Posted on 07/28/2005

 

You know those words that you've heard but you aren't exactly sure what they mean, like "pedagogue"? For me, "soporific" has always been one of those words. Thankfully, the dictionary provided me with a straightforward definition ("sleep-inducing"), which makes it the perfect word to describe Layyourbattleaxedown, the latest from the Concretes. This album is soporific as shit. It's the musical equivalent of watching golf.

Posted on 07/27/2005

 

There's just some music that exists. It's not offensively bad, nor is it excessively good. It's just kind of there. And while it's playing, it doesn't really impress anyone enough to pay closer attention and it certainly doesn't disgust anyone enough to shut it off.

Posted on 07/26/2005

 

Hip hop's blending into other genres used to be a cause to cringe; we've survived Fred Durst trying to rhyme, wacktacular scratching over a trip-hop landscape, ill-fated college rock and hip hop collabs (remember R.E.M & KRS-1 together?), but finally, we're starting to see some mind-melds that actually work.

Posted on 07/25/2005

 

Over the past few years, mixtapes have become some of the more influential promotional tools in hip hop. Artists now use mixtapes to build anticipation for upcoming releases by leaking a couple album tracks, adding some b-sides, freestyles and remixes, then throwing on a few posse cuts for good measure. In The Grown Folks' case, their mixtape not only builds anticipation for their full-length debut, Child's Play, but serves as a formal introduction to the duo: Virginia natives, Micsource and Dox-1.

Posted on 07/22/2005

 

Prefuse 73: Reads the Books finds everyone's favorite expatriate DJ at it again: it meaning hating bass, liking obscure loops and loving the vosotros verb form. The eight-track conceptual EP, however, doesn't feature any of the embedded, minimized verses or intrepid scratching that has experimental hip-hop purists drooling like corrupt boxing promoters to extol Prefuse (Scott Herren) the next great heavyweight champ (which is just a nice way of saying the next DJ Shadow).

Posted on 07/21/2005

 

The Kidz In The Hall are two true-school representatives, literally. The duo met at a University of Pennsylvania talent show in 2000. Since then, both Naledge (Chicago lyricist/MC) and Double-O (New Jersey producer/DJ) have united in a fashion similar to Gangstarr or Pete Rock & CL Smooth.