Remember all that madness I was talking months ago, hyping up the recent trend of artists coming together to pool their talents and resources to produce collaborative albums?
Well, simply put, I was wrong about them.
For some odd reason I figured that the union of two separate but very talented musical entities could only result in the highest standard for Hiphop music and lyrics. But I was wrong.
Not only did I see it as an innovative, creative outlet for rappers and Hiphop producers stuck in a genre that is slowly but surely becoming decidedly less creative than its pioneers intended for it to be, but, if done correctly, each project had the serious potential to generate more fans and, perhaps more importantly to the artists themselves, more revenue. But again, I was wrong.
No, I’m not referring to the title of Ryan Leslie’s upcoming album.
I’m talking about the prolific producer Statik Selektah, who for the past few years has been on the rise as an ever-improving, credible and able producer for a number of mainstream and underground Hiphop acts.
The Boston-area native turned Brooklyn resident is responsible for producing 100 percent of three projects from this year alone, as well as four projects from the year before.
In addition, he’s scheduled this year to release two more albums that he will be the sole producer for, which is all in addition to the beats he stays making for a variety of artists, such as the work he put in for Edo G’s most recent album as well as the growing roster of artists signed to his own Showoff Records label.
But what started off as an admirable effort has lately been considerably watered down with Statik’s recent productions, including but not limited to the highly disappointing, stale-sounding collaborative album with Bumpy Knuckles.
Remember the raw, unrefined, wild and zany flow laced with that patented bravado?
If you're looking to restore that long lost feeling found on those early Wu-Tang Clan albums then I implore you to check out Action Bronson, a Queens rapper whose dialect, pronunciations and cadences are eerily reminiscent of GhostfaceKillah circa 1992-1998.
No, this is not an accusation of Hiphop's most serious (and, as of late, often ignored) sin -- biting.
Rather, Bronson takes us back to those good old days where it was all about having fun and not about popping bottles in the club or flossing in Maybachs.
And the fact that his rhyming style channels his inner Ghostface only enhances the effectiveness of this project, which at once is refreshing and invigorating -- two crucial components missing from most modern rap music.
With 35 tracks, this mixtape plays like a double CD, seamlessly moving from song to song with clever and playful high-powered lyrics and rhymes.
Adding to the listening pleasure is the fact that most of the previously unheard beats used on the mixtape are surprisingly dope, employing classic breakbeats and familiar samples used in unfamiliar fashions.
And as most new artists should do, Bronson has already filmed high quality videos for several songs from the mixtape, further showcasing his easy-going spirit and penchant for having fun.
Unfortunately the mixtape is filled with so many J-Love drops that some of the lyrics are distorted, but that only heightens the anticipation for a full length, uninterrupted studio album that can hopefully materialize sooner rather than late.
Bronson, like many rap fans, is so starved for the feeling of the early 90s that he even go so far as to name one of his songs "Re-Elect Dinkins," in honor of former New York City mayor David Dinkins who ran the city before Rudy Giuliani imposed a police state on the city's residents.
My mind above the clouds Plus I love the way the thunder sounds Stevie Wonder mixed with Rambo on the underground Queens sculpted, stay chisel like a Greek god I'm on the bars, I got the lyrical physique, pa. My style attacks like a German Shepherd Plus I never need a gun 'cause I'm the perfect weapon.
Even with an inflated number of tracks on the mixtape Bronson stays delivering crazy couplets ("You never know what kind of pickle you in till you wake up in a cell and nuts'll tickle ya chin") with the greatest of ease while covering topics from his favorite pasttime ("I got that pure smoke, gorgeous like a sushi plate, five sticks of marijuana, I hallucinate") to describing his perfect girl ("pussy tight, ass like a leather shoe, chillin on the stoop with a Special Brew, Mickey D’s, she never seen a vegetable, but she know how to hum on the testicle").
Bronson is almost perfect on Roasted Bone Marrow, which borrows the beat from Wu-Tang's Hollow Bones from the Clan's third album. Of course Ghost went off on that beat, so it's only right that Bronson does, too ("Bronson's smoking sticky quarters, and know today we running routes just like I'm Ricky Watters, light the sky, civil war, 160 mortars; prone position, focus on the target; breathing like I'm pregnant, mental straight from Harvard").
It's uncanny how consistent he is with his Ghostface and Wu-Tang posturing, but it's even more amazing how this project doesn't come off as some two-bit fake wanna be Wu-Tang rapper trying to get put on.
The following is a sample of the visuals from the mixtape. Cop it now!
BONUS: Below is a banger of a song featuring Action Bronson but not on the mixtape. Check it out.
Money is Reality StatikSelektah & Termanology Feat. Action Bronson
2010 will be remembered for many things. But a lack of collaborative albums between solo rappers and a single producer is definitely not one of them.
Who knew that the phenomenon that was arguably perfected in 2003 and 2004 would continued to thrive six years later with an unusually high number of rappers and producers putting their egos aside to partner for the greater good of Hiphop music?
Aside from resulting in quality music from rappers and producers responsible for molding Hiphop into the pure artform that it is today, these collaborations also give the artists in question a chance to showcase their talents alongside their equally talented peers (something that does not happen as often as it could and should).
Boston area trailblazers Statik Selektah and Termanology took a break from being solo artists to come together to release their 1982 album -- one of the most slept-on underground rap albums of the year -- proving that Statik is one of today's best and most consistent producers in the business.
But late last month west coast mainstays The Alchemist and his rapping counterpart Oh No (and the brother of the legendary Madlib) quietly released Gutter Water, a monster of an album recorded under the name Gangrene that features beats and rhymes credited to both artists, similar in nature to the above referenced Jaylib project.
Released in that same vein, Philadelphia drug rapper Freeway and Jake One -- a prolific producer from Seattle who is responsible for tons of recent underground and mainstream hits – showcased their unlikely partnership in the form of Stimulus Package, 16 banging tracks that featured Free along with Raekwon, Bun B alongside his State Property bretheren.
9th Wonder and Murs concluded their celebrated series of collaborative albums with ForNever, their fourth album together that didn’t quite measure up to their first three offerings in this format but was still much appreciated from fans of both.
The improbable alliance of KRS-One and Wu-Tang Clan producer True Master provided fans with a bird’s eye view of The T'Cha rhyming over that Shaolin sound, but unfortunately when the two immovable forces collided the result was not as breathtaking as fans might have hoped.
Looking forward to 2011, the popular trend of Hiphop collaboration albums promises to continue in a major way beginning with a joint album from Pete Rock and DJ Premier, who have gone on the record to discuss their upcoming project that will feature 10 tracks – five for each producer with the rapper(s) of the producers’ choice on each song.
Not to be outdone, Def Jam label mates Sheek Louch and Ghostface Killah (who both have albums scheduled to be released later this month) announced a few weeks ago the Wu/Block album, a collaboration of Wu-Tang Clan members and D-Block members uniting to create one album. With the considerable talents of the core members of each collective, the Wu/Block album has the potential to be a masterpiece, but many fear the album will only feature each group’s affiliates instead of highlighting the lyrical talents of Jadakiss alongside the GZA, or any other conceivable combination between the two groups.
Also scheduled to be released in the next year is Monumental, the collaboration between Smif N' Wessun and Pete Rock that has already spawned the underground hit Prevail, featuring Tek and Steele in rare form trading rhymes with Raekwon over a classic horn-driven beat.
And after more than a decade, talks still have not died down of a possible album with NaS on the mic and Premier on the boards, which is arguably more anticipated than Detox.
But until either or both of those albums come out, it is obvious there will not be a shortage of good music to come in the next 12 months. I'm looking forward to it.
