Rumors of Bushwick Bill’s demise were greatly exaggerated, the morning of June 9th when social media had prematurely reported that he passed from his battle with Cancer only to be disspelled by his family members, as still alive and fighting for over the next 24 hours.  He did eventually lose his battle on the evening of June 10th, but I thought it was only fitting given this man’s career and character.

As a fellow, long time hip hop musician, if you ask me what is the greatest rap album and my favorite music album of all time is, I often refer to the early nineteen ninetees Rick Rubin and Def American, produced “Geto Boys”, self titled album.  The Geto Boys were a Houston Texas based gangster rap group that Bushwick Bill was part of and that released this self titled album when gangter rap as a musical genre and cultural phenomenon was rising to prominence with groups like NWA and artists like Ice T and Ice Cube.  This album and this group was particularly unique not just because of the music, but because of the motley crew of group members.  Bushwick Bill was literally a midget who used this physical stature to create a unique persona and perspective that fit so naturally into the insane nature of this group and it’s music.

One of the singles on the album, and a Bushwick Bill solo effort, “Size ain’t S@#t”, summed it up best.  He proclaimed that he “might be short but wasn’t taking no shorts”, which epitomized his mentality and his fight for the disenfranchised, oppressed minority community he came from and the fight out of the deplorable conditions he grew up in.  Having referred to the myriad of physical conflicts he encountered in his life for being a small person, he turned his stature from small to large, both metaphorically with this kind of music and lyrics, and physically as a member of a historic, multi platinum selling music group.

I remember having viewed the cover of the album, and the black and white mugshot was not telling enough to surmise Bushwick’s physical size, and the attitude and aggression of the music itself made this fact even harder to determine.  It wasn’t until other pictures and interviews took place, as the group gained mainstream notoriety, and then subtle references in his music to his size, could be gathered, that I shockingly discovered this about Bushwick Bill.  It was when I found out this fact, that I was not only more intrigued about this artist, this group, and this music, but that I was also inspired.

As a volatile and impressionable teenager around the time of this music, I too felt challenged by the “big world” around me.  As an ethnic minority myself and having grown up in a place that challenged this fact in many different ways, I could relate to Bushwick, who had grown up on the receiving end of constant challenges.  I was fascinated by his unapologetic, demand to disregard these so called limitations and fight to be treated as an equal.  His references to getting respect one way or the other, although many times violent, and proving his belonging to a world much bigger than him, was in inspiration to me.  His courage not to back down or be type cast and forge his way with unbridled ferocity, grit, and toughness helped show me a way through my own life challenges. His fiery disposition and big energy that came across in his music helped fuel my own music and creativety.

It wasn’t just his ferociousness that defined him and his music.  Bushwick had a huge amount of charisma and crazy wrapped up in a small package.  Whether it was his macabre, cinematic story telling or violent, dark humor, in interviews and his music, he was always so intriguing and original, especially when you consider the manufactured image of most of his fellow gangster rap comtemporaries.  His music and style was always unique, with horror movie references like Chucky and Phantom of the Opera, eye patches, braids, overalls, and just strange dark tropes that he would espouse.

When the Geto Boys dropped their most commercially successful album, “We Can’t be Stopped” and the cover was a real picture of Bushwick being rushed to the emergency room having shot his own eye out, we got a glimpse into the chaos and darkness of this man’s life. This kind of emotional vulnerability that came from a suicide attempt was unheard of in the often guarded, bravado, and posturing personas tha existed in gangster rap music.  At the height of his commercial success as a musician we got to hear through interviews and in his actual music, stories of a troubled soul that had faced the ultimate adversity of nearly losing his life, and then later we got to hear of his redemption and rise again.

And at 52 when he passed fighting cancer long after it was diagnosed and announced publicly, we saw the short man live a long, fruitful life and create a legacy that will be remembered for a very long time.

R.I.P. Bushwick Bill… pound for pound, inch for inch, on of the baddest motherf@#kers that existed on the earth!

