Jesus and Open

by Blu

It's been a while since Blu released any albums, and then these two became widely available at the same time.

Jesus has eleven tracks, produced by a number of different producers, with an even mix between known quantities and people whose beats I believe I'm hearing for the first time.  Hezekiah, Alchemist, and Madlib each provide a single track (Madlib's is the best), while the bulk of the album is done by people like God Lee Barnes, Rome, and Knxwledge, whoever they are.

Blu sounds great throughout - he's really coming into his own as an emcee, and each of these producers give him Exile-like beats, helping keep this project in similar territory to the wonderful Below the Heavens.  This project really allows Blu's versatility and laid-back flow to shine through.

Open, on the other hand, barely gives us a chance to hear Blu's voice.  This fourteen-track album instead shines the spotlight on his production.  He has found a roster of artists to rap over his beats, with mixed results.  Blu shows up spitting on only two tracks, and with the exception of up-and-comer Sene, I haven't heard of a single other artist on this disc.  The fact that most of them have listed e-mail addresses, or URLs for Myspace and Facebook accounts makes me think that we are listening to a bunch of people hoping to gain some contracts or representation from this project.

 Featuring so many rappers, there is some inconsistency to this disc, and it kind of sags a little towards the latter half, before rallying for a strong ending.  I particularly enjoyed the songs featuring AaronSmartz, ScienZe & Versis, and Chop & FreshDaily.  SouthBroad also caught my ear.

Blu's beats on this album are very nice.  Again, Exile's influence is apparent, but there is also an individual voice that shines through.  Blu is one of the more exciting artists in hip-hop right now.  With these two projects he proves that he can handle being on both sides of the boards, and it is my hope that he will have a truly solo project in the future, where he raps on and produces an entire album on his own.

Crate Digging: Dwight Spitz

by Count Bass D

Count Bass D is a massively underrated and slept on talent.  He is a beat maker and rapper who has been shuffling around the more underground parts of the underground for more than a decade, yet he has received very little recognition, which I always find kind of odd.

Dwight Spitz, his 2002 album, is a decent piece of music.  He produced all of the tracks on the album save one (contributed by J. Rawls), and lays down vocals on roughly half of them.  He has a unique flow - laconic and unhurried, with a deep timbre to his voice.  His beats remind me a little of MF Doom's style of production, although these are often more pop-oriented.

He is joined on this album by a number of different guests.  Doom is on two tracks, although strangely he is only credited with one, but it's clearly him on 'Make a Buck'.  Edan shows up, spitting the same lyrics he uses on his own brilliant Beauty and the Beat album.  MF Grimm drops a verse, and Hezekiah shows up twice, long before he began to make a name for himself.  In typical self-indulgent fashion, the Count has his young daughter singing on a couple of tracks, but it's all good, because the beat is pretty nice.

This is not a brilliant album, but it does have some very nice moments, such as on 'Subwoofer (Dumile)', when Dwight raps on his chorus, "I'm not Doom's brother, but I will rock your subwoofer, that's why they call me Count Bass."  The album fizzles out towards the end, becoming more varied and a little weak, like it should have ended with the twenty-first track.  Still, this is the Count at the height of his game, and it's worth checking out.

Crate Digging: Absolute Value

by Akrobatik

I know this cd isn't that old, but I hadn't listened to it for a while, and thought I'd give it another play.

Akrobatik really sounds good on this disk. It's a very nicely balanced album, including crowd-pleasers and quieter, more introspective songs. I find that the middle of the album is the best, with songs like 'Rain', 'Be Prepared', and 'Black Hell Breaks Loose'.

'Kindred' is a nice track, comparing the experiences of slaves in the South to those of victims of Hurricane Katrina. I like the hook and the way he worked a parallel structure into the song, but I do find Chuck D.'s part more than a little preachy.

Speaking of preachy, 'Front Steps Pt. II' is Akro "kick[ing] the truth to the young black youth." It works really well to me, and contains messages that are antithetical to most commercial hip-hop today. Finally, 'Back Home to You' rounds out the album, featuring Akro's promise to his wife. This song is a nice contrast to the Atmosphere track of the same name; Akrobatik comes off sounding much less needy than Slug...

The production on this album is top notch. There are individual songs by Dilla, Hezekiah, J-Zone and 9th Wonder, but the bulk of the work is by Illmind and Therapy, who both come very correct. Even with so many producers, this is a very consistent album. Other guest appearances include Talib Kweli, Little Brother, Mr. Lif, and Willie Evans Jr.