Rap & Hip-Hop Music Reviews, News & Interviews

El-P :: Cancer 4 Cure
Fat Possum
Author: Patrick Taylor

"An El-P album is an event. He's only released three vocal albums in the past ten years, and each one has been a must-own, at least for fans of underground hip-hop. His albums are carefully constructed, full of complicated rhymes, themes, and beats. He does all his own production (only fitting for a man originally known as El-Producto), collaborating with a team of musicians to create music that falls somewhere between hip-hop, rock, and noise. Each of his two previous albums set such a high standard that when he announced his latest release, fans had to wonder if he could keep up his winning streak. From the first listen of "Cancer 4 Cure," the answer is clear: of course he can. 2002's "Fantastic Damage" tried to process post 9/11 New York, and 2007's "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" captured the paranoia and dysfunction of the Bush years. El-P has called "Cancer 4 Cure" his fighting record, and the man's got a lot to be angry about. The economy is STILL in the toilet, being voted out of office somehow made the right wing come back angrier and stronger than ever, we're still fighting two endless wars that we refuse to talk about or pay for, and, oh yeah, El-P lost his label AND his best friend. While the death of Camu Tao hangs over the album, the demise of Definitive Jux seems to have given El-P the gift of freedom. He no longer has to worry about negotiating with artists, vendors, distributors, and retailers. He's not bogged down in the day-to-day business of running a label, and is no longer on the front lines of the disintegrating record industry."

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06F_cancer4cure.html

Bigg Jus :: Machines That Make Civilization Fun :: Mush Records
as reviewed by Patrick Taylor

"Bigg Jus made his name as a third of seminal New York underground hip-hop act Company Flow, rapping alongside El-P and Mr. Len. That group pioneered new territory in the 90s, making rap music that didn't conform to the commercial or independent rap of the day. They weren't jiggy, gangsta, bohemian, or conscious. Their beats, rhymes, and vibe were unique, a mixture of New York battle rap with a large dose of weirdness. Company Flow fell apart in 2001, although the group has threatened to record a new album and reunited for a few live shows. El-P went on to found Def Jux, do successful production work for Cannibal Ox, Killer Mike and others, and release three highly acclaimed solo albums. Jus also founded his own label, Sub Verse Music, and released several solo albums and two albums with Orko Elohiem as NMS. Both El-P and Bigg Jus are releasing their latest albums just two weeks apart. I'm not sure if it was intentional on Jus's part to put out a record so close to his former partner, but given that El-P was on a version of "Black Rose," the first single from the album, it's probable that Jus was aware when El-P's record was dropping. Either way, it's hard to listen to "Machines That Make Civilization Fun" without comparing it to El-P's "Cancer 4 Cure." Both El-P and Bigg Jus have centered their careers on making different variations on the noisy, post-apocalyptic rap that they started with Company Flow. Jus has gone in a more politicized direction than El-P, and he continues that trend on "Machines." "

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_machinesthatmake.html

Ecid :: Werewolf Hologram :: Fill in the Breaks
as reviewed by Zach 'Goose' Gase

"Minneapolis rapper/producer Ecid's latest release "Werewolf Hologram" is well… weird. Hip hop has long embraced the weirdo from Slick Rick in the 80s, Ol Dirty in the 90s, MF Doom in the 00s and in recent years, Danny Brown. Ecid wears his odd ball badge proudly as he boasts on the album's finale: "I'm trying to dumb it down but don't know infant / I'll admit I'm on the weirder side of different / But weird is in again so I'm all-in, let's start a business." Yes weird is in, and probably has been in for a while, but what makes weird rappers like Doom and ODB successful is that they have great personalities to complement their weirdness. Ecid and "Werewolf Hologram's" main drawback is Ecid's lacks a big personality to go along with his zany lyrics and production. His voice on many tracks is as grating as they come, and his style reminds me of early Geologic (of Blue Scholars) but with less charisma. It is something that he seems to improve on as the album goes on, but the first few tracks are especially hard to get through. Lyrically, Ecid is pretty solid and occasionally has pretty dope one-liners like "I've got friends that'll steal your watch, and be like ‘yo bro, what time you got?'" but has a few too many stand out wack lines like "You wanna change, but your wardrobe's limited." "

