Blackprint

Are you freakin’ kidding me? My favorite prolific producer just picked up a mic and dropped an album, and he *produced* it also? Hmmm. I hope he ain’t like some of these solid producers who only think they can rap but really should stick to making beats. Kanye has been making major waves in the music pool, he got a big start on Jay-z’s CD “The Dynasty – Roc La Familia” which he produced “Can’t be Life” starring Hova, Scarface and Beanie Sigel, I distinctly remember loving this beat and song and was dang near the only reason I bought the album, (of course, the intro made up for anything that went wrong on the album). Kanye reveals that he actually intended his next beat to go to DMX, but thankfully it went to Jigga and became known as “Heart of the City” on the Blueprint, now after hearing his debut “The College Dropout”, will we think that these beats should have went to someone else?

The Chicago native is one of the few rappers out there to give respect to the art by actually being creative and *not* following other trends and taking the unbeaten path. He proves this in songs such as “All Falls Down”, “Jesus Walks”, “Two Words”, “Family Business”, “Spaceship”, and fortunately, it doesn’t stop there. The former of the group is the 2nd release (which better win video of the year), and uses an interpolation from Lauryn Hill’s “Mystery of Iniquity” which Syleena Johnson beautifully articulates. This is a song of many levels, he hits on many different mentalities ranging from the unwitting college girl, to materialistic psychology he quips “I say f*** the police that’s the way I treat ’em / we buy our way out of jail, but we can’t buy freedom / we all buy a lot of clothes, but we don’t really need ’em / things we buy, to cover up what’s inside / cuz they made us hate ourself and love they[‘re] wealth”.

The intensity shifts and varies, at times using songs like “The New Workout Plan” to lighten the intellectual load. Said song is a definite club banger which boasts a hot beat and club heavy lyrics such as “Ooh girl your breath is harsh / cover your mouth up like you got SARS”, he also brings in Workout Plan testimonials and manipulates their voice into the beat, very nicely done from start to finish. Immediately following the up-tempo club shot, he brings the established half tempo “Slow Jamz” featuring Twista and comedian Jamie Foxx, but please don’t be surprised at Jamie Foxx crooning on the mic, he established his R&B presence way back in the day on the soundtrack to “Great White Hype”. Who couldn’t appreciate Twista doing what he does best, which is to go Tazmanian devil on a soft beat a la “Get it Wet” or “Emotions”. Jamie Foxx is a brilliant pull out of the hat, as well as a guest appearance by Aisha Tyler.

Kanye often gets personal and sheds light on his own experiences and mental state on such tracks as “Through the Wire” and “Family Business”. The former was his solo debut which had many people scratching their heads and saying “Kanye West? Ain’t he that producer? I ain’t know he was tryin ta rap.” Ever since he released this track, which was recorded only days after a near fatal accident that had his jaw crushed and wired up causing his arrogance to be realized through his head actually being swollen (hehe), I’ve been anticipating Kanye’s every move. The beat is absolute fire, using a soul sample from Chaka Chan and don’t get me started on the video (when BET finally invites me on to do my top 25, expect it to be in the top 5 or 10).

My absolute favorite track on the record is “Family Business”, I’ve listened to it 35 or 40 times back to back and I am still not tired of listening to it. The beat is very nostalgic bearing a slight feel of an old TV family moment, yet, way deeper than that. Lyrically, if you’re even remotely attached to your family then you will relate on many different levels, I could easily quote every verse and feel justified, it’s a beautiful song which he illustrates poetically, “I woke up early this morning wit a new state of mind / a creative way to rhyme / without using nines and guns”, and “All my niggas from the Chi, that’s my family dog / and my niggas ain’t my guys, that’s my family dog / I feel like one day you’ll understand me dog / you can still love your man and be manly dog / you ain’t gotta get heated at every house warmin / sittin here grillin people like George Foreman”, or “As kids we used to laugh / who knew that life would move this fast / who knew I[‘d] have to look at you through a glass / and look, you tell me you ain’t did it, then you ain’t did it / and if you did, then that’s family business”. I’ll try to contain myself, honestly. It doesn’t quit there, he brings in some absolutely beautiful vocals and choir-like singing accompanied by a sample which reminds us “All that glitters is not gold, all gold is not reality, real is what you layed on me”. This will be the soundtrack to all my future family reunions.

