So I had heard the name DJ Shadow before, but I can’t for the life of me remember where. I figured it was just another hip-hop mixtape-type release, and I was only a little right. The Outsider spans a surprising number of genres in its relatively short length, and each different genre is insanely well-done. Shadow definitely shows you that his production spans far and wide – it’s very impressive.
Archive for the Hip-Hop Category
10/12/09 – The Outsider
Posted in Compilation, Hip-Hop, Pop, R & B, Rock, Soul with tags music, review, dj shadow, the outsider on 10/12/2009 by Dewey7/24/09 – By The Throat
Posted in Hip-Hop, Indie with tags By The Throat, Eyedea & Abilities, music, review on 07/24/2009 by Dewey
So, it’s been a good five years since this Minneapolis (represent!) duo released “E&A“, one of my favorite hip-hop albums ever. They took the time off to experiment some – and I think it pays off. The writing here is a bit more serious than on “E&A“, but it doesn’t detract from the duo’s style at all. Eyedea is still amazing on the mic, and DJ Abilities’ production is definitely on another level.
1/24/09 – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
Posted in Hip-Hop with tags atmosphere, music, when life gives you lemons you paint that shit gold on 01/24/2009 by Dewey
While I’ve heard from other fans that “Lemons” is one of Atmosphere’s weaker releases – I completely disagree. Some of Ant’s beats on this record are the best I’ve heard. And while some MCs try the singing thing and fail miserably, Slug pulls it off when he needs to. This is easily (already) my favorite Atmos album since “Seven’s Travels”, and a couple tracks are going to be in permanent rotation for sure.
1/16/09 – 808s & Heartbreak
Posted in Electronic, Hip-Hop, R & B with tags 808s & heartbreak, kanye west, music on 01/16/2009 by Dewey
Okay, so the production is great. Some of the beats on this album are some of the best Kanye’s ever made, I think. However – and this might sound a bit harsh – if I wanted an emo T-Pain album, I’d listen to “Thr33 Ringz” while cutting myself. I love Kanye’s hip-hop albums – maybe so much that I really didn’t give this a fair chance – but I’d file “808s” under “horrendous abuse of autotune”.
SPECIAL BONUS:
Here’s the best use of autotune I’ve seen or heard… ever.
Kevin Pereira, you win.
1/12/09 – New Amerykah Part 1: 4th World Order
Posted in Funk, Hip-Hop, Soul with tags erykah badu, music, new amerykah part 1: 4th world order on 01/12/2009 by Dewey
I’m kind of ashamed to admit, this is really my first real foray into the music of Erykah Badu. “New Amerykah” is seemingly equal parts warning and call to action (I especially liked the nod to ‘Network’), wrapped in a soul/funk coating. With a generous vein of hip-hop throughout. It compliments some of my latest reading material extremely well.
