Charity Starts at Home

by Phonte

Phonte is one of the people in the music industry that I respect the most.  When Little Brother got their start, I found that his raps were by far the freshest and coolest part of the group, and for a while, I was in agreement with the throngs of people who heralded 9th Wonder as one of the greatest producers of the decade.  Then, as time went on, I found that 9th was starting to get a little stale for me.

It was around that same time that Phonte started working with Nicolay, to create Foreign Exchange, and by their second album together, Te had basically stopped rapping all together, and I discovered that he sang even better than he rapped.  Side projects, like the crazy 80s cover EP he did with Zo! helped cement my esteem for the man.  Then, in the last year, Foreign Exchange dropped Authenticity, which was incredible, and their live concert DVD/CD, which has become one of my favourite discs of the year.

And then Phonte released Charity Starts at Home, his new solo hip-hop album.  The first time I played it, I thought that it felt like a few steps backwards towards mediocrity, although I have to say that it has grown on me with repeated playing (I've had it in the rotation since September - I always take forever to write about music).

The album does not start off all that well.  The first track is decent (thanks to Sy Smith), but things bog down quickly through the second and third.  What makes this record work are the tracks where Te starts singing hooks or more, such as on 'Not Here Anymore', which has Elzhi guesting, 'Sending My Love', 'Ball and Chain' (sorta), 'To Be Yours' (a very short track produced by Zo!), and 'Gonna Be a Beautiful Night'.  'We Go Off' is a harder track that shows that Phonte can still throw down with some of the best, as he holds his own next to Pharoahe Monch.

At the end of the day, there is something very likable about Phonte, and that gets summed up at the end of the last track, 'Who Loves You More', when he says "I played this record a million times, hoping you would play it once."  There is a level of craftsmanship in his work that is rare in hip-hop these days, but I'd still be much happier were he to do more work with Nicolay and Sy Smith...

Album of the Year

by Black Milk

As much as I like Black Milk's brand of post-Dilla production, I find I get a little tired of listening to him rap.  He's improving all the time - the lyrics on this album are better than they were on Tronic, his release of two years ago, but I would still prefer to see him stay behind the boards a little more.

Album of the Year has twelve tracks, and features a nice mix of Detroit hip-hop royalty, with appearances by Royce da 5'9, Elzhi, and Mr. Porter, but most of the tracks are Black Milk solo efforts (or feature someone singing the hooks), and the project becomes a little monotonous towards the end.

Don't get me wrong - I like this album, but I would have liked it a lot more had there been some more variety or substance.  It starts out very promisingly with '365', an accounting of the last year of Black's life, with reference to the friends that have passed (Baatin) or had some serious problems (Hex Murda).  Beyond the first few tracks, everything kind of blends for me, and none of the songs really stand out.

This is a great album for beats though....

Changes of Atmosphere

by Dela

If you close your eyes, and imagine what an album by a producer whose name conjures up both De La Soul and J Dilla, featuring artists like Talib Kweli, J-Live, J. Sands, Elzhi, Large Professor, Blu, Les Nubians, and their like, sounds like, I'm sure you'd come up with the exact sound on display on this disk.

Dela, who hails from France, plays with some very nice jazz loops, and puts out a strong example of underground hiphop that could have been released at any time in the last ten years. It has a timeless quality to it, and wears its Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, and Dilla influences proudly on its sleeve.

This is a nice chill album to listen to on a rainy Sunday afternoon...

White Van Music

by Jake One
Jake One first caught my attention with his beats on De La Soul's 'The Grind Date', and I started noticing his name popping up from time to time in different liner notes. He didn't have an immediately recognizable sound, but he did make nice beats. When I heard that Rhymesayers was releasing his first solo album, and I saw who would be featured on it, I figured it was a safe purchase.

This is a good album, and I think could have been a great album, had a few songs been trimmed off of it. Now, this becomes a matter of personal bias, as it is the more mainstream songs featuring artists like Freeway, Young Buck, Evidence, Prodigy, Alchemist, and MOP that I would lose.

The tracks that feature more underground artists are what kept this in my car for so long. Little Brother has a nice track on here, as do Elzhi & Royce Da 5'9", Blueprint, and Black Milk & Nottz. Among the best tracks is 'The Truth', with Freeway and Brother Ali - a strange pairing for sure, but one that works exceptionally well. Posdnuos and Slug record 'Oh Really', another fantastic track, and another unusual partnership. These two songs together remind me a little of that "Think Differently" project of a couple of years back.

Of course, the big draw of the album are the two tracks featuring MF Doom. He still comes correct, and spits in his usual eccentric style. It's nice to see that the man is still recording.

As for Jake One's beats - they are consistently good throughout the album, and he shows a lot of promise for both underground and mainstream appeal. This album comes with an instrumental disk.

The Preface

by Elzhi

The last year has been very good for Black Milk. He produced all but three of the tracks on this album, and in more than a few places, completely upstaged Elzhi, and not by appearing on the mic (which only happens once)

This is a very consistent, very polished album from one-half of Slum Village. Elzhi has been getting more and more buzz based on his mixtapes, and he definitely comes correct on his first official solo album. But like I said, it's not really a solo album. To me, this is an Elzhi/Black Milk collabo, and that's its strength. These two artists were born to work together.

Black's beats are bouncy at the same time that they are driving, and Elzhi shows some strong lyrical talent to match them. His voice rides over these beats like an expert surfer (I know - wrong image for Detroit rap, but it's all I could imagine). In terms of his writing - it's a little variable. There are some truly amazing songs ('Growing Up', 'The Leak'), and some where his subject matter strikes me as a little juvenile ('Brag Swag') or cliched ('Talking in My Sleep').

This album is graced with some excellent guest appearances. 'Fire (rmx)' features a who's who of Detroit: Guilty Simpson, Fat Ray and Black Milk. Fellow Slum Villa T3 shows up on 'Save Ya', a track which he produced. The greatest track on the album though is 'Motown 25', featuring Royce da 5'9". Royce kills the track, with lines like:

Pardon if I sound lazy
I been puffing crazy
and writing Puff's shit
so motherfucker fuck you pay me.

I'm sure I'm not the only person craving a full length Royce/Black Milk album - that would be a classic for sure.