Album Reviews: Hip Hop Round-up August 2005

Writer: Jonah Wyn Pugh

In the ongoing quest for the perfect hip hop album, KTL presents you with another eleven contenders in this month's roundup. With some worthy entries, from debuts to seasoned veterans, we've provided you with one opinion and hope to represent truly and objectively, but invite you to check these albums out yourself and draw your own conclusions. Enjoy.

Ohmega Watts - The Find (Ubiquity)

This album has the right attitude. Listening to The Find by Portland's Ohmega Watts (AKA Milton Campbell), it is clear a lot of thought (or is it feeling?) has gone into every level, from the music to the lyrics, topic choice and production. There is a consistency in the package (including the packaging) that stamps the sound as being that of one man's artistic vision. It may seem fatuous to draw attention to it, but it is a nice change that for once a hip hop artist's pseudonym has any real relevance to the product, his art being both energetic and powerful. The music itself is informed, back foot funk that sits as easily in the background as it does in the foreground. The instruments all sound organic, and if they weren't recorded live, then the production has done very well to retain the necessary energy. However, although this is principally a funk/ hip hop fusion, there is sufficient variety to carry the listener through all 21 tracks. By way of example, the female vocal line on the eleventh track Groovin' on Sunshine sounds almost like acid jazz. Milton Campbell is clearly a self-educated vinyl digger and the broad spectrum of his interests are reflected well on this album. In short, the refreshing thing about this album is that although lyrics and guest MC appearances feature strongly, it seems like the music itself is the focus, and that in itself is progressive.

Released: 24 May 2005 | More on the Ubiquity website


C-Rayz Walz - Year of the Beast (Definitive Jux)

Released on 11th July, C-Rayz Walz's album Year of the Beast is a welcome arrival from the Definitive Jux crew. Eighteen months from his debut album Ravipops, C-Rayz has presented a bold second album, with strong, groove-led beats, lacing his at-times haunting lyrics. The tracks don't mince their words, generally jumping right in, but thankfully having the sense to vary the instrumental hooks. C-Rayz has been busy for the last eighteen months, touring with Raekwon, The Pharcyde, The Executioners and Mobb Deep amongst others, and so there is a confidence in the delivery that gives it prodigal credibility. Although you can pick up elements of all those aforementioned MCs in his flows, the song writing is strong enough and the message poignant enough to pay attention to. The album introduces some unknowns and some household names, with Jean Grae on Pink, M-1 of Dead Prez on Blacksoap, as well as 4th Pyramid, Pudge and Rob Sonic. The production is strong, particularly the fusion of electronic beats and organic, intelligent instrumentals that aptly mirrors the lightness and darkness of his topics. With that said, the tone is pretty heavy throughout; Blackout is a heavy comment on racial status quo in the United Slaves of America, while The Rhyme Intervention touches on all levels of message and metaphor. Buy this album - it sells itself.

Released: 16 May 2005 (UK/US) | More on the Def Jux website


FBC Fabric & Reindeer - It's Not Who You Know, It's Whom You Know (Buttercuts)

FBC Fabric's & Reindeer' is an interesting album that grew on me every time I listened to it. Although it may seem irrelevant to a review of the music, the presentation of this album, in a fabric case with the track details and the statement 'It's not who you know, It's whom you know', FBC Fabric endear themselves to the listener immediately, a cheeky innovation that is thankfully mirrored in the music contained within the packaging. With the majority of tracks hinging on strong, progressive instrumentals, the lyrics have been minimised, and it works, although perhaps not for the more mainstream hip hop heads. It works because the MC's message is stark, as his delivery, but all for the right reasons, although perhaps at the cost of aesthetic appeal. There is something about the MC's wordplay that implies genius, and you pay attention, just in case it is. It is at times beautiful (see Sit and Wait) and at times ugly, with a certain awkwardness about tracks such as Rub the Calm One, although you get the impression that everything on this album is intentional. This is an insightful and ingenious album that you not so much enjoy as want to endure, just to see how the album will finish. Give it a listen. In fact, you'd better give it three or four, just to let it breathe - it deserves it.

Released: 9 May 2005 (UK) | Buttercuts


First Rate - Walky Talkyz (Scenario/Phantom)

Old school UK turntablist First Rate’s Walky Talkyz has a live feel to it that is a direct result of his experience. Originally a Scratch Pervert, before working on Morcheeba's Big Calm, touring with Massive Attack, DJ Vadim and jazz-funk band Us3, First Rate is a well-recognised face on the scratch scene, and this is reflected in the artists that have guested on this album. The list is a UK underground hall of fame, opening with an intro from MC Wrec, followed by Skinnyman on Barfight, John McUlan singing on One Day, Blade on Hamburger and Phi Life Cipher on New Rulesz. The lyrics are strong, as is the MC selection, but the scratching was always going to be a focus, and therefore the album is a suitable tapestry for his sick scratch techniques. At times, it is at the cost of the songwriting, but you have to listen to it in its context and when you do, you see this is a strong album. If I was searching for highlights, I would definitely single out Skinnyman's performance, which was done in one take, bringing with it a delivery that is almost freestyle, a testament to the man's talent as a storyteller. But I would also highlight Bang On, if only for the 11 piece reggae band Red Eye, who rinse out an organic groove. Following on from two Battle Weapons albums, as well as his previous collaborative projects, First Rate will hopefully continue with the varied approach he's taken on this album, and if so, will be one to watch.

