Posted on 04/14/2008
While their main priority is moving the crowd, the Hip Hop DJ is often a natural critic and historian, weeding out the forgettable and preserving the obscure. Splitting his time as co-manager of Plug Label alongside Kero-One, the left coast's DJ King Most assumed the dual roles of orchestrator and educator for Genius Music, a mix-CD showcasing works of varying notoriety by the industry's three kings of production. The geniuses in question are none other than Kanye West, Timbaland and the Neptunes; the names in the rolodex of any artist serious about cracking the charts. Far from a greatest hits and not quite brimming with exclusives, Genius Music is essentially a cross-section of everything in-between.

 

"60+ Minutes of selected b-sides, album cuts, remixes and other lesser-known tracks." This description plastered on Genius Music‘s back cover synopsizes the mix as accurately as any review. King Most applies a personal touch by occasionally utilizing original samples to segue into their Hip Hop counterparts; such as the Kanye-tapped "Strung Out" by William Bell paving way for Cam'ron's "Down & Out." Joints by The Roots, Clipse, Biggie, Slim Thugg, Q-Tip and even Daft Punk are given the "Jackin' For Beats" treatment, slickly placed over instrumentals by the resident geniuses. The rest of the 29-track mix is not exactly a foggy trip down memory lane. It's unlikely that many songs by Cee-Lo, Fabolous, Jay-Z, E-40, Busta Rhymes and the rest of the gang slipped through the cracks of today's bootlegger's paradise.

 

Anyone with a radio or television is no stranger to hearing the work of Tim, Kanye and the Neptunes in succession, making this a logical threesome. Despite the lack of crowning achievements, King Most's mix flows comfortably and the mash-ups provide a shot in the arm. Credit has to be dished out for the absence of name shouting, sound effects and other tired DJ tactics to reinforce that it is in fact King Most on the mix. Nothing but old-fashioned cuts, the way it was meant to be. Genius Music is perhaps best suited for the casual crowd looking to fill gaps in their Hip Hop education, while there may be a few skip button victims for those currently up-to-date on their genius history.

 

- Andrew Jones