Posted on 10/12/2009
Raekwon had heard the fans ask him to return to his roots, to deliver another dose of hardcore “crack rap,” — a staple that made his 1995 debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx such a classic. That album, commonly referred to as “the purple tape,” was a straight-up raw piece of East coast hip-hop. Fast forward to now, and Raekwon has cooked up Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt. II,...

Posted on 10/12/2009
If George Clinton had booted more heroin and smoked less crack back in the day, he might have churned out something like this. That’s not to say that drugged-out allegory should dismiss the artistic merit of Nuclear Evolution. Sa-Ra’s new double album is a layer cake soundscape; mad noises joined forces to effectuate an aural opiate rush. Fans of Koushik or The Love Below should feel at home but for...

Posted on 10/12/2009
Boy Meets World is likely to garner a certain amount of attention simply due to the presence of Exile, an established and increasingly well-regarded Californian producer who can now add Fashawn’s debut to his résumé. While it’s true that Exile brings a lot to this album via his distinct instrumental style, it is no less true that the Bay Area MC is up to the challenge, having summoned up a...

Posted on 10/12/2009
Love it or hate it, Major Lazer put dancehall firmly back on the musical agenda. And that can only be a good thing, especially if it brings artists as deserving as Jahdan Blakkamoore more shine. If you heard his turn on Guns don’t kill people…Lazers do, you’ll already be familiar with his lilting croon, but “Cash Flow’s” gently uplifting vibe won’t prepare you for the variety of styles that Jahdan...

Posted on 10/12/2009
I had always dismissed Anti-Pop Consortium as one of those groups who use innovation as a shield. Reunited after a slew of side projects, their music remains as defiantly abrasive, abnormal, aggressive, and atypical as perhaps anyone with a record deal inside the sphere of black music. That might look good on the old monitor, but you know what? Pablo Picasso could actually draw. With Anti-Pop Consortium, however, as their...

Posted on 10/12/2009
The Years is a collection of modern recordings in the style of various time periods, roughly spanning the 1960s through the present. L.A.-based Vosotros, with bassist Gabe Noel at the core, have assembled a variety of vocalists and studio musicians to that end, focusing particularly on the soul and funk continuum. Styles range from the Al Green vocalizing of “Let’s Stay in Love” (even the title suggests the...