 

Here it is, a new EP, compliments of yours truly.  This is quite a departure from my normal hip hop stylings but listeners will definitely hear the hip hop influence, even in this chip tune experiment. Family duties and just being a responsible adult take away from my indulgence, but video games have been, since I was young, and still remain a regular part of my life.  That said, my childhood began with Atari and Arcades but really peaked as a kid from the Nintendo 8 bit era all the way thru the 16 bit Sega Genesis days.  Haven taken long lapses, but ultimately coming back to gaming, I have kept my eyes on nearly every iterations of gaming, all the way up to the current generation.  Finding myself playing a lot of retro games as well as modern games created in the retro format, and being a lifetime as a musician, I found myself obsessed with some of the retro gaming music.  Notably, Yuzo Koshiro as well as the classic gaming tunes of Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, and Super Mario.  This obsession even led to following and listening to chip tune music, i.e. Anamanaguchi, as well as the soundtracks to modern games.

So for this experimental project, I took my current gear and setup (for those who have kept up with my journey, will recall that I finally got my setup down so I can focus on creating new music instead of experimenting with different gear and tweaking the setup) and I wanted to take a break from hip hop, just to see what I could do.  Of all the experiments I considered, video game music felt the most organic and comfortable genre.  I could easily recall the sounds and the style of my favorite video game tunes over the years and having recently gotten comfortable with the command of the music tools at my disposal, this was a quick, fun, and light project for me.  I used much of the knowledge I’ve acquired over years of hip hop production, composition, and song writing and was able to apply it to making these relatively simple chip tune instrumental tracks.

Since this was a fun, side project for me, I didn’t spend much time, tweaking each instrument and sound and adding effects and doing intricate, methodical mixing like I would for my hip hop records.  After all, retro video game music was very limited as far as audio tools at the composers disposal so I did not want to depart from that simplistic sensibility, even if in my case, it was not a limitation that forced the decision to go basic.

As far as the instruments and sounds go, I tried to use sounds, especially at the top end, having an 8 bit retro feel, with bright synths, and bleeps and bips for bass, and low bit rate strings and pianos.  I even filtered the final two track stereo mixes of each song with the infamous 12 bit SP1200 drum machine sound to give it a more vintage feel and pay homage to my bread and butter, hip hop.  Speaking of, with a lot of the drums and percussion,the hip hop producer in me used more hi fi sounds and drum kits, but I think this worked out. I wanted to encapsulate both the 8 bit and 16 bit eras since they were both the impressionable gaming eras of my childhood.  The 16 bit era marked better sound chips in gaming consoles and gave a more hi fi sound experience to video games as well as the birth of CD Rom gaming introduced live recorded CD audio tracks with no instrument and sound limitations, per say.  Since the highs and mids on most of this EPS songs were inspired by 8 bit gaming, the more hi fi drum sounds paid homage to the 16 bit era.  This better low end also made for a more palatable and versatile  listening experience, especially in the modern landscape of music, rather than being relegated and limited to a novel, but throw away retro gaming music experiment.

When making this music, I tried to imagine an entire video game from beginning to end.  This way, the listener has a theme and title screen song at the beginning, and then the listener can follow the gaming protagonist as they journey through various game levels, until finally, the journey comes to a close and the final ending song takes place. Each stage of the game had a fully imagined environment, mood, and atmosphere which inspired the sounds and music notes.

As for the name of this EP, it was a fun play on the popular, ultra modern, “simulation theory”, but since it was a tribute to retro gaming, I called it Emulation which represents emulations of retro games. Lastly, the pixel art is compliments of my designer extraordinaire, wife, and is meant to look like an 8 bit video game title screen, with the only thing missing, the “press start” and ” options”!

This one was short and sweet, and a blast, no pun intended, to make, so I hope all my listeners, even my hardcore hip hop heads, enjoy!

The Emulation Theory: A Chiptune Adventure- Programmed by Sickman VC (tracklist)

01_The Heroes Journey (75 bpm)

 

02_First Encounter (120 bpm)

 

03_Digging Deep (75 bpm)

 

04_The Overworld (55 bpm)

 

05_Platformance (57 bpm)

 

06_Adversity (110 bpm)

 

 

 

 

I wanted to start something new.  I wanted to post some new tracks I have been working on for my new solo album and also working on for a long time collaborator and friend’s new album (both coming soon) and talk about the ideas, inspiration, and production techniques behind making them.

Drnem79 – 79 BPMs.  This track was inspired by one of my all time favorite music producers of all time and his many classic collaborations with one of my all time favorite musicians of all time.  This is the legendary Dr. Dre and his work with the shady one, Eminem.  “What’s the Difference” from Dr. Dre’s second solo album Dr. Dre 2001, first came to mind when composing this particular track, based on it’s epic, large scale, orchestrated sound and how complimentary it was for Eminem’s crazy delivery and lyrics. If I recall, Dre actually recruited a small symphony to play on the track.  For this one, I started with a simple string section and built from there. Obviously I don’t have the means to introduce an actual symphony on my track, but  I wanted this song to have the same feel of a symphony playing.  The best way to try to achieve this on a small scale, was to include many of the components or instruments you would expect to hear with a symphony and using the reverb and effect techniques to create a large open feel or create a good amount of head space in the recording with EQing and mixing techniques.

