Posted on 06/23/2009
After several years of scarcity, real hip-hop is back—and the Soul Slingers are doing their part to keep it that way. The duo of Ric Rude and DJ Tim Tones come from Rochester, NY, and represent a new wave of artists dedicated to originality and skill. Mixed seamlessly by Tim Tones in true mixtape fashion, this Ric Rude retrospective showcases the scattered thoughts of a focused artist. Ric comes strapped with a nimble baritone and heavy demeanor. He clearly has the skills to back up occasional bouts of braggadocio, yet that’s not his mission on the mic. Instead, he treats hip-hop like it’s his diary. As a result, Soul Slingers: The Ric Rude Mix offers the frank thoughts of a man trying to make it on his own. Detailed stories like “Dear Dad,” about the life and death of his estranged father, and “Hidden Treasure,” about his adolescent discovery that he could rap his ass off, make it hard not to root for him on joints like “Overachive,” a triumphant vow to succeed in life.

A few of the beats sounded a bit dated for 2009, but Ric Rude ravishes them regardless. The production offers a bit of everything, but never strays too far from that classic boom bap sound. With 6 of the 23 tracks, Jon Woodring from The Goonies production crew got the big piece of chicken. Behind the boards (for the likes of Afu-Ra, Monsta Island Czars, PyInfamous, Reece Q, and Copywrite) The Goonies have collectively developed a growing reputation for atmospheric and jazzy head-nodders. Upholding this reputation, Woodring’s use of moody jazz chops and clunky drums proves to be the perfect backdrop for Ric Rudes’s most candid and introspective moments. With beats like “Reject” and “Overachive,” expect Woody to pop up more often. Pause.

Husky, DJ Ease’s codefendant in the Professional Bank Robbers, also flexed The Goonies’s jazzy sound on “Out Ta Get Tha Props,” one of the project’s strongest tracks thanks to his precise work on the wheels of steel. “Sun Shine Through” and the single “Native of the City” are two other stand-outs worthy of your bandwidth. Each comes courtesy of Optix, a cat I first heard on M Dot Coop’s—criminally slept on—In and Out of Time. I’m not surprised at how dope “Native of the City” is considering the whiplash I got from Coop’s “Think Twice.”

Speaking of M Dot Coop, he and Ric Rude tag team the Tim Tones produced “Soul Slinger Anthem.” This track sounds like an evil mix between RZA and Premier, so god only knows why this is the sole song to feature Tim’s production work. Even though both emcees have dropped stronger verses elsewhere, their chemistry on this track could fill the periodic table. But Ric Rude isn’t just hangin’ with Mr. Cooper: Emilio Rojas comes through to bless “Don’t Want It” with a tongue twisting display of showmanship.

The Soul Slingers even hint at their abilities on stage with the album’s closer, a swipe at William Bell’s “I Forgot to be Your Lover” played live by Filthy Funk. The way Filthy Funk burns the house down, they very well may put a kink in the hose of that other funk-band-turned-production-squad, The Fyre Dept. Despite the lo-fi recording, it made my day to hear Tim Tones mimic DJ Babu over that infamous guitar lick used by Dilated Peoples. It’s one of those rare moments where sampling comes full circle. And it is this touch of awareness—the acceptance that they are just a small part in the timeline of the music they love, that will make the Soul Slingers worthy of sitting in your collection next to the greats.

- M. Steve Hammer