Ohnomite and Dr. No's Tornado Funk

by Oh No

Oh No does like his gimmicks.  A few years ago he crafted an entire hip-hop album (Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms)using only samples from Galt McDermot's musicals.  It was interesting, but ultimately not all that impressive.

I feel the same way about Ohnomite, his new album on FiveDayWeekend that is crafted solely from sounds taken from the soundtrack to Dolemite, the classic blaxploitation film.  The beats are very nice, but the collection of rappers that Oh No gathered is pretty uninspired, as are their lyrics.

Oh No stuck with many of the same old MCs that fill the less-interesting corners of Stones Throw's catalogue - Guilty Simpson, MED, Roc C, Wildchild, and Frank Nitt.  He added to this mix some perpetual undergrounders on the cusp of popularity, like Evidence, Alchemist, Chino XL, Termanology, Roc Marciano, Phil Da Agony (who I quite like, actually), and LMNO.

There are some impressive names here - MF DOOM holds up his track nicely, and appearances by Rapper Pooh (I guess he dropped the Big in his name), Phife Dawg, and Erick Sermon add some respectability to the affair, but not a lot of excitement.

In contrast to that is Dr. No's Tornado Funk, which is an instrumental project built around many of the same samples.  Oh No's best work is usually his instrumental stuff (I love his Dr. No's Oxperiment), so it comes as no surprise to me that I play this album much more frequently than the other.  It has the energy and excitement that the other project is lacking, and it's nice to hear No's masterful beats without uninteresting lyrics and dull delivery diluting them.

I'm not going to suggest that Oh No stick to staying behind the boards, but he would benefit from working with a more exciting stable of lyricists.

Madlib Medicine Show No. 11 - Low Budget High Fi Music

by Madlib

So much of the Madlib Medicine Show took Madlib away from his hip-hop roots, and while I would never complain about an artist branching out, it's nice to see him return to form with this dirty hip-hop mix featuring all new compositions that he produced.

This disc has twenty-eight tracks, and features a vast array of the usual artists Madlib works with, including Oh No (together they are The Professionals), Roc C, Guilty Simpson, AG, Frank Nitt, Strong Arm Steady, Karriem Riggins (together they are Supreme Team), MED, and J Dilla (who produced what has to be the last Jaylib track).

The vocal tracks are interspersed between some nice 'Loop Digga' instrumental tracks, and we have the usual array of sampled conversations and comedy snippets, including a much too long piece featuring Soul Bra and Doctor Dick'em, which isn't all that funny the first time it's heard, and becomes progressively more irritating on each subsequent listen.

In all though, this is a very good mix of music, as Madlib once again makes some boring MCs (Guilty, MED, Roc C) sound great, and helps some terrific artists (Riggins, Oh No) become even better.

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.

Crate Digging: Chrome Children

presented by Peanut Butter Wolf

It's been a while since I listened to this 2006 Stones Throw Records compilation cd, although it still feels as fresh as it did when it came out, with a few exceptions.

The first half of the disk is mostly given over to the Jackson family (Madlib and his brother Oh No) and the then-recently departed J Dilla.  The whole thing starts off with Oh No's 'Oh Zone', before sliding into a couple of Dilla tracks.  'Clap Your Hands' is still my favourite Guilty Simpson piece, because of the awesome Dilla beat.  The third track is a Jaylib bit (although not credited as such), with Madlib going over Dilla's minimalist beat, which is a little like the one on 'Nothing Like This', from the Ruff Draft EP.

There's a nice Koushik track in the middle of all this Dilla stuff, which is followed up on by an annoying James Pants track (I don't know why they push this guy at this label).  From there, we go into a long string of Madlib-produced joints, featuring himself (as himself and as Lord Quas), MED, Dudley Perkins, and Percee P on the mic.  In the middle of that is the track that first introduced me to Georgia Anne Muldrow.

Towards the end of the disk, things get a little wilder, as Wolf showcases artists like Gary Wilson, Aloe Blacc, Pure Essence (via SoulCal), and, unfortunately, Baron Zen.  The disk closes with a Young Jazz Rebels (ie. Madlib) free jazz number.

This cd does a lot to show the mindset of Stones Throw in the mid-00's, and while there is a lot that still represents their catalogue, I feel like the label has become even more diverse and open-minded.  This is a good, strong compilation with a lot of great tracks (and some best left skipped).