After the strings, I wanted to add a lead instrument during the middle of the verse sections so I decided to add brass as well as a piano lead.  One thing I noticed with Dr Dre’s hip hop production specifically and generally, high level music production is that the song builds layers of instruments as you go along, almost like a crescendo effect to build a climax within the song.  This is a departure from most hip hop production which is a lot of times, just simple samples or drum and bass loops played repetitiously and they then rely on the vocalist and or simple instrument or sample drop outs to create the variety and climactic action.

The introduction of the lead brass and piano were placed midway through each of the 3, 16 bar verse sections, in order to build a climax within the lyricist’s verses.  Taking it further, I also used instrument drop outs and other mixing techniques to further build on the climactic effect and add to the variety with each verse section.  One thing I always found appealing with better composed songs of any music genre, for example, “Good Vibrations” by The Beach Boys and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, is that you have things to look forward to as far as musical changes and climaxes within the same song and you are not just subjected to a secondary instrument backing that relies solely on the vocalist to create these dynamics.  When both the music composition and the vocalist can contribute to this dynamic and do it synergistically, you have a stronger song as a whole.  Achieving this musical philosophy is a bit different and somewhat challenging in terms of my individual recording process and the typical electronic/hip hop work flow.  This is because my own recording process consists of creating and producing the instrumental track nearly 100 percent before the vocals are created and recorded. Aside from this being my own approach it is also very common both in today’s electronic based music production and hip hop as a genre since the actual tracks are mostly composed entirely electronically and in a lot of cases the producer is the composer. Also it is common that the tracks are given to and often remotely, to the artist to record vocals over as opposed to the producer and composer actually working in the studio, hand and hand, with the vocalists before and during the vocal recording process. That said, for this track I had ideas of how the verse and knew where and when I wanted the verses delivered and composed the music around these ideas.

After deciding on all the instruments for the verse sections, for the chorus sections,  I introduced a sustained electronic piano note and 16th note hihats, along with different effects and EQing on the other instruments in order to differentiate this chorus section from the verse sections and allow for the verses to reach a crescendo up to and into the chorus sections.  This technique is used by Dr Dre constantly and in the track “The Difference” that inspired this one, the chorus section introduced a rather infectious, whining lead synthesizer in this same way.

Lastly, I imported this track into Pro Tools to put the final touches and mixing on it, before it becomes a finished track, and ready for the vocals to be laid. Although most of my levels, panning, and general EQing are mostly decided by the time it leaves my Akai MPC system, the Pro Tools phase is for further EQ tweaking, panning, and level setting and additional effects.  Also during this Pro Tools stage of my recording process, I have some outboard effects I can and often introduce which further enhance the track.  From here, there will be more overall levels and efffects added after vocals are recorded but for the most part this is all decided after this phase of the recording process.

Aside from the technical aspects of this track, artistically, I wanted this track to be near the beginning of an album and be an epic, anthem track that announces the artists return to the game.  I left the overalls structure as a 3, 16 bar verses, with pronounced chorus sections which will make this an attention grabber on an album.   The sparse instrumentation and mixing with a lot of head space and clean EQing, are made for consise and articulate lyrics, with simple intelligible deliveries, and meant to play loud and often.  The highs are mixed very clean and the lows do not drown out the other instruments.  The drums are crisp and stand out in the mix which will compliment clear, simple delivered vocals all done at a good, head nodding tempo.

 

 

“Everythangs Corrupt”, is the new full length studio effort from an artist with far too many aliases at this point to list, west coast, hip hop legend, Ice Cube.

