Young Folarin aka the CEO of the Board of Administration has a new album out, and it’s excellent. Who am I talking about? Wale of course! And it’s been a while since I’ve done a BARF review, so let’s kick it off yeah?
BEATS 8.5
Legendary is the kind of beat you pimp-walk down the street too. The track bleeds old school funk, with a heavy, low end bass line, with prominent funky violins echoing around. Produced by DJ Toomp, it was a jamming track.
T-Minus produced the title track, Ambition, and had reminiscent feelings of She Will from Lil Wayne’s Carter 4, but this felt a little more transcendent and heartfelt.
The best beat on the album by far was DC or Nothing, produced by Tone P. There aren’t any crazy bells and whistles to it, but maintains all the things I expect out of a model hip hop beat.
RHYMES 8
Wale has always had a clever way with words. Some say he raps about the same stuff as he has before, but for his sophomore album, I say keep doing what works.
Sabotage was an interesting song. A see-her-from-afar love song, it wasn’t exactly the lyrics themselves that made it an interesting song, but the fact that Wale must have been sick while recording. The end lyrics of “Keep coming back for more” leads to a hoarse-voiced Wale yells “Gimme some muhfuckin coughdrops nigga!” Strange I know, but I thought it cool.
Wale really went the hardest, lyrics wise, on DC or Nothing. With such a politically charged time happening with the Occupy movements, the lyrics:
“Politicians fucking hookers, why you mad at my ganja?
Kick him out of the city, force them whites who can pay up
Still different neighborhoods killing over what isn’t theirs”
This is the first time I’ve really heard him talk about the corruption of his home city, and I found it comforting that his ear is to the ground with current events. Best of all, Wale even throws in his signature spoken word toward the end of the track.
FEATURETTES 8
Our homie Miguel brings his R&B talent to Lotus Flower Bomb for the chorus, and makes sure the ladies know it’s a love jam. It’s good to hear two up and coming music stars on a track together. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Miguel as some may know, and he’s a great talent to add.
Sabotage was an all-around great track, but Lloyd really shined through on this upbeat live instrumental track. He takes time to sing a little more than just the choruses for another great love song.
Sam Dew’s harmonies were welcome on my favorite track of the album, DC or Nothing. Carrying background notes, and singing the chorus, coupled with Wale’s verses, it made it one of my favorite Wale tracks overall, not just on this album.
Thanks for sticking with me on the always plump BARF review! Wale is worth the effort, and you should run out and get his new album, Ambition, in stores now. Tickets for the November 15th show at the House of Blues are available at his website, so check it out!
In its tenth year, some of the world’s most renowned musicians will be in attendance to showcase for you their skills. I’m of course referring to the mighty Bonnaroo, which takes places in the humid backwoods of Manchester Tennessee. The festival grounds span over 100 acres, and there’s plenty to do in this beautiful southern backdrop. Even Conan O’Brien is pumped!
This year, Bonnaroo takes place from June 9th through the 12th, and we wanted to share the lineup with you, to get your Pavlov on. Take a look at the lineup, with included links to bios of the artists
With any luck, we’ll be making the trip to Tennessee for the festival, so if you’re from Los Angeles, you’ll have friends among you. Who do you want to see? Sound off in the comments.
I didn’t have very high hopes for Eminem’s new record Recovery when I heard about it. 2004’s Encore was pretty damn bad and a far cry from his heyday. 2008’s Relapse was alright, but a lot of the songs were uninspired and seemed like Em was trying much too hard. When I heard about Recovery, I shrugged with disinterest. Not Afraid gave me a little bit of hope, but wasn’t terribly impressed with the song. Despite all my reservations, I checked out the record, because, well, it’s Eminem, and he has definitely put out some badass albums in his day.
I can honestly say that Recovery completely threw me for a loop. It’s pretty much the absolute best record I think Em could release at this point in his career. This is Em’s ninth studio album, and its depth is incredible.
One of the best aspects of Recovery is how critical Em is of himself, and especially the last two mediocre albums he released. He prefaces Talkin 2 Myself by thanking everyone for being patient “while I figure this shit out” over the past few years. In the song itself, he states that he’s come to make it up to us, as Them last two albums didn’t count. Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushin’ em out. The song is one of the album’s strongest cuts, with a memorable hook delivered by Kobe (no, not Bryant).
Em addresses critics with On Fire, the next track, which has a juicy beat and some vitriolic lyrics delivered by Em. The entire first verse is a perfect example of Eminem’s fierce wordplay skills, the kind of vocal delivery that in my mind is one of his greatest talents. The first time I heard this song, the chorus didn’t really grab me, and I thought it was pretty lame. Well, Em follows up that chorus with the line I just wrote a bullshit hook in between two long ass verses – if you mistook the for a song, look/This ain’t a song its a warnin to Brooke Hogan and David Cook/That the crook just took over so book/Run as fast as you can, stop writin and kill it/ I’m lightning in a skillet you’re a fuckin flash in a pan. It’s this kind of self-deprecating honesty and creativity within the song that Em uses on Recovery so well.
Won’t Back Down, featuring Pink on chorus duties, is set to a pretty repetitive beat, but it allows Em to deliver some of his most aggressive vocals on the album. It basically sounds like he’s yelling for the entire song…and by the time his final verse comes around and the volume drops on the track while he yells Bitch you listening tryna turn me down??/ Slut I’m talking to you, turn me back up/Are you insane?? Tryna talk over me in the car/ Shut the fuck up while my shits playin I was already sold on this track, too. That’s an inventive trick to throw into a song, and it really caught me off guard.