In Search of Stoney Jackson

by Strong Arm Steady

I've never had much interest in Strong Arm Steady, thinking of them as the type of group that show up on mixtapes with artists I like and I can't tell why, and generally as trying to ride Talib Kweli's coattails since he signed them to Blacksmith a few years ago. Sure, they can sound good when featured on a song or two, but they weren't the type of artists I thought could pull off a whole album. Then I saw that their album was going to exclusively feature Madlib production, so of course I bought it...

And I was more or less right - the actual group (Krondon, Phil da Agony, and according to Wikipedia someone named Mitchy Slick) are not particularly interesting when they are rapping on their own. Their subject matter never strays far from weed it seems, although they do manage to sound consistent and let provide a decent enough use of Madlib's very cool beats.

What saves this album (beyond some great Madlib production of course) are guest appearances by Phonte (it's not a good sign when you have a guest on your first track), Talib Kweli, Evidence, Oh No, Fashawn, Guilty Simpson, and enough appearance by Planet Asia he must wonder if he really did leave the group. There are other guests too; in fact, it looks like there are only four tracks where SAS is on their own, which doesn't seem like a sign of confidence in an artist.

This is a decent album, don't get me wrong. It's just not very memorable...

The Ecstatic

by Mos Def

This is one of those strange classic albums, where during the first play or two, it sounds good; after a few more plays, it starts to sound better, but at the same time, a little innocuous; and then, you leave it in your car for a while, forget it exists, re-discover it, and get blown away by how many songs on it are ipod-worthy.

Having just rediscovered The Ecstatic, I can say it's an incredible album. Playing it again tonight after a few months absence, I am totally surprised by how many tracks I greeted by thinking, 'oh yah, I love this song'.

I had just about given up on Mos after True Magic, but with this disk, he displays his supremacy in the world of popular-yet-still-good hip-hop. The album opens with 'Supermagic', over Oh No's 'Heavy' beat, which is an oldie-but-goodie, and then shifts, after a standard Neptunes-y track (by 1/2 of the Neptunes), to 'Auditorium', one of Madlib's better beats off the Beat Konducta in India album. (I remember wondering if maybe Mos went by a yard sale at Stones Throw). This song, featuring Slick Rick, is an interesting item; Mos goes as hard as he ever has, while Rick raps this odd bit about being a soldier in Iraq. It's pretty dissonant, but cool none the less.

It's nice to see Mos return to a more hip-hop oriented album. He's always been an impressive lyricist, and he fills this album with a nice blend of producers, from underground stars like Madlib and Oh No, an up-and-comer like Georgia Anne Muldrow, and his usual collaborator Preservation. There's the requisite J. Dilla track, 'History', featuring Talib Kweli, that makes me wish there could have been a Black Star/Dilla album. It's probably my favourite track on here.

My complaints: there's a lengthy and annoying skit about airplane hijacking that just irritates me, and the album liner notes don't credit the song's producers. It's not all about you Mos...

Dr. No's Ethiopium

by Oh No

Oh No has outdone his previous foray into ethnic instrumental hip-hop, 'Dr. No's Oxperiment' with this disk of Ethiopian-themed music. This disk has 36 tracks of funky, dirty hip-hop sampled exclusively from Ethiopian sources.

Ethiopian music seems to be undergoing a rebirth, especially the work of Mulatu Astatke, and this album helps fuel that interest in the original source material. The Ethiopia of the latter Selaisse era seems like a very funky place, which married a strange blend of American, European, African and Indian influences in its music.

It is not hard to imagine many of the tracks on this disk being used on hip-hop releases, similar to the way Mos Def recently started using the Oxperiment Turkish tracks. Oh No is a very talented producer, with a bright future.

Oh No vs. Now-Again

by Oh No

Putting a DJ to work mixing through a label's back catalogue is never really a bad idea. Madlib perfected the genre with his Blue Note disk, 'Shades of Blue', and now it's his brother's turn.

On this 29 track, half-hour album, Oh No plays around in the Now-Again vaults, dredging up familiar pieces (see 'Blindness'), and a lot of material that seems familiar, but that I can't quite pin down the source of.

Granted, this is not the type of album I want to spend too much time thinking about, preferring to just let it spin. This is recommended for anyone who has come to appreciate the Now-Again sound, an upbeat mix of jazz, funk and soul.

Now I just wish that the Ethiopium would drop in wide-release (or that Stones Throw would fix their shipping costs to Canada - $30 to ship a single cd is insane).

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.