It is easy to take for granted so many things about Ice Cube and hard to summarize the scope of his influence in hip hop in just a few sentences. It is very easy to forget his status as a pioneer of west coast hip hop and creator of an entire sub genre of hip hop in the form of gangster rap. Cube’s unheralded song writing ability helped establish him as one of the original hip hop ghost writers, i.e. NWA, and his innate ability to tell vivid stories in the form of rap helped influence future and fellow legendary artists like the late B.I.G. and Nas, to name a few.  He can also be remembered as the person who took battle rap and diss tracks to the next level with “No Vaseline.”  Ice Cube was also a key player in the era of politically charged rap music and at the front and center of social, cultural controversy with songs like “Fuck The Police” and albums like “Death Certificate”.  All this was just from his music endeavors, and one could equal time discussing his other successful ventures, whether the pop culture cross over and uber successful foray into Hollywood and entertainment, or his position as a preeminent, African-American Entrepreneur and entertainment mogul.

This brief synopsis hardly does Cube’s epic career justice but is worth mentioning since an artist and influential figure of this magnitude, still living and creating new work (and prolifically I might add) should never be taken for granite. Whenever they do release new stuff, it is always worth paying attention to, for better or worse.  After such a long and multi faceted career we ask, how does the new music stack up and is it, and the artist, still relevant?

In the midst of a tense political climate and troubled times in this country, it seems like the perfect opportunity for vintage Ice Cube to appear. For the once controversial figure, turned cultural and entertainment icon,  just the album’s title, “Everythangs Corrupt” insinuate that this might mark Cube’s long awaited return to classic political/gangster fueled rap. However, the first half of the album is marred by musical production that does not fit the direction and scope of Cube’s lyrics and subject matter.  The music production on the first eight songs comes off as a generic attempt at achieving a more modern, mainstream rap sound, and fails to fit the political subject matter. Songs like “Arrest The President” and “Chase Down The Bully” have so much potential in the context of great Ice Cube music, but fail to deliver on their promise.  The sparse, electronic driven production seem to force Cube to dumb down his delivery and lyrics, and at times, even force him to rhyme words just to fit the beats.  As a result, the social commentary is lost and he does not scratch the surface of the subject matter.  As a Cube fan, when you see the song titles you have this hope of a return to sample driven Sir Jinx or Bomb Squad style tracks fueling a vivid, aggressive, and witty story teller espousing fiery politics, think songs like  “I Wanna Kill Uncle Sam”. Instead you get cheap, generic “trap music” sounds that don’t give the legendary artist a chance to flex his legendary skill set.  Speaking of “trap sounds”, the remainder of the first half of “Everythangs Corrupt” ironically have Cube rapping about the very subject matter of dope and drugs over even more,  “not so dope” driven music.  Even if the subject of drugs and dope were relevant to the overall theme of the album, and were at the forefront of modern politics, which I believe they are, we don’t get anywhere close to Cube classics on this same subject like “Dopeman” or “What Can I Do?”.

If you are patient enough to wade thru the first half of “Everythangs Corrupt” and lucky enough to make it to “Street Sheds Tears”, then the “Super OG” finally gets to cooking and you get some of the vintage Cube you have been waiting for.  It takes an overused west coast sample on “Street Sheds Tears” to bring Cube back into old form and away from the trappings, pun intended, of  “Trap” style music.  He continues this old school approach with fellow west coast legend Too Short on “Ain’t Got No Haters” and the simplicity and nostalgia factor continue to shine.  He gets experimental and does a sort of “Jackin For Beats” but jacks different vanacular and takes references from different eras on the ultra cool, “Can you Dig It”.  With “The New Funkadelic” he pays homage to P funk and channels his “Bop Gun” days.  Here he draws from the most comparable Cube album to “Everythangs Corrupt” in “Lethal Injection”.  This comparison can be made as far as the album being comprised of mostly cleaner, more mainstream production at that perticular time period, that still compliment his classic skill set and also includes a share of vintage moments..

The strength of the second half of the album continues even on his most mainstream effort and NBA TV anthem–esque “Non Believers”, where the beat choice and delivery finally seem to blend well, unlike the aforementioned first half album tracks.  Finally, he closes out “Everythangs Corrupt” on the political tip with the title track and “Good Cop Bad Cop”, a track that initially surfaced as one of the bonus tracks on the 25th Anniversary Edition, of what I believe is Cube’s Magnus Opus, “Death Certificate”.  Here we are treated to a fiery, Cube tackling the latest politics, and although it fails to reach the levels of the album it first appeared on, (for the record it was obvious then, that it was not recorded during the “Death Certificate” sessions but long after), it still gives fans a glimpse into what makes him so great as a rap artist, and musician for that matter.

