September 11th, 2009
Sach O occasionally listens to music that isn’t by Raekwon the Chef. And writes about it.
I don’t go to many independent rock-n-roll concerts despite living in a city overflowing with them. This isn’t out of caustic misanthropy*: I actually find most small indie shows to be enjoyable environments. Give me the slightly nerdy crowd and cheap beer of The Sala Rosa over the ice grills and FAPE of your average Montreal rap extravaganza any day of the week. No, I don’t go to indie shows because I just don’t enjoy that many bands. The late 00’s hype cycle hasn’t done emcees many favors but it’s been an absolute disaster for rock. With the attention span of tastemakers dwindling faster than my bank account, the promotion of new rock bands has been reduced to a never-ending search for the next fad, a strategy that’s given us The Black Kids, Wavves and “lo-fi revival” and “glo fi” as two separate genre tags in my iTunes.
Which brings me to the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Sach O | 4 Comments »
September 11th, 2009
Sach O won’t shut up about this thing.
“Surgical Gloves”
45. The beat to Surgical Gloves would be more impressive had I not heard Alchemist chop up this same synth beyond recognition several times on his own album. Still bangs but it sticks out like a sore thumb, whereas the rest of the album’s production flows naturally without calling attention to each individual producer.
46. Thankfully Rae comes through with the rhymes. Could have used a guest verse though. It’s not that Raekwon can’t hold down a song for dolo, but when his verses don’t have the benefit of narrative they often blend together. Subsequently, his non-story tracks sound better when he edits his parts down and lets other emcees fill in the blanks. Besides, having an extra voice on here might tie it to the album and keep it from sounding like something they held back from Chemical Warfare, which they probably did.
47. I love that the hooks on this album have more words than most current major label rap verses. The only way you know the chorus hit is that the vocals double.
48. Peep the background vocals on the last chorus. I can’t tell if that’s Rae or if he brought his crew in the booth with a couple of beers on some Illmatic shit.
“Broken Safety”
49. I was really worried about Scram Jones having beats on this thing but “Broken Safety” is as good as anything else, and it’s a large part of why Jada and Styles’ guest spots don’t feel out of place. Props due.
50. Every time the Lox guest on a Wu-Tang album I’m reminded of how much less charismatic they are then their immediate predecessors. D-Block: possibly the most workmanlike rap group ever assembled. They DO know how to rap about drug sales though and that’s pretty much what this track needs; I don’t think Deck and Cappadonna would have significantly improved the proceedings anyways.
51. In fact, I think Styles is channeling Cappa with his choppy cadence, strangely high-pitched voice and “Brown rectangles” line. Jada doesn’t really channel anyone but thrives in 16 bar doses. Both of them get severely outshined by Chef.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Sach O | 21 Comments »
September 9th, 2009
Sach O couldn’t buy Cuban Linx II from iTunes yesterday. Don’t make me go pick up a plastic disc Apple.
“Cold Outside”
24. They telegraph that “Cold Outside” is the sequel to “Rainy Dayz”.
25. Note to producers: less autotune, more off-key warbling from Suga Bang-Bang over what sounds like the finale of a Chambara flick. Who produced this? This sounds like the soundtrack to a nervous breakdown and might be the only beat that totally captures the utter weirdness of the original’s middle section (”Ice Water,” Glaciers of Ice.”) Can you imagine any other emcee thinking it’s a good idea to rap over something this abrasive in 2009?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Reviews, Sach O | 17 Comments »
September 8th, 2009
In which Sach O goes apeshit over a rap album.
1. If you don’t get chills down your spine the first time you hear “Return of the Northstar,” it’s safe to say that years of bitching about rap on the internet have eroded any joy your procure from listening to music.
2. So…what HAS Poppa Wu been doing for the past 10 years? It was the little things like his appearances from 95-97 that gave heft to Wu-Tang’s mix of drug-selling and five percenterisms. The Clan needs him around like the Dungeon Fam needs Big Rube.