“Breathe In Breathe Out” is interlude-ish and once again is a buffer to all the emotional highs and lows, one of my favorite lines on the album comes in the first verse: “always said if I rapped I’d say somethin significant / but now I’m rappin bout money hoes and rims again / and It’s still about the benjamins / big faced hundreds and whatever other synonyms / … / more chips than pentium / “what you gon’ buy next?”, whatever new trend it is”. Ludacris helps out and spits the chorus “Breathe in breathe out / let them hoes fight / pull a weave out / if a nigga act up, pull a desert eagle / when I pull a piece out, niggas like ‘peace out'”.

“Jesus Walks” is by far the beat with the most to offer, containing a chant that sounds like some dwarves off Wizard of Oz, some serious choir work, a marching drum and that barely scratches the surface, AMAZING attention to detail and creative polish. The song is divided into two verses, the first verse concentrates on being socially shackled and bound by cops, society, and the hood. The second verse actually speaks on what it means to stand out and hold ground for Jesus “they said you can rap about anything except for Jesus / that means guns, sex, lies and videotape / but if I talk about God my record won’t get played / huh?? / well, if this take away from my spins / which will probably take away from my ends / then I hope it take away from my sins”, Kanye best be careful, he is raising his own standard extremely high, especially when you talk about needing a God you defy on other tracks such as “The New Workout Plan”.

The follow up track “Never Let Me Down” which features Jay-z and an unknown J-Ivy is blended to perfection almost as if this and the previous track are the same song. Jay-z kills it in two verses, the opening 16 bars and the closing 16 bars, J-Ivy does his spoken word thang and has a terrific style and even bangs out some heartfelt language of emotion. Kanye once again comes correct, “but, I can’t complain what the accident did to my left eye / cuz look what a accident did to Left Eye / first Aaliyah now Romeo must die? / I know I got angels watchin me from the other side”. The music and chorus is all perfected with timely breaks and break-downs, and just when the song sounds like it’s ending, it drops another verse. Magnifique.

I haven’t even touched songs like “Spaceship”, that has arguably the best soul sample on the record, which fantasizes being able to just leave all the pressures and hassles of life, an incredible addition. Nor have I detailed “We Don’t Care” which pays tribute to the catch 22 of drug dealers and hard pressed youth of today. “Get em High” should also deserve attention with rhyme rippers Common and Talib Kweli partaking in a piece of history rapping about hookin up with internet chatroom babes or just plain spittin bout being hard. What about “School Spirit” which pays tribute to frats and school, “told ’em I finished school, and I started my own business / they say “oh you graduated”, no, I decided I was finished / … / this nigga graduated at the top of my class / I went to cheesecake, he was a motherf****** waiter there”.

The problems with this CD are few and far between. The first is rather obvious and blatant: is it really necessary to have 6 skits?? I will admit, the skits themselves weren’t bad, they were funny and enjoyable and they were definitely numerous. The sheer time consumption of them is what really gets you, and like I said, they were enjoyable, but they don’t need to take up 6 individual tracks, if you absolutely have to have them then blend them into the end of the previous track. The other big problem is glorifying dropping out of college, which is only a problem because of how elaborate this statement is and due to the fact that the target audience is indeed black college students. Way to go Kanye, let’s keep the black community ignorant and out of power. (Please read the sarcasm on that last statement.) Now I’m not saying you can’t be successful without attending college, heck, I haven’t been through school either, but I am saying that everyone dropping higher education is an awful idea. I do realize Kanye didn’t specifically say that, but he does communicate it in his sarcastic and slanderous statements.

Aside from those minor nuisances, this is the ideal hip hop CD, and it should not have been titled “The College Dropout”, instead it should be called “The Redemption of Hip Hop”. There is some gorgeous music overlapped with deep lyrics such as “we scream rocks blow weed Park / see now we smart / we ain’t retards / the way teachers thought / hold up hold fast / we make mo Cash / now tell my momma I belong in that slow class” (“We Don’t Care”), dexterity on the trigger of wit, “killin ya’ll niggas on that lyrical [tip] / mayonnaise colored Benz, I push miracle whips” (“Last Call”), or even relatable light hearted flow, “you know that one auntie, you don’t mean to be rude / but every holiday nobody eatin’ her food / … / act like you ain’t took a bath with your cousin, fit 3 in the bed / if it’s 6 of ya’ll, I’m talkin bout 3 by the head / and, 3 by the leg / but you ain’t have to tell my girl I used to pee in the bed”. Fortunately, I hardly scratched the lyrical surface, he never comes wack and consistently gets across what he’s trying to say.

