Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP

by Robert Glasper Experiment

Robert Glasper's Black Radio was one of the best albums to be released in 2012; a near-perfect blend of hip-hop, r&b, soul, and jazz.  To make the year even better, this short Remix EP arrived.

The six-track disc starts with 9th Wonder's remix of 'Afro Blue', the Erykah Badu-driven song.  This new version has a little more snare to it, and a great verse by Phonte.

Pete Rock remixes Yasiin Bey's track 'Black Radio'.  This feels very close to the original, just a little more driving.

The always fantastic Georgia Anne Muldrow remixes 'The Consequences of Jealousy', the Meshell Ndegeocello song from the original album.  Personally, I would have liked to hear Muldrow on this song vocally, as well as behind the boards, but what can you do?  ?uestlove brings the Roots into the project for his remix of 'Twice', which also features Solange Knowles.

Glasper himself remixes Bilal's lovely 'Letter to Hermione', working with Jewels (whoever that is).  This track includes a verse by Black Milk, who would have been an interesting choice to remix the amazing Lupe Fiasco track on the original album.

To round out this EP, and worth the cost of the disc on its own, is Dillalude #2, a nine-minute medley of some Dilla hits like MC^2 and 'The Light', played by Glasper's band, complete with the slightly annoying vocoder effects he seems to like so much.

This EP is a great way to revisit some wonderful music, and see it in a new light.

Jay Stay Paid

by J Dilla

I've never been a big fan of projects made up of posthumous work of an artist, especially when those projects were conceived after the artist's death. They too often lack heart, and feel more like a cash-grab than anything else.

This project is different though, and I think that is completely due to the fact that Pete Rock is billed as 'Music Supervisor'. He manages to make sure that the 28 tracks here coordinate with each other, and that they bring honor to Dilla's legacy.

There are a variety of things to be found on this album. Some tracks are brand new Dilla instrumentals, while others feature more familiar Dilla beats, with new vocals laid down by a variety of artists. We get to hear from people who were often associated with Dilla, like Phat Kat, Frank Nitty, and Illa J (although that's a bit of a posthumous association still), but also from artist that we only wish Dilla had had more chances to work with, like Havoc, (MF) Doom, Black Thought, and Raekwon. I'd say the Doom and Black Thought tracks are worth the purchase of this disk alone.

I hope there aren't too many more Dilla projects in the pipe. As much as I respect the man, and miss his music, too much output now will simply water down his memory. This album is a fitting memorial, and works nicely as Dilla's final word.

Dueces Wild

by Vast Aire

Vast Aire has what has to be one of the most recognizable flows in the industry today. He has a tendency to rap in simple rhyming couplets, often pausing just before the rhymed word, which is then often the beginning of the next line or phrase. His delivery is often the best thing on songs where he is providing a featured spot, but it can get a little monotonous over an entire album, and that is true with 'Dueces Wild'.

This album is basically exactly what you would expect from post-Cannibal Ox Vast. You get the Can Ox joint, with an appearance by Vordul Mega (but no El-P on the beat of course). You get the slightly off delivery mentioned above. You get some truly funny and surprising lyrics. You also get those lyrics that really don't make much sense at all if you stop to think about them. From 'The Man With Out Fear':

We moving on up like the Jeffersons
Cause I can change a plane into a starship
I know you dig my style like my ancestor with a magic carpet.
Oh I'm so up on it
I killed Kato and the Brown Hornet.

Huh? Thing is, that's what I buy his albums for.

The best track on this album is 'Gimme Dat Mic', which has Vast trading verses with Copywrite. Some of the weaker tracks are 'Shu (The God of Aire)', which has Vast channelling Saul Williams for a bit before descending into a crude verse that rhymes 'period' with 'period' way too many times, and 'When Starz Fell', the obligatory posse track featuring a bunch of people I've never heard of.

The beats on this album are only so so (and sadly, I'm including production by Oh No and Pete Rock when I say that). I'm well past wishing for another Cannibal Ox project, but I think Vast does better when teamed up with someone consistent, like he did Karniege on the Mighty Joseph album back in the summer.