A  good analogy  for Ice  Cube’s latest studio album, “Everythangs  Corrupt”, and something I wrote about awhile back, is the older athlete. This is the perfect analogy given that Cube is the founder and owner of a basketball  league, The Big Three, which, is comprised of older NBA player. In this case Cube, himself, is the older athlete. By the time we trudge through the first half we are left realizing that it took quite awhile for the older athlete to warm up and find their rhythm. It also seems as if the elder statesman is busy trying to keep up with the younger players instead of doing what they are best at. By the second half, we do catch glimpses of what made them great and for brief moments at a time they not only keep up with, but they surpass their younger contemporaries.  We are then left wondering if the older athlete can continually sustain this vintage form and become as dominant as they once were in an everchanging landscape and evolving sport.  On this album, Cube, shows flashes of his old brilliance but you just get that feeling that he might have lost a slight step, and at this point in a long and illustrious career, he may not be capable of creating an entire classic from beginning to end.  However, since we are dealing with an all time great, whose face belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of Hip Hop,  a fall off for him still puts him above most of his modern peers, especially, when he is still motivated and when the conditions are just right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Big rock” trio, Muse, is back at it with their eighth studio effort, “Simulation Theory”. After what was announced as possibly their last studio album, “Drones”, three years ago, “Simulation Theory” seems like a sudden and surprising offering from the group, but in reality was an organic creation, slowly formed over their multi year hiatus. The result is a very inspired effort and the most cohesive, epic, and theamatic work since “Black Holes and Revelations”, twelve years ago.

For a band of just three, Muse sure comes off as one very big band, with a larger than life sound and persona. Their pop music and pop culture sensibilities further solidify them as a giant, mainstream rock band, almost to the point of becoming a guilty pleasure for any hard core music enthusiast, especially when you consider them as being synonomous with teens and “Twilight” vampires. What breaks them from this mold, are the dark and distopian themes that are increasingly pervasive in their music, all the while achieving the polish and superior craftsmanship associated with more mainstream music acts. “Simulation Theory” has struck this delicate balance.

Outside of the recent resurgence of vinyl as a popular music medium, the relevance of a music album’s cover art is certainly not what it once was. So, when Muse recruited Kyle Lambert of “Stranger Things” fame, to do the cover art to “Simulation Theory”, it was a very clever play on the aforementioned band’s pop sensibilities and mainstream appeal while at the same time staying true to the dark and distopian themes that dominate their music. Beside the popularity of the artist, the actual art does a great job of capturing this duality of the band. The colors and style scream pop, yet some of the imagery hint at an underlying darkness and mystery. If this was an LP from the eighties, the cover art would have gone a very long way into creating the mystique and mystery of what was to come before the listener dives into the “Simulation”.

Before diving into the “Simulation”, it is also worth mentioning that another once, significant aspect of music that has changed in recent times is the relevance and purpose of music videos and how this band decided to address this as well. Just like with the album artwork, Muse decided to defy modern convention and went “all in” on music videos for “Simulation Theory”. They created a series of videos for multiple songs off the album that portray the various simulations that the listener, or viewer in the case of VR, can partake in. These music videos capture much of the imagery off of the album cover art and they work synergistically to reveal the overall theme of the album which is that that there’s a wizard behind the curtain or simulation that is controlling the whole show. Besides faithfully recreating much of Kyle Lambert’s imagery on the album cover, the style, casting, and individual plots of each video go a very long way in also capturing the bands pop sensibilities and mainstream appeal, while revealing some of the dark themes that also define their current sound.

Beyond the artwork and the videos, the actual music is where “Simulation Theory” shines. As much as the cover art and videos help contribute to the album’s dystopian theme, ironically, when you ignore these visual components and just consider the sounds and the music, “Simulation Theory”, is an intoxicating and immersive journey into Muse’s hellish vision of the world. The music itself is the perfect showcase for the band’s aforementioned duality with it’s tight, epic, and bombastic sounds that speak about dark subject matter.

Right off the bat, with “Algorithms” they lead the listener into a pulsating soundscape that slowly builds with pianos, synths, and guitars, and which is metaphorically taking the subject into the “simulation”. Just like the musical stylings on this opening track , the lyricism is also trademark Muse. They are sparse, yet poetic and anthem-esque lyrics that flirt with profundity and hint at density, but not at the risk of pretentiousness.

Once inside the “simulation”, this album seems to play out in two parts. Although certainly not done chronilogically, and maybe not intentionally, part of “Simulation Theory” speaks about oppression, the oppressive forces, and literally transports listeners to “The Darkside”. The other part of the album, albeit the majority, speaks about rising against this oppression and emerging out of the dark.

