Sene
Brooklyknight
Plug Research; 2012
Score (Potholes In My Blog scale): 4/5
Click here to read my review of Brooklyknight by Sene, at Potholes In My Blog.
Category: Album Reviews
THEESatisfactionREVIEW: De La Soul’s Plug 1 and Plug 2 Present…First Serve
De La Soul’s Plug 1 and Plug 2 Present…First Serve
Duck Down; 2012
Score (Potholes In My Blog scale): 4/5
REVIEW: Perspective – Grynch
Grynch
Perspective
Self-Released; 2012
Score (Potholes In My Blog scale): 3/5
Click here to read my review of Grynch’s Perspective at Potholes In My Blog.
REVIEW (via Potholes In My Blog): Lo-Fi Fingahz – Gensu Dean
Gensu Dean
Lo-Fi Fingahz
Mello Music Group; 2012
Score (Potholes In My Blog scale): 3/5
Click here to read my review of this album at Potholes In My Blog.
REVIEW: Respect – Fatal Lucciauno
Fatal Lucciauno
Respect
Sportn’ Life Records; 2012
Score (Potholes In My Blog scale): 4/5
Click here to read my album review over at Potholes In My Blog.
REVIEW: Ocean Howell – La (prod. by Olee)
La
Ocean Howell
Self-Released; 2012
Score: RECOMMENDED
The rapper La was party to 2010’s Gravity, the best Seattle-area hip-hop album of the last five years. (It’s imperative to mention Def Dee’s outstanding production work on the project, too.) Since that release, La’s output has been consistently excellent. Roll With The Winners was the gritty, aggressive portrait of an artist rhyming to eat, and SEALAB 2012 saw the MC take a slightly more eased back approach to his mic tactics.
Enter Ocean Howell, a free (for now) nine-track album featuring production entirely by Olee. La has employed the compositional talents of a single producer on all four of his projects, a strategy that creates much needed album identity and continuity, and one I wish more rappers would practice. The title of the album (and every track on it) references skateboarders which is an ode to the MC’s beloved childhood pastime. The subject matter in La’s lyrics, however, doesn’t directly correlate.
Ocean finds the rapper again talking his glorious trademark shit, executing deft turns of phrase and increasingly clever ways of putting lesser rappers in their places. There are also familiar references to the man’s difficult past and hopefulness for a better future. And of course the requisite weed raps. La sounds focused and motivated, executing his natural abilities over Olee’s Golden Era beats which are tastefully adorned with soul- and disco-inflected samples. Highlights include the saxophone-laced “Kareem Campbell” and “Pepe Martinez” (featuring State Of The Artist’s Thaddeus David), which matches a harried fire alarm sound effect with La’s fierce (albeit offensive) disses.
(An aside: the MC has started to regularly use the N-word on this album which, to my knowledge, is the first time he’s used the racial signifier on wax — though I have heard him drop it in battles. I took to email to ask La why he chose to use the word and his answer revealed a difficult and complicated relationship to the term, but no less academic reasoning than what we might expect from so-called “higher” authorities. I think all non-white folks are entitled to their respective opinions on the use of the N-word and mine certainly differs from La’s, but I can assure you his judgment is neither flippant nor casual.)
In this blogger’s estimation, the quality of Ocean Howell slides in somewhere between Roll With The Winners and SEALAB, the focus of La’s rhymes settling into a nimble balance of traditional battle rap and real-talk societal observations. Past releases may have found him more amiable (see: Gravity) and rawer (Winners) in nature, but never before has the MC sounded more comfortable or on point. Hearing La pick a beat apart with the cold precision of a brain surgeon has become one of Seattle rap’s greatest pleasures.
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REVIEW: The Story of Love x Hate – The Good Sin
The Good Sin
The Story of Love x Hate
Self-released; 2012
Score: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The Good Sin’s new LP, The Story of Love x Hate, is the MC’s follow-up to last year’s Late, a well-received nine track collaboration with producer 10.4 Rog. This blog called Late one of Seattle’s best hip-hop albums of the year, a concise, thoughtful exploration of the rapper’s everyday life and how it intersected with his burgeoning musical hustle. Renton’s 10.4 was at least half responsible for the quality of the record, lending burnished drums and airy keyboards that provided a counterbalance to The Good Sin’s deep, grounded articulation. It was one of the most well-conceived collections of the year, a grouping of tracks that justly deserved being called an “album.”
The Story of Love x Hate picks up right where that record left off. Here, Sin narrows his lyrical focus down to the types of love and hate he encounters on the daily. Musically, it continues the refreshing trend set on Late, eliminating superfluous sonic baggage associated with much of contemporary rap and instead relying on uncluttered pop- and soul-driven arrangements.