The majority of Recovery can be called ‘highlights’, really. It’s that good. Going Through Changes is a bit of a slower tune, set to a sampled chorus of Black Sabbath’s Changes. I initially thought that was an odd choice for a sample, but it works for the song, an introspective cut with Em questioning things and wrestling with his demons about things such as balancing his career and Hayley’s upbringing.
I have to mention that I was pretty surprised at the lack of Hayley and/or Kim references on Recovery…in the past, these two topics would take up a good chunk of Eminem’s songs, but he seems to have shed all the pretenses and fake accents and typical lyrical boundaries this time around. Because of that, he really shines on Recovery.
No Love, featuring an unexpected sample of Haddaway’s club jam What is Love?, is blazing, even though Lil’ Wayne takes up the first two minutes of the song. I don’t like Weezy or his lazy annoying delivery, but the fact that he doesn’t ruin the song with his extremely long guest verse is a good thing. Em & his producers picked a random song to use as a sample, but it works well.
Space Bound almost sounds like an Everlast song, with the acoustic guitar strumming in the background and the easy beat, but it takes off during the chorus, with what sounds like a female voice singing I’m a space-bound rocket ship and your heart’s the moon/And I’m aimin’ right at you/Right at you/250, 000 miles on a clear night in June/And I’m aimin’ right at you/Right at you/Right at you. If you thought Beautiful (From Relapse) was a change in direction for Em, check out Space Bound and see what you think.
25 to Life is another female-chorus-driven song with a tender beat, with Em lamenting a tumultuous relationship. The song works like an M. Night Shyamalan movie, taking a drastic change of direction toward the end, as Em reveals that he has NOT been speaking to who you thought he was for the entirety of the song. Just listen to it, you’ll get what I’m hinting at.
Love the Way You Lie, featuring Rihanna, was already #1 on iTunes the day Recovery dropped last week, so it’ll undoubtedly be a smash hit. That’s understandable, as her vocal hook is ripe for radio play. The song as a whole is another gem on the record, demonstrating Em’s ability to balance aggressive lyrics with a poppy chorus.
Don’t think that the songs I’ve mentioned in this review are the only highlights of Recovery – in fact, they’re just the ones that came to mind as I wrote all this down. The album is arguably Em’s most solid collection of songs since the Marshall Mathers LP. The songs work well together, creating a fluidity and cohesion that you don’t really see anymore with his albums.
Eminem really raised the bar for himself with Recovery – I didn’t think this was possible, but the album is easily one of his strongest outings, and restored my faith in him, honestly.
Check this out if you like Eminem, and especially if you were as bored with Encore and Relapse as I was. This is a complete 180 and a return to form for Marshall Mathers.
This album is abhorrent. That’s a fancier way of saying “bad” or “this sucks”, all phrases that apply to Lil Wayne’s latest abomination of music, this one called Rebirth. This one should have been killed back in the infancy of its conceptualization. I’m not a very big fan of Wayne. When I heard a year or so ago that he was planning to entertain the idea of a “rock” album, I thought it made LESS sense than that whole Joaquin-Phoenix-is-becoming-a-rapper-or-is-on-drugs thing that confused the Internet for a few weeks. At least Joaquin had the look of someone who had lost his mind. Lil Wayne, though, retained the same image throughout the ordeal, which can only mean that Rebirth was something “Weezy” honestly thought would be a good idea, which it most definitely is not.
American Star, which kicks off this mess, sets and ominous tone for the record. Lazy guitar work and a Garage Band drum beat that is supposed to be reminiscent of a “rock and roll” sound accompany Weezy’s insipid and incredibly Auto-Tuned lyrics about how he came from the ghetto and is now on top or some other such typical superstar rapper posturing. Toward the end of the song, Wayne shouts ‘BRIDGE!’, and goes on to point out that he was, “born and raised in the USA where the president is b-l-a-c-k” two times. I am HUMBLED by his talent.
The next song is Prom Queen, which came out more than a year ago to basically no fanfare, probably because it’s absolute trash. Its shitty guitar totally copies System of a Down’s Chop Suey, in a way that is more obvious than any of those Coldplay controversies. Lyrically, when Weezy waxes poetic about how he “loved her fancy underwear, I sat behind her every year“and continues in a hideous mumbly-Auto-Tune nightmare vomit voice, I struggled to continue listening to the song. It’s so painfully tone-deaf and obnoxious that it’s almost too much to take.
Ground Zero sounds like a nu-metal rehash, with Wayne sounding angrier but still Auto-Tuned. “I’ma fuck you like a bull, I swear. I gotta lot of love that I could just share, I gotta lot of drugs that I could just share”, he says to no one in particular. I find it somewhat interesting that he talks about jumping out of windows and off of buildings in a song called Ground Zero. Is that supposed to be controversial? Profound? I’m just confused.
Get a Life is more pointless nonsense, with Wayne saying “fuck you, get a life” to someone (perhaps to “haters” like me, who don’t appreciate his “genius”? Hmm.)
I wonder what's in that white cup
On Fire starts out all 1980s, since it is structured on a sample from a song from Scarface, but then it slows down and Wayne grunts more stuff and the song goes to shit. Too bad. It’s one of the more listenable tracks on the album, for what it’s worth.
Drop the World is also not completely terrible, partly because of Eminem’s verse. Wayne angrily snarls “bitch I’ma pick the world up and I’ma drop it on your fuckin’ head”, which sounds painful.
Runnin’ has a nice melody (whoa!) and Wayne’s voice isn’t as annoying as on the other songs, which immediately make it one of the album’s “good” (read: tolerable) songs. Someone named Shanell adds some female vocals, which are well-executed.