3. “A trick is a Liar…and a Liar is a thief… trust me baby…now gimme a couple hundred.” Solid advice.
4. Not too many albums have the gravitas to start with a two and half minute skit but here we are. Emcees talking about selling crack over this>Emcees rapping about selling crack over preset synths and 808 claps.
5. And suddenly we’re in the middle of a kung fu flick! HAAIII-YAAA!!!
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Sach O | 10 Comments »
August 27th, 2009
How to get over the sudden death of a 5 year old iPod: 1 bowl of particularly potent Jackberry Haze (saved for just such an occasion), 1 newly purchased 120 Gig iPod paid for with rent money, 1 high powered Stax-released jam from legendary bluesman Albert King. Some people posit than in 50 years time Emo will be regarded as the blues of our era, an authentic expression of contemporary malaise. Not if I can help it. Download:
Mp3: Albert King - Everybody wants to go to Heaven
Posted in Sach O | 1 Comment »
August 27th, 2009
The Next Spot is a recurring series dedicated to the albums that could’ve, would’ve, should’ve made the Decade Top 50.
None of y’all will admit it, but Madlib went and dropped the Y2K Paul’s Boutique on us. The innumerable samples, the LA stoned immaculate vibe, and the back-and-forth interplay reminiscent of the Beasties’ classic. Of course, back-and-forth rapping is a lot weirder when you’re trading bars with your helium-voiced alter-ego and a Melvin Van Peebles record. Deliriously fun, The Further Adventures of Lord Quas might be Madlib’s most uncompromised and best produced, a litmus test to see people’s tolerance for that lo-fi experimental rap shit.
Trading The Unseen’s jazzy vibes for Technicolor psychedelia, the album is a sample spotter’s wet dream, and a sample clearer’s nightmare with each track featuring multiple beats and extended outros. On the rapping side, Quas talks weed, hoes and scandalous homies with Madlib playing the back, warning you of things to come. Plenty of rappers today try to balance out being cool, being creative and being accessible and fail miserably. Madlib? He just does what he wants and doesn’t care how strange it sounds. Throw this on, light a bowl and enjoy the ride.–Sach O
Download:
MP3: Quasimoto ft. Madvillain-”Closer”
MP3: Quasimoto ft. Med-”The Exclusive”
Posted in The Next Spot, Top 50 Rap Albums of the '00s, Sach O | 4 Comments »
August 24th, 2009
Sach O:
1. Holy shit. Ghostface blacks the living fuck out on this. He doesn’t walk away with the song, he runs. Like his house was on fire.
2. Dilla is posthumously sonning Rza on his own shit. Which is kind of bittersweet in a weird way but whatever.
3. This Raekwon fellow’s album has me *ahem* hyped.
4. If I was Rae and Ghost, I’d be weary of inviting Cappa to the studio, you never know if he’ll rip it or come “meh”.
5. They should let me pre-order this thing. There’s no way I’m gonna make it to the release date and the chances of my spending money on it largely depends on my paying for it before I can acquire a leak.
Weiss:
1. There is clearly an unknown alchemical balance involving albums named Cuban Linx and Ghost name-dropping vaguely obscure R&B singers. Aaron Hall & Ray J are the new Adina Howard on his mind all week. Sidenote: Ray J making a sex tape with Kim Kardashian was easily the best thing that happened since he was born with the last name, Norwood. Otherwise, he’d be doing guest-spots on Koch refuse not the new New Boyz single that’s running the radio out here.
2. If Rae’s promo team had any sense they’d get him on Iron Chef immediately.
3. Taking baths with white women> Taking Baths with Mr. Bubble>Taking Baths with Rubber ducks.
4. One day a decade from now, people will accept my assertion that Starks is the greatest rapper of all-time without snark or derision. Not everyone will agree, but most won’t argue. Those who argue probably listen to “Flowers for Algernod,” or as he is popularly known, Plies.