An excellent example of the dark that the band has conjured up for part of this album is “Thought Contagion”. They certainly don’t do themselves any favors escaping the “Twilight” vampire association, but this song is a really fun vampire analogy about being bit and infected by lies and deception. You have songs like the co-produced Timberland, “Propoganda”, that further articulate the oppressive forces at work, in “The Simulation.” Even at the end of the album and after “The Simulation” is revealed and the hero is summoned to rise above, the enescapable darkness still lurks in “The Void”, which is the very last song on the album.

Then there’s the other part of “Simulation Theory”. Muse spends most of their time and energy on the album playing music to fuel the revolution and quite a few tracks come off like incantations or battle cries for the good fight taking place. Once the curtain is pulled back and the “simulation” is revealed, the band beckons the listener to manifest the energy and strength to fight and emerge from the darkness and lies taking place around them. Songs like “Pressure” and it’s marching band music,  (there’s even a really cool version with the UCLA marching band!), are energetic anthems that seem to pull the listener out of the abyss every time it gets deeper. If it’s not at a pep rally, with a  marching band that get the listener out of the rut, Muse takes things to church and sing the good gospel with “Dig Down”. Encouraging listeners to “Get up and Fight”, playing all this motivational music on over one half of the album is very good for the band. It shows their vast technical capabilities, their  musical diversity, and a great understanding of a wide range of sounds. The music continues to come off as epic and cinematic in scope, each and every time, yet never corny or derivative.

“Something Human” is the strongest song on “Simulation Theory” and sums up Muse’s latest work, best. Since the album is about humans living in a simulation, and breaking out of it, “Something Human” is the moment where one takes a deep breath and step back and realizes what the whole thing is about. It is the realization of humanity in the midst of artificiality. Since this album is void (no pun intended) of singing about love in a romantic sense, part of this song’s brilliance lies in it being the only ballet on the album, and it does what any good ballet does and talks about love, only, love in the sense of love for and of humanity, in this case. This cryptic message and dualistic meaning along with the beauty and grand scale of the music, make “Something Human”, a very special way of tying the album together and it epitomizes where Muse is at as musicians and what they are going for on “Simulation Theory”.

 

R.I. P.  to the Queen, Aretha Franklin.  A huge musical influence, especially as a young aspiring Hip Hop producer who sampled her sounds and as an emcee who admired the social and cultural transcendence of her music and career.

Her 30 Greatest Hits Album from 1985, in particular, holds a special place in my heart. This was one of the first pieces of vinyl I owned, and I sampled many sounds from this record, and I listened to all the songs on so many different occasions.  Although it is obscure in the hierarchy of the Queen’s anthology, I always think back to my favorite song off of this double LP, “Daydreaming”, with Aretha’s crooning voice, the droning bassline, and then the break at the end into an ambient, dreamscape of sound that personify the literal and figurative “dream” theme of the song. The production value of this song was not only way ahead of it’s time but was a huge influence on my own musical production style.

 

Hot off the heals of his second, classic collaboration with the legendary producer DJ Premier with Prhyme 2, Royce stuns us with this solo effort out of nowhere.

In what may be the most mainstream attempt on the album in some ways, and a tag team effort with his Bad Meets Evil partner and fellow Rock City brethren, Eminem, “Caterpillar” is a strange, extended metaphor for the current state of rap from the perspective of these two older rap legends.  Although Royce and Em spend the song talking about how they are the caterpillars and are destroying these butterflies, the better analogy here is how Royce as an artist has morphed into something new and great with the “Book of Ryan”.

Sobriety and self realization has spelled the artistic demise of many artists in the eyes of fans, especially in artistic genres associated with debauchery and hedonism like the gangster rap era that Royce came up in.  Take that away from the artist and many times you are left with an empty soul that has either has lost their edge artistically or is still attempting to sell a fake image of what they use to be.  Royce has gone way past these possible outcomes with this work.  This album shows how brutal honesty, thought , and introspective can work artistically.  How he pulls it off in a music genre that epitomizes the antithesis of this is nothing short of remarkable.  From the Intro to “Woke”, to songs like “Godspeed”, you witness a man who has overcome the pain and suffering of an addiction and life’s tribulations and has recovered and matured and sees a light at the end of the tunnel.  He is gleaming with self assurance and confidence but without cocky bravado and ego, and he constantly reminds us of the ghosts and pain of his past without ever indulging and surrendering in self pity.  He sobered up and grew up and created a masterpiece here.