Wayne shows off his prowess again on One Way Trip when he says, “Woke up this morning with my dick to the ceiling – fell asleep with another chick from my building – kick her ass out and had breakfast like a mofucka – I’m with another bitch by supper.” That’s talent. The song has a bit of a Kid Rock feeling to it, which obviously isn’t a good comparison to make about anything. Inexplicably, this one also has a decent melody going along with it.
Knockout sounds like it’s set to an old Blink-182 drumbeat and guitar riff, but without any of the fun. That’s a good analogy for the record as a whole.
Overall, Rebirth is a terrible realization of an even worse concept. This idea should have died in its initial conception, but of course it didn’t. I’m glad to see that the reception of this record hasn’t been terribly positive. It’s really, really, bad. It takes the basest, most formulaic “rock and roll” sounds and mashes them together with an extremely overrated rapper/mogul in Lil Wayne, who has such a rambling, mumbling delivery that I can’t understand why he’s considered “great”. Rappers like Jay-Z, Nas, Mos Def and others of that stature are actually talented, with inventive lyrics and beats, whereas Wayne raps about licking lollipops and other such thought-provoking, deep topics. Come on, people.
While I may not “understand” Wayne’s rapping skills enough to appreciate him, there’s just nothing to appreciate with Rebirth.
It makes Kevin Federline’s Playing with Fire suddenly have to share the title of most horrible rap album of the past five or so years.
Lil’ Wayne’s got Drake, Kanye West has Kid Cudi and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have Ta Smallz. Smallz dropped a few singles in 2006 but has never released a full-length album and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s last memorable release was their “Art of War” drop in 1997. Yet, in 2009 Bizzy Bone and Ta Smallz formed a new record label LIFE ENTERTAINMENT in hopes of bringing justice, unity and therapy to a music scene where violence has been consistently encouraged. Ta Smallz suspected Feb. 23 debut and release of “Who Killed my Mama,” is dedicated to the resolution of his mother’s murder from 1984.
Smallz was twelve when his mother was murdered in their Richmond, CA, home, he recalls, “She was going to the University of Berkley. She was a single mother and still singing in the group Kanye with my father (they had been divorced) and a buyer for Anderson Products. Someone came in our house, locked me in the closet, me and my three brothers and my half brother he was only 11 months, he couldn’t talk, she tried to throw him under the bed. So in front of him, they stabbed her 24 times in the face, cut her jugular vein, cut off her fingers, put her in the trunk of the car in Richmond,CA, and then took her to Sacramento, CA, on December 6thand we didn’t find her until December 19th.”
Since that day he has found courage through his music and now believes, “There is power in what you say, you may see something that I am too bold to see.” While Smallz takes a break from the heartfelt conversation, Layzie Bone informs us, “He got that strong love, bringin’ up them old memories… talk him through it.” When Ta returned to the conversation he told us of the difficulties he has always experienced when talking about this experience, which has been the inspiration for Thug Therapy; a blog that LIFE ENTERTAINMENT plans to launch along with Ta Smallz “Who Killed my Mama,” release.
Ta Smallz, Thin C, and Layzie Bone
Thug Therapy will be a site where kids of the neighborhood can write all the artists of LIFE ENTERTAINMENT and receive responses to overcome the post traumatic stresses of the streets’ Layzie says, “they do it for the Vietnams’, the Gulf War’s and the people who go through that sort of trauma but they don’t do it for the kids in the neighborhood… it’s to bring awareness and knowledge to the kids and it starts with Ta’s story and 50’s story but it will be available so that people can be educated that they have been traumatized by the hood.” Smallz agrees, “It’s about getting people involved and friends, family and fans just to get the therapy side of it out there. Something can happen and trigger things and then you change your motives, so we wanna work with and reach out to the kids.”
When asked, “What would you like the kids of the streets to be left with today?” Smallz stated, “The main goal is to wake up positive in the morning and even say, you love your enemies. Be positive even in negative situations. If you can, if you can find someone you can trust, this can be hard but when you hold things in – pressure bust pipes – you gotta talk to somebody. Be determined, be strong willed, you gotta have serenity, acceptance, acceptance that some things you cannot change but you do have courage and the strength as long as you have power you get up and have the strength, you can change yourself. Acceptance.”
And Layzie kept it simple stating, “Keep God first. Keep it simple stupid… Life is not rocket science, man, people make things harder than they have to be. Keep God first and if that’s your main focus, then seeing things that’s bad won’t seems so bad and seeing things that’s good you’ll never be cocky about and you’ll know how to accept the best. ”
During the short therapy session over milkshakes and french fries with Smallz I could truly feel his dedication and drive to this project and his strength in the LIFE ENTERTAINMENT movement. Layzie says, “It’s spotlighting the trauma of the little things that can help somebody’s soul,” while Ta intends to reach out and do just that with his “Who Killed my Mama,” Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s “Project Uni5” will call to unify the people in recognition of the trauma we all go through.
Smallz has been in and out of prison like other members of the LIFE ENTERTAINMENT and has accepted that when his mother’s killer is discovered that he/she will face time in prison. He feels that it will be a lesson in humility that will inevitably lead the killer to an eternal life with God that may not be accomplished elsewhere.
And the movie…. Oh yes, there is a movie…. Layzie Bone states, “Straight to Silver Screen.” So get ready for a fresh new movement from not-so-lonely Bone Thug-N-Harmony and their fresh and powerful partner Ta Smalllz.
