Gutter Water

by Gangrene (The Alchemist and Oh No)

I think you should, if you are at all familiar with the underground hip-hop of the last decade, be able to look at this album cover and the names on it, and know exactly what this project is.

The Alchemist, who I always associate with groups like Dilated Peoples and the Beat Junkies, teams up with Oh No, the accomplished beat maker, so-so rapper, and less famous little brother (of Madlib) to put together these fifteen tracks.

The result is just about as gutter as the ugly album cover.  They fill this disk with nasty beats, and, to be honest, completely forgettable rhymes.  Some of the featured rappers aren't able to add anything to the proceedings (Roc C, Evidence, MED, Planet Asia), while the more talented (Raekwon, Fashawn, Guilty Simpson) aren't able to do much with the material.

When I type that, it sounds like I don't like this cd. The truth is, I'm pretty indifferent to it, except to say that it works as some decent head-nodding background music.  I'd rather see Oh No do something on the level of Dr. No's Oxperiment than this again.

Aceyalone & The Lonely Ones

This is a unique project from Aceyalone and his new band, the Lonely Ones.

It's a hip-hop album, but one steeped heavily in a much older era of R'n'B when the bands were live, and the music swung. Acey raps over some energetic music, backed by talented back-up singers. The music here is a lot of fun, and comes off sounding both completely modern and timeless.

It's a very different project from his work with Rjd2, and I'm not sure what I prefer. This is still very recognizably Aceyalone, but with a newer, fresher perspective that I enjoy very much.