There’s some other notable aspects, such as on track 3 after the skit he fades in a harmonious instrumental with some soft and soulful singing which leads gently into “All Falls Down”. Also noteworthy is the final track where Kanye burns 10 minutes recounting his story of how he broke into the business, excellent story and I’ll continue to listen to it. Undoubtedly, I’ll listen to this CD again and again and things will be immediately brought to memory that I should’ve put in here for praise, it’s truly a great CD that will stand the test of time due to the organic and fluid sounds mixed with lyrical genius and honesty. Don’t just buy this CD to bump in your car, also play it with your headphones on cause that’s the only way you’ll catch all the depth, believe me, I’ve listened to this CD at *least* 20 times and I am STILL catching things I missed. If skits and a ton of extra ad libs don’t bother you then this is a 5 Planet CD, I personally don’t like seeing 21 tracks, and realizing only 14 of them are actual songs, but yes, that is nit-picky, this is the strongest 4.5 star CD you will ever see. 4.5 stars out of 5.

Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. We Don’t Care
3. Graduation Day
4. All Falls Down (ft. Syleena Johnson)
5. I’ll Fly Away
6. Spaceship (ft. GLC Consequence)
7. Jesus Walks
8. Never Let Me Down (ft. Jay-z and J-Ivy)
9. Get Em High (ft. Talib Kweli and Common)
10. Workout Plan (skit)
11. The New Workout Plan
12. Slow Jamz (ft. Jamie Foxx and Twista)
13. Breathe In Breathe Out
14. School Spirit (Skit 1)
15. School Spirit
16. School Spirit (Skit 2)
17. Lil Jimmy (Skit)
18. Two Words (ft. Mos Def, Freeway, The Harlem Boys Choir)
19. Through the Wire
20. Family Business
21. Last Call

4.5 out of 5.

After pushing the limits on The New Danger, Mos Def returns from adventures in deep space and on the silver screen with a new album, which showcases a more stripped-down and rootsy side of one of hip-hop’s most versatile men. Continuing his streak of making innovative, conscious and soulful music, the Renaissance man’s latest release True Magic is exactly what the title says. The album’s tracks deliver critical, crafty rhymes and fresh hooks as Mos raps, chants and sings his way through the streets of Brooklyn, the world of hip-hop, the heights of Black consciousness, the depths of US politics, and the feelings of love – both lost and gained.

The undeniable allure of this album lies in the seamless, uncompromising blend of politics and aesthetics which has been Mos Def’s stock and trade for over a decade. He alternates between in-your-face combative confrontation and lucent intellectual contemplation with the dexterity of Tyson in his prime, no joke, no lie, no line. For Black Star and Black on Both Sides fans who found The New Danger alienating or too experimental, welcome back. The eclectic and seemingly haphazard mixing of rap, neo-soul, gospel and rock behind phat beats in time and the truth in rhyme is back.

The back bone of the album is of course Mos Def’s uncompromising voice and ability to spin thought. More often than not, he is accompanied by simple hooks, no nonsense, which range from the bold synth lines of the title track to old-school guitar line on ‘Fake Bonanza’. However, some of the most deliciously devastating moments on the album come from the dense textures on ‘There is a way’, which features a gospel-type female chorus. Also worth note is ‘Dollar Day’, a deep critique of the politics of the Bush administration centered on New Orleans. Can you deny the words “Mr President he about that cash/he got a policy for handlin’ the niggas and the trash/and if you poor, you black/I laugh, they ain’t givin’ you ass/you better off on crack/dead or in jail or with a gun in Iraq”?

Mos also produces one of the few love songs on the market which portrays the true complexity of a relationship. On “U R The One”, he narrates through the difficult feelings of longing and anguish, angst and anger, lust and memory which comes as blessed relief from the glut of cookie cutter love songs out there.

