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Album Review: DJ Anomaly - Mountains Rise (Tocdim)
Reviewer: Kirsty Patterson
The press release for DJ Anomaly's Mountains Rise
ambitiously compares the state of hip hop in Chicago
2003 to the New York scene in the mid-1990's, and
judging by this album that's no exaggeration.
Produced entirely by DJ Anomaly, and composed of
tracks all exclusive to this release, Mountains Rise
provides a showcase for the Windy City's hotbed of
talented MC's, some of whom will no doubt become
future legends like their fore-runners Ed O.G and
Common.
The compositions are 100% sample-based, with dense
loops and breaks coming thick and fast, and heartfelt
rhymes which match the superb quality of the beats.
The references and influences come predominantly from
that golden-era of New York mid-90's rap, and props
are shown with nice use of Show & A.G, Tribe, Biz
Markie and Helter Skelter samples to name a few.
There's also lots of clever use of much less obvious
material and it's clear DJ Anomaly did a lot of deep
digging in the production of this album, resulting in
a few true gems. In particular, Rusty Chain's
Breaking Point, which kicks off with the most
amazing country/soul style female vocal sample, stands
out, as does Racecar's The Day The Herb Stood Still
with a sample which is strangely reminiscent of Blur's
Hymn but somehow manages to work.
On the whole, this is a fantastic album which will
reaffirm your faith in the state of hip-hop today, or
have you yearning for the glory years - depending on
if you're a glass half-full or half-empty kinda
person! Whichever you are, I strongly urge you to get
your hands and ears on to this album - the talent
level of emcees and the production of DJ Anomaly is on
a par with the best in the world.
RELEASE DATE: Tuesday 25 November 2003 (US)
PUBLISHED: Monday 1 December 2003 2003
To send us music for potential inclusion, email us at
promos@knowtheledge.net
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