Released: 27 June 2005 (UK/US) | Scenario


Focused Few - Mars and Back (Dented)

For all those readers that are from London, and more specifically West London, you have one more band to be proud of. Focused Few are a welcome addition to the live hip hop scene in the UK, bringing together a team of London session allstars, including Stevie 'Keys' Doolan, DJ Nonames of Foreign Beggars on turntables, and UK underground representative Taurai. The success of this album is due to the tightness of all eight musicians, and the intuitively sensitive way in which each song has been composed. The tracks are restyled grooves, each developed to showcase each instrument. You can see from their funk structures that the music is of principal importance to these guys, if only to lay the perfect canvas for all four vocalists. Taurai puts in his quintessentially laid back performances, while keeping the rhyming patterns tight and varied and his vision suitably sardonic, while Aurelius continues, demonstrating a maturity of delivery that impresses by not trying to. Stevie Keys lends a uniqueness with his Rhodes work, which again is a testament to his years of working as a session keyboard on the London live funk and hip hop scene. DJ Nonames is as reliably innovative as ever and the rhythm section is solid. However, the highlight for this writer was in fact the two female vocalists Audra and Alero, who are about as charismatic and vocally confident as female vocalists need to be, particularly on the live stage. The madness is, that as good as this album is, the live act is everything for the Focused Few. Attending the launch party without having listened to the album, they blew me away, with presence and form that stands so far out from the crowd, that they will find their own way to success. Find it, buy it, go to the gig.

Released: 27 June 2005 (UK/US) | Dented


Hot Karl - The Great Escape (Headless Heroes)

Albums like The Great Escape by Hot Karl are albums this writer resents reviewing. Not because it is badly written, produced or presented, but because it is likely to get sufficient amounts of both positive and negative attention from the media, due to its formulaic representation of an originally black genre in the mouth of not only a white MC, but of an unashamedly nerdy suburban doesntwannabee MC. You feel bad hating this album, because the beats are fine, and the ironically white comedy formula at times very funny, and Hot Karl proves to have at least (and at best actually) some semblance of an ability as a rapper. However, anybody can tell you that good music, let alone good hip hop is more than just the sum of its parts. As we dig through the gigabytes of music we are all gradually stockpiling, we are all looking for music that makes the hair stand up on our necks, whatever genre's melody or riff that may be. What we are not looking for is a white guy showing us that hip hop can be done by a white guy (even if it is with a little help from his friends). By now we should all, sadly be coming to terms with that fact, and can only look forward to what the next evolution of original music will be by watching the ghettoes of yet another ethnic minority inner-city slum, anywhere on this planet, like we always have.

Hot Karl may have been given his MC name by Ice-T, and he may have been signed by Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records, rapped with Redman and been given a $50,000 advance in cash by Mac-10, but if you follow the money, you'll see that the only people who really enjoy this album are Hot Karl, his friends and family and all the people who are hoping to make money off it. It feels wrong to slate anyone who has the balls and determination it takes to go as far as Hot Karl has, and I respect him and all his crew, since all elements of a good album are represented here, but it tries too hard and is just to self-effacing to be anything short of a sham to convince suburban white kids to bet on white, and a weak one at that. 'The Great Escape' is an album, and it has been done very well, enjoying highs and lows like every debut, but sadly Hot Karl is an MC that I will choose to ignore in the future, if only because of his irrelevance to the positive development of contemporary music.

Released: 12 July 2005 (UK/US)


Hundred Strong - Basement Blues (Altered Vibes)

With a strong instrumental introduction, this album by Hundred Strong immediately negotiates your attention. It is described in the press pack as 'funk fuelled hip hop with a blues edge,' which isn't immediately apparent, being much closer to pure soul-driven hip hop, which is by no means a criticism. In fact it isn't until the fifth track Hardcore Poetry that you know what the fellas at Outpost mean. With Jason Todd's steady lyrical narrative, combined with solo-worthy funk electric guitar, this track is a banger that should be heard throughout the capital. Hundred Strong have a well developed sound, and with Ben Dubuisson's beats setting a template for a number of very well picked guest MCs, this album is one to buy. Alison Crockett's performance on Dream on Delay is a highlight, and Chester P's poignant appearance on Life's Beat ME pulls the mood back into the chill, but Brain Busy featuring Def Harmonics steals the show. However, although the MCs and singers are talented and represent themselves and their art forms well, it is the beats that make this album great.