When listening to the new Weezer album Raditude, one must remember – Rivers Cuomo & company will never recapture the magic of their earliest stuff, so comparing old and new Weezer is a fruitless endeavor that will just lead to anger, profanity and a desire to listen to In the Garage for the 8,000th time. That said, Raditude is a FUN record. The songs are breezy, light tunes that mostly lack the depth or “maturity” of some of Weezer’s classic songs. That isn’t entirely shocking when considering the album’s name, cover image and tracklisting.
This time around, Weezer has branched out a bit, employing the help of hip/hop mogul Jermaine Dupri and (sigh) Lil’ Wayne, who guests on Can’t Stop Partying. That song, in particular, will inevitably become a massive hit off of the record, due to its ridiculously catchy hook and the fact that, well, it combines Weezer and “Weezy”, for a matchup that someone, somewhere must have been desperate for. To me, an avid Wayne ‘hater’, though, his role on the track seems stupid and hardly becoming of such a ‘genius’ (a word I’ve routinely heard when referring to his lyrical prowess, or whatever). His cameo fits the song well, accentuating Rivers’ declarations of “I gotta have Patron, I gotta have the beat, I gotta have a lot of pretty girls around me.” I don’t have a clue what “okay bitches, Weezer and it’s Weezy – upside down MTV” is supposed to mean, but I assume it’s supposed to mean SOMETHING. Or not. Whatever. The song has Timbaland-ian keyboard synth noises that add to the mess, indicating that perhaps Rivers took his own snarky advice (as detailed in Pork & Beans) in an attempt to reach the top of the charts???
(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To is the first single, and it’s arguably the disc’s best song, but we already know all about that one. Let’s move on.
I’m Your Daddy should also be a single, as it has one of the album’s catchiest, most memorable choruses set to a start/stop beat and some more synth toward the end that give it hit potential. It’ll be huge.
The first three songs on the album really made me think long and hard. Are these songs some sort of multi-layered parody of contemporary popular music? Or are they actually intended to be earnest songs from a band that doesn’t really have much else to prove? Weezer is an established band, so it almost makes sense to think that they just said “ok screw it, let’s make a party record” and went with it. I’m not entirely sure either way.
just four dudes chillin' by a car
Tripping Down the Freeway is probably one of the best on the disc, and sounds like it could have come off of the Green album sessions, as it has the same type of vibe as those songs.
Love is the Answer has these cool Indian-themed effects and voices going on in the background, which give the song a unique vibe. What confused me about this song is that Sugar Ray includes this exact same song on their latest album Music for Cougars. It’s somewhat strange for both bands to use the song, but there it is. Weezer’s version is a lot better than SR’s, though.
Let It All Hang Out retains that signature Weezer sound, with a bouncy verse reminiscent of Prince’s 1999 that leads into the chorus about going out with homies and, well, letting it all hang out and partying. It’s silly, catchy, and fun.
In the Mall is one of my favorites as well. Written by Pat Wilson, it has a bit more of a driving beat and rhythm than some of the other tracks. It’s not about partying or hanging out, though.
The last track, I Don’t Want to Let You Go, is a slower, mellower track than the bouncy fun candy-coated songs on the rest of the album. It’s a nice way to end the album, a typical ballad song where Rivers talks about some kind of relationship issue with some nice guitar strumming going on in the background.
If you get your hands on the version of Raditude with the extra bonus tracks, good for you. A couple of them are gems, namely Get Me Some, which has a harder-edged guitar sound and a powerful beat. Run Over by a Truck has a fantastic piano-driven beat and Rivers singing some nonsense over it all. I wish it would have been on the actual album, because it would have been one of the best tracks, but for whatever reason it’s a B-side. It’s great.
In closing, Raditude is a fun record by a band that’s been around for a long time. While the Red album may be better overall, Raditude does have some great tunes that match up well in the Weezer catalog. Just don’t expect the album to be anything close to the band’s old stuff. This is a new, crowd-pleasing Weezer, using synthesizers and hanging out with Lil’ Wayne (ugh) and singing about parties and stuff like that. Just accept it for what it is, and enjoy it. If you aren’t able to accept it for what it is, then this will probably be “the worst Weezer album ever”, but that’s for you to judge. Besides, isn’t art all subjective anyway (unless you’re writing a Creed review)??
Besides, the album cover for Raditude is exceptionally silly, so what else could you expect?
It’ll be fun to see what kind of sound Weezer tries next…
I’ve been listening to this album repeatedly for the last ten hours or so, trying to figure out where to start with this review. Finding a direction to where the richest and (disputably) best rapper alive’s album is going was taxing. But after much deliberation, I think it’s safe to say that not only is he at the top of his game, but also has been meditation on his evolution.
People have been saying that this is Jay-Z’s last album, but of course I’m going to throw that notion potion out the window. So let’s get to the nitty gritty, and BaRF on this album; something I haven’t done in quite some time now. What better album than this?
Beats 8/10
I honestly think the rumor of Timbaland producing the entire album would have been great…if it were true. While most the beats had me bobbing my head for invisible apples on my desk, they weren’t the best I had heard all year.
A Star Is Born, is track nine, and had that gritty/harmonic juxtaposition that has a flowing head nod feel to it. Sampled from the Mother Freedom Band’s Touch Me, it was a perfect flow for Hov to rap over.
D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) was a tight beat, albeit heavily sampled from the song In the Space by Janko Nilovic and Dave Sucky. I guess I liked it not because of the creativity of the beat, but rather the excellent song sample choice.