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_werewolfhologram.html

Inno :: Awaiting the Arrival :: {self-released}
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon

"This is one of those classic "bad news/good news" situations. The bad news for Joseph 'Inno' Alvarez is that we missed the deadline for his Kickstarter project, which came almost three months ago. I accept my role in that I kept setting aside the album for review multiple times, although an unassuming green school folder with the album's title hand-written on the front didn't get my ass in gear nor make me want to mail it to a writer who I assumed (right or wrong) would pass on reviewing it. The GOOD news is that he did indeed meet his goals on the Kickstarter project, exceeding the $10,000 in funding he needed with only 59 backers, which I find incredibly impressive. That actually encouraged me to give the album in this green folder a spin - that and Inno's comment that "any review even after the deadline would still be helpful." Before we get any further into this review though, I still have to get into the whole "what not to do" facts for artists with albums they'd like to get reviewed, even as I know that in an increasingly digital age many of the things I'm about to say no longer apply. "

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_awaitingthearrival.html

Maggz :: Soundscapes: Spring Selection :: Bandcamp.com
as reviewed by Emanuel Wallace

"I would expect to see at least one more edition to make the non-cypher complete. For those who may not be familiar with our faithful audible meteorologist, Maggz, he hails from Rochester, NY but is currently based in Columbus, Ohio. He produced Zero Star's "Don't Look Now" in its entirety and I previously reviewed his Optix-produced "Maggnetic Opposites." Going off of memory alone, this selection of choice crops is the smallest, coming in at five tracks and hovering around fourteen minutes in length. After the brief introduction, the season begins with "Morning Dew," a track that sounds like it would be the perfect compliment to an early morning jog through the neighborhood while the streets are relatively empty. The scaling synths and sparse snaps seem to echo the sentiment. "Warm Rain" is more chaotic by comparison, but I don't mean that in a negative way. It's just a bit busier with more active kick drums and snares. That moment after the heaviest part of the storm, but before the sun peeks back out is what "Clouds of Mist" seems to embody. Signs of the storm still linger, but it's evident that better days are on the horizon. By the time we get to "Blooming Sun," the birds are back out and chirping as the rain begins to drain away and we're back to the simplicity of the season. The synths are mellow and the drums are back to being sparse and faintly heard. "

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_soundscapesspring.html

Snowgoons :: Terroristen Volk :: Goon MuSick
as reviewed by Matt Jost

"A German Snowgoons album has been some time coming. Despite being based out of Germany, the 'Goons knew early on where they belonged - the American East Coast underground rap scene. It wasn't until 2009 that they started to feature domestic rappers on their projects, namely the virtual Transatlantic joint venture "German Snow." After extending their portfolio with full-length production gigs for M.O.P. and Reef the Lost Cauze last year, in 2012 the Snowgoons are ready for an entire album almost completely made in Germany. Having a hard-earned reputation for being a rather one-track minded production team in terms of sound and philosophy, the Snowgoons make sure they stick to their script regardless of language. The album title "Terroristen Volk" ('Terrorist People') refers to a parody of a national social marketing campaign called 'You Are Germany.' In his video 'You Are [a] Terrorist,' visual artist Alexander Lehmann criticized intentions to curtail civil rights (especially the expansion of electronic surveillance) after the terrorist attacks of New York, Madrid and London. The clip's audio opens "Terroristen Volk," and while its smooth sarcasm isn't representative of what follows, a deep feeling of distrust drives many of these rappers in a fashion international listeners are familiar with from Ill Bill, Immortal Technique et al."