‘True Magic’ is hip-hop, straight, no chaser; it’s an album in a classic sense: it is made to be spun front to back, and not a product of the handful of singles and a lot of filler formula which dominates so much of pop music. The bare packaging of the CD reflects this – it is sold in a plain clear plastic case with no liner notes, just the disc. Perhaps because ultimately it is the music that matters, the rest is just bells and whistles.

4.5 stars – worth every penny

Track Listing:

1. True Magic
2. Undeniable
3. U R The One
4. Thug Is A Drug
5. Crime & Medicine
6. A Ha
7. Dollar Day
8. Napoleon Dynamite
9. There Is A Way
10. Sun, Moon, Stars
11. Murder Of A Teenage Life
12. Fake Bonanza
13. Perfect Timing
14. Lifetime

by Justin Patch

Raw. Unpolished. Bare. These are words to describe Diamonds to Dust, the latest album by Gurf Morlix, Austin’s man-behind-the-man. Best known for his work with Americana big-shots like Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen, Jimmy Lafave, and Slaid Cleaves, every now and then Morlix is prone to doing his own thing, on his own terms. His fourth solo effort is eleven tracks of straight-forward Americana: no production tricks, no slick soundscapes, no ‘radio tunes’, just one man’s words and music. Morlix’s songs and stories run the gamut from the quiet introspection of ‘Blanket’ – with ethereal harmony sung by Patty Griffin – to the rough edges and bleakness of ‘Windows Open, Windows Close’. Filled with two-beat bass, four-on-the-floor drums, dirty guitars that never play solos, and a voice like a mouthful of Texas dust with a whiskey chaser, Diamonds to Dust is no pick me up, no starry romance. But the rugged electric outlaw tunes and deep acoustic ballads work, like plain old good songs should.

The opening track ‘Killing Time in Texas’, a get-out-of-town-while-you-still-can ballad, sets the tone for the album: stripped-down and gritty. ‘Madalyn’s Bones’ shows off Morlix’s dark wit by appropriating a well loved children’s tune: ‘The head-bone was next to the hip bone/the hip-bone was next to the neck bone/the neck bone was next to the leg-bone/the leg-bone was next to the shoulder bone’ on the bridge. The standout track on the album is definitely ‘Blanket’, an introspective, heartfelt ballad about facing mortality, inspired by the deaths of rock icon Warren Zevon and long-time friend Chris Slemmer. Although there are a few rough spots, like the preachy droning of ‘With God on our Side’ and the clichés of ‘I’ve got a Passion’, but taken as a whole, this album measures up on its own two feet. This spins well with late Dylan – Time out of Mind or Modern Times – John Hyatt, or any of Texas’s great Americana artists, the very sound he helped to define over the past two-plus decades.

If you were looking for an album to go along with that brand spanking new six-pack, or a long drive on a dark highway, this just might be the album for you.

3.5 stars

Track Listing:

1. Killin’ Time In Texas
2. Madalyn’s Bones
3. Food Water Shelter And Love
4. Blanket
5. Diamonds To Dust
6. With God On Our Side
7. Passion
8. Windows Open, Windows Close
9. Up Against It
10. Worth Dying For
11. Need You Now

by Justin Patch

Before I begin, let me say this: Todd Fritsch’s latest, Sawdust, is pure Nashville, so if you’re not into Nashville, tune out now. If you’re still reading, here is the next point: this album is Nashville at its best. You might be able to argue about the pop-country, over-produced aspects of Nashville’s brand of country, but you can’t deny that Nashville yields talent, and Todd Fritsch has a flatbed full of it. The album is a tour de force from someone who has country music running though his veins. From honky-tonk to Cowboy songs to country crooning – a seemingly lost art – this ranching kid from Texas covers the bases in one of the most stylistically diverse country albums I’ve heard in quite some time.

One thing which is clear from spinning this album is that Fritsch has spent more than a few nights out at a dance-hall. His rhythmic feel is spot-on every time, and his ballads are better fit for a night out on the dance floor than for pop-country radio. Although innovation may not exactly be Fritsch’s gig, he displays knowledge of the corpus of country music and executes the seventeen tracks on Sawdust with musical maturity beyond his years.

The highlights of this album are the book-ends. The opening track, which is the first radio single, ‘What’s Wrong with Me’, is a great example of a well crafted pop tune and the last track, ‘Little Joe the Wrangler’, an old cowboy song is rendered as a tastefully done acoustic ballad. My personal favorite track is ‘All That’s Left is You’, which showcases some classic crooning.