Swizz Beatz produced the seventh track, On To The Next One, which apparently sampled D.A.N.C.E. by Justice, but I don’t know from where exactly. It reminded me of the beat from A Milli by Lil Wayne, with the same thing droning in the background, and the beat dropping out save for the drums for certain parts.
My two favorite beats go to Timbaland though. First, the eighth track, Off That, which gives me that futuristic urban feel; with Venus Vs. Mars being that downlow jungle beat that gets the ladies in the mood.
Rhymes 6.5/10
Jay Z isn’t exactly the most socially conscious rapper out there (unless it has to do with him directly), But I do appreciate the message and direction of the album. He does just like President Obama did, and clarified the bullshit for everyone before saying thank you and moving on. Lets Discuss.
What We Talkin’ About was a great way to kick the album off, calling out Jay-Z’s defectors and competitors. He even takes time out to make a shout out to the President (the first time of many on the album) and the White House. Here’s a clip of the lyrics:
Blueprint 3
And now that that’s that Lets talk about the future
We have just seen the dream as predicted by Martin Luther
Now you could choose ta Sit in front of your computa
Posin’ with guns Shootin YouTube up
Or you could come with me to the White House get your suit up
Off That was another favorite of mine, for its rant about what Jay-Z used to be into, but now what he’s off. Drake sings the hook, with a song about calling out haters and their old ways. Here’s the hook:
Drizzy Drake:
Whatever you about to discover We off that
You about to tell her you love it, we off that
Always want to fight in the club and we off that
But you can’t bring the future back
Ya’ll steady chasing the fame, we off that
Oversize clothes and the chains, we off that
Niggas still makin’ it rain and we off that
But you can’t bring the future back
Tell them hatas get off me
Cris we off that
Timbs we off that
Rims we off that
Jay-Z:
Yeah we off that
Is you still on that
And we still making money
cuz we still on that
Featurettes 8/10
I give the album this score because of the level of album sales the people featured on it will bring, in addition to their relative badassness.
Rihanna was an obvious choice for this album, with Jay-Z playing the big brother role for quite some time now. She sings the hook to Run This Town; quite well I might add.
Alicia Keys sings the hook (and I assume played the piano ) on Empire State of Mind. I’ve always been a fan of her work, and being a resident New Yorker, it was only right to have her jump on a track with Hov.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Drake on the roster for this album, for his hook on Off That. Drake is one of the most hyped guys in the business right now, so I tip my hat to him gaining a pass to record on this album, albeit only the hook.
Kanye West actually cracked me up on the first verse of Hate. A song which he also produced, his verse was cocky to the level we have known and learned to love.
Also making me laugh was Pharrell in his Neptunes produced song, So Ambitious. He sings the hook with Z, amid another playful circus sounding beat.” I’m so ambitious…I might hit two sisters”. Classic.
In Conclusion
I would have loved to see a collaboration between fellow Bedford-Stuyvesant MC Mos Def, but maybe that’s just me (or theres some beef there that I don’t know about). But overall, this was another great album by Jay-Z, even if I don’t think it would be the best album to walk away from the game with.
I think this is the intro album to another chapter in the Hov universe, with several oppoutunities to make more albums during the current presidency. What would be really crazy though, is if Beyonce and President Obama jumped on a track with Jay-Z… C’mon, you know that shit would be insane.
I love those times in life when you get a pleasant surprise in a place where you wouldn’t expect it. This time, it was in the company of the most successful independent artist in history, with over a million records sold “out of the trunk”. That’s right; I’m talking about the Midwest quick spittin’ Tech N9ne, with his homeboys Krizz Kaliko and DJ Chill.
After his set at his Los Angeles leg of Rock the Bells 2009, I caught up with the trio backstage amongst the silent, mean mugging crews of everyone in attendance. Before sitting down with the crew, I was introduced to Tech’s lovely daughter, whom he called “Rainbow”, and told her he would hurry it up with a laugh. I hear how hard it is on the road to get family time, so I got to business.
Here’s the transcription/summary and unedited audio clip from the interview. Enjoy!
Flak: …and things are moving ahead, and I really appreciate you guys talking to us by the way.
Tech: Yeah man no problem
Flak: I’ve got questions for both of you, but first of all, thank you for Caribou Lou (a drink invented by him, with a song of the same name)
Tech and Krizz: *laughing* Aww yeah man!
Flak: My mom, she lives in the Bahamas, and that’s like…their thing “you’ve gotta get Caribou Lou!”, I told her I was meeting Tech N9ne today and she was like “Say what’s up!”.
Tech: Yeah man, since 1995, Caribou Lou…
Flak: Has it been that long?
Tech: Yeah since 1995..
Flak: I see..You know I’m curious, I see all these artists together at a show, and I wonder, who are you listening to right now?
Tech: Who am I listening to right now *he leans back a few seconds and thinks about it* …ummm, of course we listen to Gnarls Barkley like crazy *looks and Krizz as he nods*
Flak: Really? *I was genuinely shocked for some reason*, you ever met em or…
Tech: Nope, never met em…I wish, but never met em…I think the closest we ever got to them was Big Boi and Sleepy Brown (who were in attendance that night) gnomesayin…
Flak: Yeah and the whole Dungeon Family, gotcha…
Tech: Umm who else… System of a Down man…Slipknot….
Flak: Yeah I heard you wanted to do a song with Serj Tankian (of System of a Down)
Tech: Yeah man I do.
Flak: And what made you think of that?
Tech: *Tech makes a pondering face before shrugging and answering* I’m a big fan…since the beginning.
Flak: Have you ever seen them play? They put on a great live show; I saw them with The Mars Volta.
