Tag: hip hop
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The Renaissance album review – Q-Tip
There was probably an almighty unclenching of buttocks when this CD was released, such was the tension surrounding it. Q-Tip was under pressure; only President Obama had more expectations on his shoulders. The last album by the former A Tribe Called Quest rhymster was 1999’s Amplified (if you don’t count 2002’s unreleased Kamaal The Abstract). […]
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Sketches Of A Man album review – Dwele
Dwele loves vowels. The neo-soulster likes nothing better than taking a vowel, any vowel, and wrestling with it. So phrases like “with you” are, in Dwele-speak, pronounced “weeeeeed yhoooooo”. Add some crisscrossing harmonies and a hip-hop beat so leisurely it would send most into REM sleep, and you have an aural hangover cure to ease […]
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Then What Happened? album review – J-Live
Like R&B, most hip-hop is so mainstream it could be considered a subgenre of pop. Rhymesters like 50 Cent and Lil’ Wayne are little more than breathing brands who’ll endorse everything from sneakers to video games, before the obligatory Hollywood roles come a-knocking. So there’s no room for the reflective J-Lives of this world. Indeed […]
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…mixing album review – various artists (4hero)
The aim of this compilation is to “investigate the musical influences” of 4hero (aka Marc Mac and Dego) through an expansive selection of songs that spans J Dilla’s hip-hop breaks, the P-funk of Bootsy Collins, not to mention a smattering of retro electro and a dab of dub. For completist or new fans unfamiliar with […]
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Collaborations album review – Jill Scott
Her warm smile may adorn its cover, but don’t be misled, this isn’t a full-blown Jill Scott release. As its title suggests, it’s a collection of her collaborations with the likes of Lupe Fiasco, The Isley Brothers, Common, Will Smith, Al Jarreau and George Benson. (Inexplicably, 4hero‘s Another Day isn’t included.) But the sum of […]