Released: 6 June 2005 (UK/US) | Altered Vibes


Jus Allah - All Fates Have Changed (Babygrande)

I hate to be the one to point this out, but the opening chorus of Jus Allah's debut album kind of says it all – “You get high with your last bill? You live and die by Allah's Will?” It appears this rapper has fundamentally missed the point of Islam, and his hypocrisy is hurting me. Attempting to profit from alliance to Allah, and promoting drug abuse in the same sentence, I almost refused to review this album. But curiosity will be this cat's downfall, and so I listened on. As it happens, once you see past the ignorance of the opening chorus, you realise that this album is actually pretty good. The instrumentals are actually sick, if oddly reminiscent of Wu Tang in the early days. The second track, Hell Razors, featuring Evil Dead is almost (but not quite) a remix of The GZA's Liquid Swords, and that is certainly a compliment, particularly when you see The GZA himself appear on the fourth track, Pool of Blood, thereby confirming the alliance. The mix is crisp, the tracks are all the right length, and Jus Allah is a good rapper with a superhero darkness in his topics that has been missing for so long, even if at times it sounds as if he grew up stealing Nas' bootlegs. But with that said, this also a very angry male struggle album, which can get tiring at times, with self-indulgently undeveloped loops left to house some fairly uninspiring album fillers. With all things considered, this album would have been pretty groundbreaking and progressive in 1995, but in 2005 it feels like a retrospective of a noble day that has now passed and in spite of its qualities, this album is ten years too late. Definitely worth listening to, but in its context.

Released: 27 June 2005 (UK/US) | Babygrande


Keith Lawrence - The Goin' True E.P. (Music Ed)

Following on from his critically acclaimed Step by Step, Keith Lawrence had his own shoes to fill. The Goin' True E.P is another welcome arrival, bringing some strong tracks with it. Released on his own label Muzic-Ed, Keith Lawrence is yet another underground/ mainstream crossover UK artist that is making use of the industry's collaborative ethic. Opening with a bashment-friendly dancehall track with Spoonface's performance makes for a suitably grimy intro. The third track, Style and Fashion, is a winner, with Riddim Killa and Rodney P destroying a minimalist bashment skit. Head nodding all the way to one track repeat, I'll listen to this E.P. over and over just for that one track. But no listener is disappointed on this album, with performances such as that from English Kid on Reppin for the Dirt - a true flow on a suitably haunting flute loop and Seanie T and Pesci on Let it be Known. Sadly, Lyrical Olympics, in spite of being a good concept, is slightly too playful and formulaic to sit comfortably next to the more hard line topics dealt with here, and so lets the album down a little by trying to do too much. This EP's production is good because sometimes less is more. The mix is sparse, allowing the listener to focus on all elements both independently and in the mix, which makes it very easy on the head nodding ear. My only regret is that this release is so short. Find it, buy it and listen to it.

Released: 4 July 2005 (UK)


The Presence - Common Man's Anthems (Uncommon)

In spite of having socially conscious lyrics, this album was sadly a disappointment. The lyricists are all clearly informed about certain political issues, but it is at too high a cost. Listening to the production and instrumentals, there is a weakness that is in this writer's opinion unresolvable. As a result, the potentially strong message is sold far too short and yet another prophet goes unheard, which in this case, is a shame.

Released: 31 May 2005 (US)


The Lenzmen - Magnify Lenz and Scientific Community (Dynamica)

This album opens well and gives you the impression that the rest of the album is going to follow suit. But this being a special album, consisting of two albums combined, and the opening tracks so strong, it was always going to be a hard act to follow. The four MCs - Dynamics Plus, Doctor Strange, Centri and Earthadox - come across less as rappers and more as intergalactic beat poets; slam champions that have realised how much more they can be when laced by hyper-intelligent instrumentals. They are captivating in their effortless give and take, and you know you are listening to people that have studied not only those that have gone before them, but also their own vision of where music needs to go. Being from New York City, you can hear familiar intonations, like a refined Beastie Boys, but the rhyming patterns and instrumentals are so diverse that any semblance is purely in soul and not in theft. It seems fatuous to single out any particular tracks, but for the benefit of those who aren't lucky enough to have their own copy, the fourth track Masterpiece stands out, as does the fifth, 110 Cosmic Transmission; the seventh track Clear the Way is equally sick for different reasons. In fact, enough has been said. The whole album is so good that this writer advises you to get hold of it any way you can.

Released: 14 July 2005 (US)