Steve 'Flash' JuonOn February 15th, 2013 producer araabMUZIK released the album “For Professional Use Only” on Duke Productions. Less than three months later he was shot in an attempted armed robbery which was somewhat glibly described by a reporter as him being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.” That would be the beginning and end of the story if the same thing didn’t happen to him AGAIN almost three years to the day from the release of this album. He’s either incredibly unlucky, lives in a terrible neighborhood in Providence, or (possibly) both. It hasn’t happened to him again in almost a decade so he either moved or is just more careful when he’s making moves. He was able to “Turn the Tide” of drama in his life in a better direction.
For those less familiar with Abraham Orellana here’s a brief synopsis — he got his break in the 2000’s producing tracks for the DipSet family of emcees, but has since gone on to work with a wide variety of East coast artists from Cardi B to A$AP Rocky. His signature sound is different from what you might expect if you’re basing it strictly on those names. I would describe araab as more of a dubstep or EDM musician. His tracks pulse with night club energy. They feature a lot of bass mixed with electronic sound effects and heavily modified samples. If this album is “For Professional Use Only” then those professionals are hosting a rave. I’d put on a song like “Astro Dust” and sync it to a couple of light towers flashing to the beat.
This is what makes araab an effective rap producer. Even though there’s a familiar head nod quality to the beats on tracks like “Street Knock,” he distinguishes himself from the cliches of boom bap, dirty south, trap and G-funk. He sounds more like a UK musician than a US rap impresario, and more than ever these days that’s a compliment. If you want somebody to lace a track that’s going to sound like the future and not the past, you’d give araab a call, although there’s a fine line to be walked in on an all instrumental album like this as to whether you’d call it “rap music” or not.
Even though I enjoy “For Professional Use Only” and would happily put it on as background music, that very statement belies the problem here. I really want to hear rappers work with araab, I always enjoy how unique those collaborations sound, and stripped of that collab’ it’s just … if I’m being honest it’s hard to put into words. “Bad” is the wrong word. “Boring” is even more wrong. “Incomplete” might be the right one? I can’t hear “G Riding” without thinking what somebody from the A$AP Mob would sound like rapping on it. These are good beats. “So Good.” I just wanted more than good beats.
The bottom line is if you like electronic music, maybe even techno or EDM, you’ll enjoy this. Rap fans may get lost in the sauce if they expect something more traditional and accessible from araab though.