I was surprised to see that nobody mentioned 'Primitive Plus' by Edan on
Lewis recordings (but then again I'm on the digest so somebody probably has
by now). This album manages to be fresh-sounding while still having a strong
old-school vibe a la Eric B & Rakim and vintage Pete Rock. The production is
pretty innovative and the rhyming is superb. 'Mic Manipulator' from it is
quite the jolliest piece of music I've heard in years, and 'Key-Bored' is
'Rondo Alla Turca' on 45 over a dusty loop, but even better than it sounds.
There's also a big distorted 'My Melody' soundalike featuring Mr Lif which
rocks too.
The whole 'Stone's Throw' label (run by Peanut Butter Wolf) is really strong
as well, in particular the Quasimoto album, which is Madlib on Helium (no,
literally). Their sound is along the 'old jazz loops and dirty beats' lines,
and the rhyming really comes across well. A word of warning, though - try
before you buy with this one, as his voice might grate on you. I likes it
all the same. All the songs are really short, which makes it a lot more
palatable than most hip hop full-lengths.
And I couldn't post about hip hop without giving a prop to the Divine Styler
album from 2000-ish on Mo' Wax, called 'Word power 2: Directrix'. It's not
cheery or 'up' or anything like the original post asked about, but it's
still one of the best hip hop albums from the past 5 years imho. Really
futuristic sounding, with production unlike most other hip hop I've heard
before or since, and really great use of the voice as an instrument
(intelligent effects and so forth). And 'Fantastic Damage' by El-P is
likewise doom-laden and grimy, but one of the best records of any genre I've
heard in a very, very long time.
Luvin'
Papa D.
The Marcia Blaine School for Girls:
marciablaine.cjb.net
available:
s/t e.p. on Dalriada (Ideal)
inclusion on Benbecula "Music Volume 2" (Baked Goods)
The Marcia Blaine School Disco Vol. 1 (ramshackle CDR mix album)
forthcoming:
inclusion on Law & Auder "I Am:Bient"
inclusion on Struktur compilation
stuff on Stuff records
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