous who doesn’t know how to say hi to the world, which is how I feel sometimes. Most music people are hermits and them they pull you out of your shell and they’re like go do KROQ! So here I am. I’m not saying I’m the next underground explosion but it’ be nice if I could still make some kind of explosion.

***

I so wish it would’ve been one of him exploding out of that bullshit cake. Alas, that was not to be. The KROQ kids had to settle for a cakeless Aesop Rock set which is still enough to rock Marie Antoinette’s ass off any day.

i once saw despot open for a free ratatat show at rice university about 2-3 years back, and i remember being impressed at the time. considering i haven’t listened to him since then, it’s safe to say he was forgettable. anyway, i stumbled on this song produced by none other than ratatat, and i feel bad for marking him as forgettable. this is a new joint set to be released on a def jux records compilation, so look out for that in the new future.

despot on myspace

download:

despot – look alive (prod. by ratatat)

-grizzly

Okay, so it seems most of the features on the tentative list have been cut, and the tracklist has been divided into acts. Hit the jump for more and also a little bonus for your troubles…

ACT 1 – THE END OF DAY
1. In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)
2. Soundtrack 2 My Life
3. Simple As…

ACT 2 – RISE OF THE NIGHT TERRORS
4. Solo Dolo (nightmare)
5. Heart of A Lion (KiD CuDi Theme Music)
6. My World f. Billy Cravens

ACT 3 – TAKING A TRIP
7. Day N Nite (nightmare)
8. Sky Might Fall
9. Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part 1)

ACT 4 – STUCK
10. Alive (nightmare) f. RATATAT
11. CuDi Zone
12. Make Her Say f. Kanye West & Common
13. Pursuit of Happiness (nightmare) f. MGMT & RATATAT

ACT 5 – A NEW BEGINNING
14. Hyyerr f. Chip Tha Rapper
15. Up Up & Away (The Wake & Bake Song)

Seeing as RATATAT is featured on the album more than once, why not bring you the latest from Despot produced by RATATAT.

Bonus: Look Alive (Prod. RATATAT) – Despot

not posting about danny! sooner is completely my fault. homeboy reached out to us a minute ago and i spaced on doing posts about him. i’ve kept up with what he’s been doing, i just kept sleeping on posting. anyway, he’s got an album coming out on def jux called where is danny?, and under no circumstances should you sleep on him like i did. sloppy joe parts 1 and 2 are from his upcoming album, and i’m including a b-side as well.

danny on myspace.

zshare wasn’t completing uploads for me, so i used usershare:

download sloppy joe pt. 1.
download sloppy joe pt. 2.
download manic at the disco.

- panda!

If you haven’t been paying attention to the beef-radar lately, Vast Aire released a diss track towards Cage and the rest of Def Jux. All of this rivalry going on has to do with the unfortunate passing of Camu Tao. Cage outed Vast very harshly about how his relations really stood with Camu, and this track apparently was Vast’s response. It really saddens me to see all this bullshit beef going on in the Hip-Hop community, it’s really the last thing that we need right now.

On a related side note, I got an e-mail on my Blackberry last night about El-P’s newest blog post on MySpace. It is pretty much all about Vast and the whole Camu situation, and if you have a moment to spare I would highly recommend you check it out here.

Download: Vast Aire, “Battle of the Planets” (Feat. Genisis)

Spotted @ 2DopeBoyz

Why I owned a trucker hat in 2002

Continuing this week’s Top 50 Hip Hop Albums of the ’00s at Passion of the Weiss, the #37 album on the list is El-P’s Fantastic Damage, an album I was asked to wax poetic about. 

Listening to FanDam recently, it amazed me how much of an influence El-P has unconciously had on my career as a MC, producer, and indie rap label head.  You could argue that he’s the most influential scion to the now-jumbled world of independent hip hop–without Company Flow’s Funcrusher moving 30K units in the mid 90’s, there is no Rawkus Records, which means no Mos, no Kweli, and most importantly, no Shabaam Saadeeq (I keed!). 

