Clan Destined

ABBRACADAMN!!!
(Domination Recordings : 2007)

 

Arriving from the Tar Heel state, DJ-turned-emcees-but-still-DJs Clan Destined have dropped their respectively underground-buzzed album, ABBRACADAMN!!! To explain, the stars of this show—Amdex and DT—are DJ veterans while simultaneously being emcee babies. What such a description has produced could be expected: a rough experiment with a lot of future promise. Unfortunately, a reviewer’s job is not to speculate about where Clan Destined could go, but what their current product is, and what it is is interesting.

With a definite knowledge and appreciation for all kinds of music, it is immediately evident with the CD’s second track, “Freeze,” that there is a nice little bit of labwork going on between these two artists. While they haven’t quite developed their own complete sound, a true musichead can only give them applause for taking the right steps in such a direction. A lot of the beats and songwriting sound a bit like an unpolished Dilla and Slum Village, without the originality of either. Conceptually, though, these two dudes are way ahead of what most would expect for anyone’s self produced debut.

All of these things being said, the star of the show is always the one with the vocals—every producer and band knows that. Vocally, it doesn’t appear that North Carolina has delivered us Little Brother’s little brothers. However, pending on where this little Clan Destined thing goes, it may have given us a glimpse into something that could be pretty special down the road. There are sparks of, dare I say, brilliance, misted through the air on a couple very select tracks on ABBRACADAMN!!!, but know that Clan Destined also occasionally chops off the head of their magic show’s lovely assistant, thus rendering calamity.