The Story is one of the easiest Seattle rap albums to lay back and vibe out to of recent memory. There’s the Pacific Northwest tribute, “Ode to Home,” where Sin finds simple comfort in the area’s perpetual drizzle over a set of pristine keyboard plinks. “Mission Impossible” (featuring Blakk Soul) is a stirring groove about the complexities inside relationships hindered by past emotional baggage. “Gimme Your Love” is a huge geek-out moment for fans of late 80s/early 90s R&B. Producer Vitamin D flips a Bobby Brown sample (“Roni”) into a rolling synth-laden head-nodder and Sin accompanies it with brassy rhymes about the fickle love of fans, bloggers and other parties — those quick to show adulation to an artist when things are rolling, but just as fast to turn when their expectations aren’t met.
The Story of Love x Hate is another big highlight for the MC also known as Sinseer, whose talent in crafting relatable poetics is reinforced by a natural commanding delivery, but I’m guessing part of the man’s intention on this outing was to give shine to The Town’s woefully under-represented R&B/soul scene. The album’s opening track, “Lost Souls,” features Black Stax’s Felicia Loud who sets the tone for the rest of the LP with her spirit-raising gospel. Sean Carson and Mario Sweet also lend their grown-up crooning on a couple of tracks. Best of all, though, is Alisha Roney, a Seattle native (now New York-based) who I’d never heard of until this album but deserves greater attention based solely on the strength and raw humanity of her two appearances (“Eye 2 Eye” and “A Lot To Say ‘Alisha’s Revenge’”).
It’s interesting these days to watch and see how the area rap scene shakes out, which rappers and producers show staying power and which ones fail to resonate. Less than two years ago, The Good Sin was just another face in the crowd with one so-so mixtape and a handful of guest shots to show for himself. The Story of Love x Hate, as with his preceding album, should endure because of its fully-formed ideas, foundational elements that are so important in crafting a cohesive body of work rather than a haphazard assortment of tracks. Sinseer’s approach to MCing seems focused on the long-haul and he’s positioned himself to be one of Seattle’s key hip-hop representatives for the foreseeable future.
REVIEW: Maven – Thaddeus David
Thaddeus David
Maven
Members Only; 2012
Score: RECOMMENDED
Of the three MCs in local crew State Of The Artist, it’s likely Thaddeus David (or Young TH as he’s known in assembly) is the only one capable of holding down an entire album’s worth of solo material. Parker is an adequate rhymer but his true gifts lay behind the boards and Hyphen8d’s butter soft register just isn’t commanding enough to stand alone despite a charming wit that supersedes both of his teammates. One of the best things about the SOTA boys is how well they share the mic, with each MC getting a turn to shine on virtually every track they do together. Thaddeus is clearly their #3 hitter: the most well-rounded, the most consistent and the most interesting. Maven is his recent outing for dolo, a 16-track LP that’s definitely nice on the ears, but suffers from a partial lack of focus that hinders the MC’s hunt for a more distinct individual rep.
It’s hard to criticize Maven when all of the separate elements of a high quality album are present. Start with Thad’s flow which is natural and well-practiced. He sounds great positing on subjects like street politics (“Block Business”), succeeding in the rap game (“By Any Means”), and old fashioned shit talk (“Aww Sheit”). Part of his appeal lies in his raspy vocal aesthetic, a natural gift that allows him to swagger without trying. You can’t teach or learn that quality — it just is. The other remarkable thing about Maven is the beat choice: every single one succeeds. Provided by local suppliers (Jester, Kuddie Fresh, DJ Semaj) and anonymous internet beat mavens, there isn’t a weak gazelle in the bunch and the diverse sonics range from the dreamy wobble of “Never Never” to the jazzy shake of “Crown Royal.”
But while Thad’s beat selection is beyond reproach, his strategy for hopping on them is suspect. At least half of the collection would only qualify as interludes. Many of them are devoid of hooks that just start to build momentum before trailing off, like “Skyscrapers” which generates a nostalgic, grainy lo-def 70’s movie feel but then quickly rides out. As it goes with most hip-hop records these days, somewhere among the overflow of half-thoughts is a superior and more focused EP dying to get out. It’s a lesson Thaddeus should have learned from the title of Maven’s opening cut, “Less is More.”
In 206UP.COM’s recent interview feature, “THE SIX”, Thad informs us that another solo project is likely on the way, this time a for-profit venture with all original production. Here’s hoping “distillation” is on the MC’s to-do list for that go ‘round. Dude’s Town rep is very strong based on past musical collaborations — SOTA and Helluvastate (with Cloud Nice honcho Tay Sean) — and he’s shown it can only get stronger. The approach just needs a little calibration.
REVIEW (via Potholes In My Blog): The Mission EP – Eric Lau (w/Guilty Simpson)
Eric Lau
The Mission EP
Kilawatt Music; 2012
Score (Potholes In My Blog scale): 3/5
Click here to read my review of London-based DJ/producer Eric Lau’s The Mission EP, featuring Guilty Simpson. Thanks to the good folks at Potholes In My Blog for letting me contribute to their great publication.
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