Fantastic Damage is aptly named because seven years after I’ve noted every horrifying lyric of “Dr Hellno and The Praying Mantis” and every cosmic turnbuckle cut from DJ Abilities on “Accidents Don’t Happen”, I still feel uneasy and challenged when dissecting “Stepfather Factory”, overwhelmed with articulate gully rap on “Dead Disness”, amped up like Jimi’s Marshall speakers when El-P’s verse kicks in on “Delorean”. 

When this album dropped in 2002, I was going into my junior year of college at Temple University.  White college rappers at that point followed two lanes: El-Producto and Def Jux or Vinnie Paz and Jedi Mind Tricks.  I chose the former (though JMT’s Violent By Design is still outstanding) and I continue to be awed and pushed almost to the brink of sci-fi rap insanity whenever I listen to El-P, albeit for the first time or the one hundred first time.

Read The Top 50 Hip Hop Albums of the 00’s #40-31 at Passion of the Weiss   

Cage released the underground classic Agent Orange produced by Necro back in 97.  Off the strength of that 12′ Cage eventually dropped Movies for the Blind(2002) on Eastern Conference, Hell’s Winter(2005) and earlier this month (7/7/09) Depart From Me on Definitive Jux.  Cage has undergone quite the evolution as an artist over the past decade as his newest effort Depart From Me sounds nothing like that of the old Cage.Download/Stream–>http://www.zshare.net/audio/632603652392aa6d/

Consequently Cage will be performing on the final leg of his Depart From Me tour this Friday on Brighton Ave in Allston at Harper’s Ferry with helpout from Yak Ballz and HHTT extended family members the Nite People.  If you are in the area this Friday make sure to check them out. 

13$  Tickets hit up SocialLightSounds.music@gmail.com or 15$ at the door.

The Weathermen, consisting of Cage, El-p, Aesop Rock, Breezely Brewin (Jugganots),  Camu Tao (RIP), Tame One and Yak Ballz, release their first official single since 2003 as the second leak off the upcoming Def Jux Presents 4 from seminal underground hip hop label Def Jux.

The group is a merging of artists who continue to push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable in hip hop in both the mainstream and in the genre itself. Within their own careers, The Weathermen are all accomplished musicians and successful independent artists known for their fierce dedication to the craft and fearless innovation of style and sound, as a collective they are simply a monster.

Over a decade out since it’s formation the group has undergone some personnel change and with the loss of Camu Tao the project has taken on a new meaning to both the artists and fans alike. Camu was a touchstone in the lives of many of The Weathermen, a great friend, and an inexplicably talented MC/ producer, his passing has galvanized the crew. With new resolve and purpose The Weathermen have officially taken to the studio to finally justify its cult-like following. Featured on DJXp4, ‘Reports of A Possible Kidnapping‘ is the first song from their long threatened collaborative album ‘THE NEW LEFT‘ (being recorded now). ‘Reports Of A Possible Kidnapping‘, features indie rap giants Aesop Rock, El-p, and Cage (with an intro by the late great Camu Tao) and is produced by Aesop Rock and El-p.

The Weathermen – Reports Of A Possible Kidnapping

http://www.dailyrindblog.com/audio/weathermen_reportsofapossiblekidnapping.mp3

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://www.definitivejux.net/

http://www.myspace.com/definitivejuxrecords

Stern Grove is always a great place to spend a Sunday in the summer, but the only problem is that it always fills up so fast, you need to get there and put down a blanket at least 3 hours before the show even starts. Everyone has their own recipe for the perfect Stern Grove pre-game. I always pack some wine, sandwiches, a Scrabble board, a Sunday New York Times, and, of course, a few fat spliffs, but sometimes a Frisbee or a soccer ball is nice, too, if you’re trying to be a little more active.

I’ve got a feeling that this week is gonna be the show of the season. We’ve got Lyrics Born featuring Joyo Valarde, Trackademics, and D Sharp, headlining AND The Mighty Underdogs opening up. For those that don’t know, the Underdogs includes some of the East Bay’s finest, including Lateef the Truth Speaker, Gift of Gab, and Headnodic. Damn, like I said, better pack some spliffs.

Here’s a cut from LB’s new mixtape…

Lyrics Born – “Block Bots” feat. Clyde Carson & Trackademicks c/o http://music.vtechphones.com/

And some tripped-out, sci-fi, b-movie action from the Underdogs…