Tech: No, and I’ve only seen them on tv, and one of the first things that I ever heard was Sugar. “Sugahhhhh”.
Flak: Right right.
Tech: You know what I’m saying? *he goes on to sing a part of the first verse*, that first single, that video man, ever since. And uh…Mesmerize, Hypnotize, Toxicity, Steal This Album…it was just hardcore. And I think System of a Down their first album was self titled.
Flak: Right, That’s the one that had Sugar on it.
Tech: Yeah Sugar and Peephole was my first, my favorite one yeah uh *Tech starts clapping the beat of Peephole* “When your stars are baked, And your rivers fly, Do you ever believe you were stuck out in the, sky!!!”
Flak: *after the heat builds up and calms from us singing along* Yeah man, you’ve gotta see em live
Tech: Yeah I heard that a lot, but we tour so much that we miss everything, gnomesayin, but that’s a good thing and a bad thing. You know cause we’re music lovers… and I’d like to work with Eminem…you know? I buy those albums. I buy Shinedown. I buy Avenged Sevenfold.
Flak: *This is where the intrigue really set in for me* Really? Well what do you think about…well, as far as when I was growing up, it wasn’t cool for me…you know, I came from a town where there wasn’t a lot of black people. And it was not cool to listen to quote unquote the white music.
Tech: Me too, but I grew up in the ghetto you know, Wayne Minor (a housing complex in Kansas City) and my family was….eclectic you know? There was some odd stuff going on, and some Led Zeppelin and some of The Doors, and Rush going on; as opposed to I mean, Blowfly and Schooly D, which turned me into this. Which is wonderful.
Flak: And now do you think it’s more accepted you know to listen to that? (Tech nods and says “yeah man”) You know, as far as black people listening to it?
Tech: Yeah I do.
Flak: And now it’s like we’ve got guys like Lil Wayne trying to get into the rock thing.
Tech: Yeah and I’ve been on it for a long time, like when Rock This Way was poppin, you know, when Rick Rubin was making these guys mix and merge and mesh you know what I’m saying? It’s a wonderful thing to have The Beastie Boys with No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Merging rap with rock.
Flak: Yeah they were supposed to be playing at the end of this month in San Francisco (at Outside Lands Music Festival), but one of got injured or hurt?
Tech: Damn, that keeps happening with them. But…I’m glad….that I could be exposed…to something like Lynard Skynard…being a nigga from the hood! *Laughs* Yeah man and I hate that I missed as I got older I found out about more about these other musicians like Terry Reid with Seeds of Memory, gnomesayin? And Pink Floyd and all that madness, I hate, like, when you’re in these places (referring to the ghetto), it’s so…one-sided. “Alright, all we’re going to listen to is Marvin Gaye” and I got all of that, on top of classical, on top of rock, on top of gospel, and I mean…on top of jazz…that turns into *he then spits a furious flow that I spend fifteen minutes trying to transcribe to no avail*
Flak: *after nodding in amazement* Yeah man, and you were the first one doing that shit.
Tech: Yeah that Midwest shit. And it’s like being in Kansas City, Missouri…right there in the middle…we got music from every direction. And when you have me and Krizz both going, it’s a musical overload.
Flak: *I turn my attention to Krizz Kaliko* So what about, Krizz, so you’re trying to work with, or so I’ve heard, that you’re trying to work with or already you’ve worked with Kottonmouth Kings right?
Krizz: Aww yeah *he gave me that “you silly boy look*, those are our cousins man! *laughs*
Flak: That’s like your group? Well not group but…
Krizz: Nah not group, but they’re like our brothers. We ended up having fans in common, did a couple of tours with em, gained camaraderie with em and then started doing music together. But I mean I work with everybody, cause I pretty much go everywhere with my music. If you check out my album Genius, it’s out now; you’ll hear we go through every genre of music. I worked with Tech…and I would love to be working with Gnarls Barkley, Outkast; I’m like really influenced by people that are unique.
Flak: Right and you guys are doing a lot of work, because technically between the two of you, you have three albums coming out this year, you know, one more on the way.
Tech: We put out album after album man, and I was walking and talking with Tech and I’m like man…I was walking to the van, and it’s like bus…van…stage…plane…sneak a meal in…bus,van, stage, plane. You know? And when you’re not doing that it’s like…studio! *laughs* Then it’s back to the bus, van, stage, plane, then back to the studio.
Flak: So it’s taxing.
Krizz: It is, but it’s what we asked for and the way we go about doing it, because we have to be in their face all the time. We have to keep putting out albums; we have to keep touring for our albums. Because we aren’t really on TV, we have to be in their face all the time. And the result is there, million sales…
Flak: Yeah you guys have done it bigger than anybody.
Tech: Number one indie in the country man. Woke up one day on tour and…wow.
Flak: And yeah it’s funny because people think that they’ve never heard you before, and I tell them you guys are all over TV shows.
*a knock on the door interrupts us*
Krizz: Hmmm…excuse me…
Tech: That’s weirrrrd. *we both laugh*
Flak: Maybe time’s up? I dunno…
A young lady with the duo asks to use the bathroom in the trailer, whilst a lithe man with braids, holding a cup of Hennessey approaches. It’s none other than Tech’s DJ, DJ Chill.
After introducing himself as one of newest members of “Tech N9ne n’ them” we all laughed and I exchanged dap with him. He goes on to list some of the great names in hip hop, E-40, Busta Rhymes, and talks about quick rapping, and how all they have worked for goes farther than that, he talks about rapping period. He praises Tech for how much heart he puts into his work, and how he also got flak (finally get to use that in its correct context!) from his hood.