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_terroristenvolk.html

Tiger Shadow :: The Adventures of the Tiger Shadow :: TigerShadow.com
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon

"I actually thought the artist's name was "Tiger Shady" at first due to the font used in the artwork. I actually pondered that for a couple of minutes to boot. I wondered if he was Slim Shady's brother by a different mother of an Asian persuasion. I wondered if he'd be a cross between Jin and Miilkbone, yet an amalgamation that was ultimately greater than the sum of those parts. I pictured Tiger Shady pitching his demo to corporate executives who didn't understand the depth of his love for hip-hop, who could only imagine him being pigeonholed into a niche they naively believed wouldn't sell, and passing on his album - forcing him to release it himself. Ultimately at least part of that vivid daydream was accurate, and as it turns out there's nothing Shady about Tiger Shadow - figuratively or literally. Ripping this CD informs you that it's an instrumental, but whoever updated that database clearly wasn't paying attention. Tiger Shadow is an alternative hip-hop duo hailing from Leeds, a city/borough of West Yorkshire, England. Learning that made me make another assumption before listening - the lead rapper of the group would have the distinctive and commonly exported British meets West Indies flow of the UK hip-hop scene."

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_tigershadow.html

Romain Virgo :: The System :: VP Records
as reviewed by Patrick Taylor

"Romain Virgo came onto the reggae scene in 2007 when he won the Jamaican equivalent of American Idol, the Digicel Rising Stars competition. His 2010 self-titled debut was an excellent album, highlighting an amazing voice that belied his young age. Now, at 22, he's releasing his sophomore effort, "The System." The opening track sounds suspiciously like Train's "Hey, Soul Sister," with its acoustic guitars and "hey-yeah's." I immediately got nervous: did Romain go mom rock? Then his voice kicks in and all fears subside. The song is about the many ways in which the system lets people down, with a mournful chorus of "I feel like letting go." It's gorgeous, heartbreaking, and soulful, exactly what you've come to expect from Romain. Much of the album deals with the struggles of average people. "Minimum Wage" describes the challenge of working for peanuts. " Somebody tell me if this is not worse than slavery/Living under minimum wage," sings Romain. He follows this up with the similarly themed "Another Day Another Dollar," and the deceptively upbeat "Food Fi the Plate." Romain shines brightest on tracks like "Dem a Coward" where he gets a chance to show off both his amazing voice and his powerful yell, calling out thugs for the cowards they are. "Not Today" is another standout track, a pop ballad with Romain declaring "I looked death straight in the eye and said ‘I'm not going to die today." "

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_virgo-thesystem.html

The White House Band :: Renaissance :: CapCity Records
as reviewed by Steve 'Flash' Juon

"From the jump The White House Band proclaims itself to be "the most refreshing" release in hip-hop. Okay, hyperbole is to be expected, but I'm staring at this dude who looks like a cross between Percy Watson and Charlie Murphy, which leaves me unsure what kind of "refreshment" I'm in for. I hope it doesn't involve a couch, or a German suplex, or a German suplex ONTO a couch (though that would at least be a softer landing than a canvas).Well "GangstaGrass" is actually a collective of like-minded artists and producers who believe in mixing bluegrass music with hip-hop. That's a whole different subject for a whole 'nother review. In the here and now, what you need to know is that The White House Band is (like Heath Slater) a "one-man rock band" who is his OWN featured artist in his own group. Weird? Not in this music industry, although it's arguably ever so slightly egotistical. Still anybody who can play guitar and rap at the same damn time ought to be a little bit proud of it. Apparently being a one-man rock band just wasn't enough, so for "Renaissance" the man who also goes by the name David E Beats decided to bring in Mick Boogie as the host of the album. I honestly don't know what Mick Boogie adds to this album (no offense to duke meant, I'm still a fan of his work) but after hearing the phrase "Yeah! Whattup? This David E beat is SICK!!" over and over again I'm starting to agree, maybe just by sheer repetition."

http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/2012_06_renaissance.html