5. Ghostface has a supplier named “Loose Bruce?” Was Fruity Rudy unavailable?
Download:
MP3: Raekwon ft. Cappadonna & Ghostface-”Ten Bricks”
Posted in Sach O, Are You From the Lester Bangs School of Thought? | 24 Comments »
August 23rd, 2009
Sach O something-something-something Muhammad Ali.
Lyrics. In this dance about architecture, lyrics are the proverbial Tango on a Gehry. For every genre with an expressly coded form of lyricism (say, Hip-Hop) you get two where it’s impossible make an objective statement. Is Jim Morison’s poetry art or the ramblings of an overblown 60’s acidhead? Depends on who you ask. And the plot just gets thicker when you throw in a foreign language: how can a reviewer accurately assess a song when he can’t even understand the words? With this in mind, I approached Brazilian legend Caetano Veloso’s Bicho (Beast) humbly and with but a few tools: a longstanding appreciation for the man’s recordings, an Allmusic profile describing him as “The Bob Dylan of Brazil”, Babelfish and the absolute certainty that you don’t need to understand a word of Portuguese to appreciate the grooves on display.
Best known as a singer-songwriter in Brazil’s late 60’s Tropicalia movement, Veloso is one of those artists that everyone’s heard of and yet few grasp. It’s understandable, considering his intimidating discography spans five decades and over thirty albums. Genres covered include acoustic balladry, psychedelia, straight-forward rock and experimental, to name just a few. Recorded after an eye-opening trip to Lagos for that year’s Art and Culture festival, 1977’s Bicho stands as one of the most interesting and approachable points in Veloso’s oeuvre-boasting a great song collection, an inspired backing band, and clean, occasionally orchestral production that never goes overboard.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Diggin' in the Digital Crates, Sach O | 3 Comments »
August 23rd, 2009
While all bets are off as to whether Damien Marley and Nas’ forthcoming collaboration album will somehow redeem Nas’ career (perhaps by sampling Redemption Song) or finalize his descent into We-are-the-world fuckery, it’s always fun to look back at a time when Hip-Hop/Dancehall collabos were devoid of pretension and as natural as PB&J. Case in point: Shabba and Blastmasta Kris’ The Jam which splits the difference between Ced G horn stabs,
Casio MT-40 bass and a strong riddim just waiting to be recycled by some enterprising revivalist. As for Shabba and KRS they do what they do best: talk slack to dem gyals and condescendingly diss sucka emcees just for living. That they do so in a video featuring enough spandex-covered-azz for a whole jazzercise tape is a nice touch.
Youtube version is an alternate mix, the superior original is here in MP3 form for your listening pleasure. And if anyone has the instrumental (or full 12” rip) and can send a link our way via the comments, I’ll be your new friend.
Download
Mp3: Shabba Ranks ft. KRS-ONE - the Jam
Posted in Sach O | No Comments »
August 21st, 2009
The Next Spot is a recurring series dedicated to the albums that could’ve, would’ve, should’ve made the Decade Top 50.
Forget the lackluster back end, My Ghetto Report Card is all about the high energy first half that brought 40 Water back to MTV and put the Bay back in the National spotlight for a minute. While Hyphy always worked better as an adjective than as an awkward name-tag for Bay Area Hip-Hop, 40 and producer Lil Jon somehow make the reductive “West Coast Crunk” description the genre got stuck with work.
“Tell Me When To Go” is the big hit, an incredibly sparse post-Grindin stomper that reworks RUN DMC’s “Dumb Girl” into a dancefloor call-to-arms. But the album’s real strength lies in Bay Area legend Rick Rock’s contribution: “Go Hard or Go home” is an anthemic stadium sized banger, while opening salvo “Yay Area” features a Digable Planet flip and lyrics so dope that even the East couldn’t ignore it.–Sach O
Download:
MP3: E-40-”Go Hard or Go Home”
MP3: E-40-”Yay Area”
Posted in The Next Spot, Top 50 Rap Albums of the '00s, Sach O | 2 Comments »