He brought up a good point about how some rap where you almost predict what they are going to say next, whether it be cars or money, or women, and with Tech you could never do that. It’s a good point a true hip hop aficionado has discovered by now. The line stuck in my head of when DJ Chill explained that it had nothing to do with him being Tech’s DJ or friend when he said flat out: “Nigga’s just ain’t…fuckin with you”, to which we all shared another laugh.
He asked the listeners and readers to think for a minute how you can hear the heart of Tech in his music, and how you can feel what’s happening in his life through his music. I bring up the Cunninlynguists quickly before he continues.
I argue that that’s what hip hop is supposed to be about, and they agree. Naturally. He goes on to say that Tech is the realest because he gave his life, his soul, even his wife and kids on occasion for what he does. We discuss the idea of putting everything you have into something that you love, hoping that it will work; something we all had struggled with.
I talk about how people forget that musicians are real people, and how people forget they have a real life. Chill made a funny comment about their struggle: from the van, to a bus, to a tour bus, to two or three tour buses, to international travel, and how he had to “break himself” for a passport. Definitely the hardest laugh of the interview between us all. That’s hip hop.
After DJ Chill makes his exit on a beautiful note, Krizz and I talk about how he really puts himself into his music.
Flak: And you really put yourself into your music. Vitaligo as a title. You’ve got Bipolar as a song title (both things that Krizz has to go through) and so people actually know about who you are. You’re comfortable with yourself. And something a lot of people can’t say.
Krizz: But the thing is, I’m really not.
Flak: Are you not? Really? *he had me fooled*
Krizz: I let them know that too though. I’m comfortable with who I am, what happens to me, as a byproduct of what the world is like…
Flak: …that you’ve got flaws just like anybody else.
Krizz: That’s right. That’s what it is. I’m not comfortable with the flaws, but I’m comfortable enough to tell everyone about it. And its therapeutic.
DJ Chill pops his head in: “And look at you now!”
Everyone shared one final laugh before our hugs and sendoff.
An amazing time with Tech and his crew, and it made me realize that there are more music lovers who are willing to say fuck it to those who treat them poorly over silly issues as what music they listen to, or what dress styles they posses.
Big big thanks again to Megan over at Juggernaut Sound for hooking us up with the honor of working with the hardest working men in the industry in this interview with Tech N9ne. Make sure to look out for K.O.D., Tech’s upcoming album on October 27th (but I’m sure I’ll remind you about it). Hope you all enjoyed another interview here at Behind the Hype. Holler at Dan Huse for the great photos!
Until next time my friends,
~Flak
P.S.- Don’t forget who got you the heads up on those awesome collaborations we talked about in this interview!
Usually I’m not swayed by the lifestyles of others enough to integrate them into my own life, but todays artists are so cool that I almost spend $250 on a Dyno with black mag rims. Hailing from two different muscle car cities, the hip hop duo has been turning heads over the last few years with their EPs and mixtapes. I present, The Cool Kids.
Their first hit song on their EP The Bake Sale, entitled Black Mags gave way to a video that showed their daily life while pedaling around the city. Lyrically, they tend to be entertaining, and talking about their childhood, women, old skool gold jewelry, video games, and other shit they think/know is cool.
After their successful EP, and working with acts such as M.I.A., Lil Wayne, and Maroon 5, the duo is working towards their first official album, slated to drop sometime this year. Additionally, The Cool Kids have been featured in my favorite HBO show Entourage, and also in NBA Live 08, MLB 2K8, and even recorded an original track for NBA 2K9 entitled Pennies (thanks to my brother Josh for that one).
To get us ready for this new album, which will be titled When Fish Ride Bicycles, The Cool Kids recently released today’s focus album, Gone Fishing. Gone Fishing is a mixtape that was Co-Produced by DJ Don Cannon, and has worked its way into my heart as one of the best mixtapes I’ve heard since Girl Talk’s Feed the Animals. Now, without further digression, let’s BaRF on this album like it so deserves.
Beats: 8/10
I really dug the beats on this album throughout. The beats were quite gutter, with a lovely assortment of snares among the key points of the instrumentals. Don Cannon did a stand up job cutting these tracks up with The Cool Kids.
From the beginning, we are hit with the first track, Introduction to Ice Fishing, which had me nodding my head throughout. The primal beat for the first minute mixed with the DJ running back the track a few times for us had me feeling like a champ at my little desk. The snares and high hats are few and far between, and the last 25 or so seconds the beat is changed up a bit before heading to the rest of the album. A great start indeed.
Another simple beat track, The Last Stretch is the 9th track on the mixtape, with a feeling of a Disney Jungle movie beat coupled with the touch of guitar mixed in with the eerie flutes. While this beat is simple, it’s what it mixed into that had me feeling nostalgic. Moving along the end of the track, we reach an interlude titled The Art of Noise. As the 10th track, its name is a nod to the chillout band (called The Art of Noise) that it’s sampling from. The song sampled is called Moments in Love, and is sped up for the duo to rap over.
Track 14, Pennies (the updated rosters remix), is my favorite beat on this album. This is a gutter beat at its finest. My brother got me into this song, and now I walk around mimicking the songs whistling that originates about 45 seconds into the song.
Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks
Rhymes: 8/10
The wordplay by the cool kids is always a joy, because they remind me of a rap Anthony Kiedis. Why? Because sometimes what they say isn’t exactly making sense, but the wordplay is funny and out there. Put simply, I have never heard of a guide to eating turkey when you’re running out of breath, nor instructions on how to get vagina while hanging at the cookout. Yeah, weird. But songs are just downright fun, specifically for the intro track, The Last Stretch, and Pennies.