Yes, there are quite a few clichés, like the obligatory love-of-a-lifetime song ‘First Date (for the last time)’, the cheating song ‘Guilty Conscience’, and the pessimistic-about-love song ‘No Part Of’, but Fritsch’s impeccable delivery and superb voice makes even the usually intolerable subjects enjoyable. The only down sides to this album are the tunes ‘The Rock’, which unfortunately conflates Southern-Style Confederate nostalgia with Christianity, and ‘If You Don’t Like Country (Time to Leave)’, a meta-country tune which is actually the most rock and roll tune on the album. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with a little bit of rockin’ country, but for someone who is so proficient in more straight-up twang and two-step, the song topic seems inherently opposed to the style.

For anyone who is into Nashville – Brad Paisley, George Strait, Tim McGraw, etc – check out Sawdust, it’ll give any of The Music City’s big boys a run for their money.

3.5 stars – definitely worth the money, if it’s your thing.

Track Listing:

1. What’s Wrong With Me
2. The Rock
3. No Part Of
4. All That’s Left Is You
5. So This Is Love
6. Guilty Conscience
7. If You Don’t Like Country (Time To Leave)
8. Life’s a Circle
9. Texas Talkin’
10. Five Mornings Down
11. Honky Tonk Talk
12. Tequila Tells
13. Tables
14. A Walk To Remember
15. Every Honky Tonkin’ Hero (Has His Day)
16. First Date (For the Last Time)
17. Little Joe the Wrangler

by Justin Patch

What’s in an EP? What’s the point of releasing a less-than-full-length album, especially when you’re not in need of a record contract or a South-By-Southwest gig? I suspect that for Austin’s veteran singer-songwriter Bruce Robison it was a matter of striking while the iron was hot. The seven songs that were bouncing around his head and crying out for daylight have recently been released as “It Came From San Antonio”, an eclectic and playful set of tunes.

The EP is comprised of one rock and roll tune, two ballads, one road trip story, a song about growing up and getting lost in life, another about the life of a gigging musician, and one great up-tempo pop tune. Although the feat of producing a front to back EP isn’t nearly as difficult as producing a front to back full-length album, Robison and a cast of talent deserve props for delivering 28 minutes that stand up on their own, although without a unifying theme or sound, it spins a bit like a songs-for-sale demo.

The stand out tracks are definitely “When it Rains” and “23A”. The first is a cut that tells the story of a footloose Texas music man whose car breaks down en route to the coast. He is picked up by a woman who shares his travels and his profession to a point, which comes to an abrupt end in Providence. The genius of this song lies in the lyric which ties all four verses together: “a voice that you just love to hear when it rains”. No matter who or where you are – with the exception of those who live in the desert – everyone knows exactly what Robison is referring to, that lost CD or LP which always seems to find its way onto the stereo on dreary days. Although commercial radio rarely delivers a good story, there are some great storytellers still recording and Robison is one of them. “23A” is one of the most honest portrayals of one night as a music man. It starts with playing a cover tune and ends with a dark hall, the way most gigs do. The song is short on glamour and romance, resonates with the truth of countless late smoky nights at honky-tonks all over Texas.

The head-scratcher on the EP is the title track, which sounds like 60s rock cliché salad. While the sonic content of the song might not be the highest of quality, I can appreciate a topical song, which seems to be a dying art. The tune is about Austin’s late great Doug Sahm and his band The Sir Douglas Quintet, who mixed the best of Texas and Liverpool. In this case, the wit and humor of the lyrics, and the fitting tribute to a legend of Texas music, is worth the less than engaging music.

All things considered, the EP is good. It spins well, has great, catchy tunes, fine musicianship and spot-on production. However, I can’t help but wonder if these songs are going to end up on a longer release at a later date. I’m still always a little suspicious of short releases, and as far as bang-for-the-buck, one might fare better on itunes. If you are a collector or a music snob, buy the EP just to say that you had these tunes before some less talented Nashville type scores a big hit with a cover of one of these songs, which seems to be the case with Robison’s tunes these days.

3.5 stars

Track Listing:

1. It Came From San Antonio
2. When It Rains
3. Lifeline
4. My Baby Now
5. Anywhere But Here
6. What Makes You Say
7. 23A

by Justin Patch