Re: (idm) kool kieth and the current state of hiphop

From Kent Williams
Sent Tue, May 25th 1999, 15:51

Hip-Hop is always in a continual process of reinvention. There are
loads of very good releases that happen on the margins of the 80's-samplin
Lexus thug mainstream.  For one thing, you need to check your local scene --
nearly everywhere has some locals struggling to make a splash, and in my
opinion Hip Hop is like beer -- there's no substitute for drinking a local
brew while it's fresh; fuck the packaging.

Check, if you're interested:

Divine Styler "Word Power 2" Divine Styler always maintains a stance
90 degrees out of phase with the mainstream, and this release offers
up some of the best production on any record, along with the Styler's
introspective rhymes centered around his pilgrimage to Mecca.  

Dr. Dooom -- Kool Keith reinvents himself again with a funny, profane
stroll through the twisted corridors of his mind.  Look also for the
instrumental version on vinyl.

The Roots -- The Roots ALWAYS deliver, straight up.  ?uestlove's live
drumming, Razell's beatboxing, and tight, conscious rhymes that get
past glocks and hos.  They may be on Geffen records, but there isn't
a hip hop record out there with more genuine feeling.

All Natural "No Additives"  These guys are Chicagos smoothy-blending
health food B-Boys.  If you can track it down 
(http://www.gramaphonerecords.com has it) you get the bonus booklet
of cartoons, lyrics, and intellectual ramblings.  The track "you're lyin"
pops the balloon of the MTV thugs.

Company Flow "Funcrusher Plus" Rhymes so sick they'll make you queasy.
Rawkus Records may be marketing it's more-apparent-than-real
underground status, but Company Flow is the real deal -- "I drop
so much shit my anus needs an icepack."

DJ Earl-E "Breakadon"  One of our Iowa City hometown heros. This album
is about 1/2 instrumental and 1/2 work with MC's.  On the minimal production
tip -- many tracks made with a 4 track and a Gemini DJ mixer for a sampler --
Earl-E specializes in the kind of blunted 5 AM loopiness that is the
hip-hop equivalent of Chain Reaction.  Perhaps due to laid back promotion
this one might be hard to find outside of iowa city, but interested parties
should contact Vince (xxxxxxxx@xx.xxx) at the Record Collector about ordering.
And yes I'm biased -- my name is on the CD for production and mastering...

Tack Fu Productions "Yen and Slang"  -- Leave it to my boy Tim Tack to
find the funk in Jackie Gleason and Transylvanian lute music.  This
can be had direct from http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/5519/ -- the
new album set to drop this summer will shock and amaze. And yes, I'm
biased -- I've worked on about half the tracks in some capacity.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/5519/
kent williams -- xxxx@xxxxxx.xxx ICQ:33001909 

On Mon, 24 May 1999, matthew d salcido wrote:

> >hiphop these days is so goddam weak it makes me cringe. current trends
> >of using dancehall rhythms and fast 808s, despite seeming promising, 
> >are
> >getting as tired as those fucking fish-eye lenses everyone uses in 
> >their
> >videos.
> 
> if youre looking for more creative and innovative hip hop you should
> check out mystik journeymen, blackalicious, living legends, grouch, murs,
> planet asia, and bizarro.  there was another guy out of new york that is
> doing really abstract and minimal sounding hip hop.  i think his name is
> semantics or something like that...  i cant remember but its like overly
> distorted bass, a snare drum and his mc-ing.  
> 
> 
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