No one has lyrics on this album anywhere on the internet, nor have I had the patience to transcribe it either. You’ll just have to experience this one on your own. But onward.
Featurettes: 7/10
I think that the best composed song overall has to be Pennies, because of its gritty beat, and its Featurettes. I think it was interesting that Ludacris and Bun B aren’t listed on the tracks, but instead, you hear Ludacris say “Disturbing tha Peace, Luda….Suprise bitches!” To this fact, I was indeed surprised. Bun B from UGK is also in the song, and the fact that he used the term “pause” had me cracking up and rewinding the track a few times before proceeding.
The others on the cd do a good job, but they are relatively unknown. I will say however that my favorite “unknown” was Jahda on the 9th track, The Last Stretch.
Overall, this album is good but not great. But again, this wasn’t the point; instead it was to get you ready for the release of the actual long awaited album. Think of it as a similar situation to what Ludacris (the irony of him being on this album just hit me) did with his mixtape Pre-Release Therapy before the album Release Therapy came out.
The best part about this album is that it’s FREE. That’s right, The Cool Kids have graced us with this lovely cd for free. All you need to go to their website or MySpace and follow the instructions. I can’t make it any easier for you. Enjoy it!
I know I said I would do a couple other 2008 reviews, but my upcoming Coachella piece was enough, so silence yourself and read ahead.
It seems like it’s hard to find a good dance rock band these days, even for someone who lives so close to Los Angeles and Hollywood. I may not go to Club Moscow on Wednesdays or whatever, but it still shouldn’t be this hard to find something of quality to listen to. However, I still keep an eye out on an old favorite of mine, and this year, they delivered again. I’m of course talking about the latest from the boys from Glasgow, Scotland; Franz Ferdinand.
I know you’ve heard of them before, probably the hit Take Me Out from their self titled album back in 2004. Or maybe the huge club hit, that I still hear when I go out, Auf Achse from that same album. Lil Wayne sampled their song This Fire on the mix tape The Drought is Over Part 4 as well. But enough about all that nonsense, this review is on the bands 3rd studio album, entitled Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.
To give you a little history, as I always do, the band is from Glasgow, Scotland.The band is named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who’s assassination pretty much made World War I pop off back in 1914. Their second single, Take Me Out, landed at number 3 on the British charts, which in turn earned them the same rank on the self titled album in 2005. The video for the song (which is absolutely badass by the way) also received high praise and acclaim for its strange Russian constructivist visual scheme.
The front man for Franz Ferdinand is Alex Kapranos, who also plays the lead guitar. Backing him up on vocals and guitar is Nick McCarthy, who also jumps on the keyboards from time to time. Bass guitar duty is done by Bob Hardy, with Paul Thomson on the drums and backing vocals. All four members were working on different bands before this bands inception, but created Franz in 2002. After two chart topping albums released two years in a row, then band took a break to spend some time creating their latest work of art. I feel like the wait was well worth it. Let’s talk about it.
Paul, Bob, Alex, and Nick
First, this is the kind of band that you love because you can pick it up so easily and enjoy it, without having to know the lyrics to make it entertaining. Because its dance rock, you can simply do just that, without worrying about the guy next to you in his Jetta trying to talk shit. The overall feel of the album for me is that it makes me want to strut down the street. It’s hard to explain, but I feel like this is the perfect type of music to make music videos to.
For instance, the first track, Ulysses has a simple but addictive beat, and when Alex comes in, you here him humming before the verse starts; in a way that lets you know that he is also feeling the groove of his own work.
The second track, Turn It On, feels to me like it would fit perfect in a Need for Speed or Midnight Club title, but I’m sad to report that the song is nowhere to be found in the videogame world. People who have played either series will get what I mean, so stop shaking your head at me. I’m making sense.
While track 6, Bite Hard, might be a little too fast to dance to, the energy in the instrumentals make it a key track on the album. With a particular nod to the synth used throughout the track.
Being a bass player, the funky licks on track 7, What She Came For, made this one of my favorites. This track felt a little more like something you would have heard on one of the bands previous albums; which is not a bad thing, and more of a welcome nostalgia.
Track 8, Live Alone, is one of the tracks that I believe truly defined the feel that the band was looking for. The synth and bass, and drums are heavy on this one, making it a shoe in for a sexy track for the club DJ’s. The chorus is catchy and easy (too many jokes I could make here), letting you sing along the second time around when the chorus hits.
My favorite track this time around though, is track 10 Lucid Dreams; for a few reasons. First, the instrumentals do a glorious job of paint the scene to match the song’s name. Second, the first 40 seconds of the song seems to have an almost an old western vibe to it, which I didn’t expect. After that, the beat kicks off, which is very club worthy. At about 4:47, the beat drops away and there is a crazy digital solo that made me get up and shuffle around the room in a funky manner. This leads us to the end of the track on a lighter note, which again leads to the quieter tracks Dream Again, and Katherine Kiss Me.
To bring it home, I think that Franz Ferdinand went in the right direction. Critics are saying that this is their best album yet, and Alex himself even says that this album is the dance album they have wanted to make for a long time. It doesn’t feel rushed, and doesn’t overstay its welcome while you listen to it. Add this one to your collection if you want something funky to bump at parties. Expect to hear a few of these tracks in the scene clubs all around Los Angeles. Franz Ferdinand brought us another album with hits that we can put on when we want to get groovy. Next time you are thinking about what to listen to in the evening to get the blood going, make the choice, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.