“Book of Ryan” has all the hallmarks of what makes a classic hip hop album or better yet a great album in any genre.  The guest appearances are minimal which further solidifies the power of this solo effort. When he does have them on, he makes them count and they are relevant choices, like with J Cole on “Boblo Boat” or the NY all star line up on “Summer on Lock”.  Just when you think you are witnessing a personal memoir as an album,  with the story telling on songs like “Outside” and “Strong Friend”,  Royce the emcee bites down on his mouthpiece and delivers vintage performances like his verse on the aforementioned “Summer on Lock” and the song “Legendary”. Like a lot of hip hop classics you have skits and the Royce’s skits are powerful and well done and all relevant to the theme of the album.  Also his interjection of humor goes a long way and sounds totally natural whether on skit or within song verse.  The choice of production, song length, and structure all are fitting to the overall theme and are strong but play a secondary role to his powerful lyrics and stories.  His versatility as a musician is showcased throughout this album as well, as he changes up his cadence, delivery, tone, and you even get to hear him sing certain passages and quite well I might add!  The album’s title and reference to “Ryan” talks a lot about seeing the world through the eyes of his dad and his relationship with his dad, and is a brilliant cryptic take on his own life, sobriety, and achieving manhood. Overall, despite the absurd prolific output here (count it, 21 tracks) everything is seamless and comes off as a well crafted, well thought out, and cohesive from beginning to end.  It never manages to lose the attention of the listener and there is a dense work with much to unpack, so it bears repeated listening, yet manages to never get old or fatiguing after multiple listens.

Modern Rap can learn a lot from this work.  The articulation of self and feelings that Royce manages to convey, so unabashed and unapologetically is refreshing and you just don’t see it these days, especially in this kind of music.  His surrendering of ego and his honesty about his battles with addiction are so relevant in the modern space of human existence.  He tackles the issues at the forefront of modern life and has made a profound statement that all people from all walks of life can relate to.  His organic choice of music and lyrics combine synergistically and turn this to a very sophisticated piece of art that any one can enjoy and study for a long time.  It is a modern manifestation of hip hop evolved that is capable of changing the landscape of what this music is, can be, and should be.

 

 

 

Janelle Monae has quickly risen to my favorite “diva” among her contemporaries, however she is much more than that.  In only her third album she has really peaked as an artist and her ever growing and critically praised  Hollywood acting career further prove that she is a “true tour de force” and can do it all.  She reminds me of a futuristic Lauren Hill if you will.  As a matter of fact when she says she is from the future I believe it.  The scope of her talent and depth of her art whether singing, dancing, or acting seem extra terrestrial, otherworldly, and hard to define and categorize when considered in the context of her fellow modern entertainment peers.  As a matter of fact her recent admission of being “pan sexual” sums it up best and truly personifies thos multi-faceted being from another time and place, that we call Janelle Monae.

Just like her first two albums, the production and structure is cohesive, entertaining, and captures her wide gambit of talents from beginning to end.  Actually this third effort is the best one yet and I think she pulls this off by the going in a confident and explicit direction with tracks like “Screwed” and “Pynk”.  The opening and title track “Dirty Computer” produced by the legendary Brian Wilson, lays a brilliant foundation for what is to come on the album.  Not only does the analogy of her being a virus laden computer afflicted with the filth and dirt of cyber sin brilliantly sum up the modern onslaught of information we deal with today, it also sets the tone for the aforementioned more explicit version of Monae that we get to witness.  Each track is a show case of this women’s incredible array of artistic skill such as “Django Jane” in which she brilliantly displays her vocal prowess as an MC and with one track easily eclipses the efforts of fellow female MCs like Cardi B and Niki Minaj, not to mention a whole generation of modern male Soundcloud, dare I say “MCs”, or “rappers”.  Her choice of production and ability to capture the producers signature sounds like on “I Got the Juice” with Pharrell cannot be understated and never seem contrived or derivative of that producer.  Her work with her mentor, the late, great Purple one continues, the long legacy of beautiful, talented divas that he was able to discover and groom, and as a matter of fact she establishes her position as the best among them.

 

 

• Eels -“The Deconstruction”
• Kacey Musgraves- “Golden Hour”
• The Decemberists-“I’ll Be Your Girl”