Well, I hope
everyone enjoyed Halloween. I went as a lame-o, meaning I
stayed at home and watched Kill Bill 1 & 2 (totally
hip hop, since RZA made the soundtrack) and ate all the
candy the trick-or-treaters didn’t get. Good times! Now to
plan my outstandingly lazy Thanksgiving.
NEW JAMS:
:Fashawn
- Life As A Shorty:
It’s
rare to find an MC who has so completely found his voice on
his first full length release, but Fashawn, a Fresno
prodigy, has made an album so full of personality that it’s
likely to end up on most top ten lists for this year. Master
mixer Exile provides the excellent beats on this album and,
damn, if they were on any other album they’d steal the show.
Seems like Exile has met his match in the flow and wit of
Fashawn.
:Savant
- Concrete Techniques:
Savant is an MC
affiliated with the loose Chicago collective RAREBREED, and
his first solo effort The Delayed Entry EP is a
well-crafted introduction to someone who seems to sink into
the mic like a plush chair. That is to say, Savant exudes
the feel of an MC comfortable with himself and his skill
without much to prove, despite this being his first release.
In this track, Savant touches on the age-old tradition of
calling out every other rapper in the world on the basis of
‘technique,’ or delivery and vocabulary, and he performs
well.
:Rising
Sun Quest - Why I Write:
Even though
Connecticut has many drawbacks (I’m looking at you,
Lieberman!), it may contain an untapped reservoir of hip hop
talent, as evidenced by Rising Sun Quest, out of Waterbury.
His 2009 album Journey Toward the Sun, is chock-full of
clever lyrics and crisp, clean beats. This album becomes
solid in its barest tracks, when you can tell the artist
wasn’t polishing beats to a shiny production aesthetic, but
getting the beats to cater to his lyrics.
FLASHBACK PICK:
:Phase
N' Rhythm - Hyperactive:
Released in
1988, the 12" vinyl Brainfood / Hyperactive was
produced by Paul C, one of the great producers of the late
80’s who was tragically shot in his home in 1989. This
physical 12" is virtually impossible to acquire, so if you
see it in a garage sale or in your parents’ house, you must
buy it, steal it, or beg for it. Not only will it make you a
rich man, but you’ll be grooving all the way to the bank, as
you can tell from this track.
Leah Manners is the host of KOOP's (91.7 FM) Hip Hop
Hooray, which airs on Sundays from 2pm to 3pm. If you'd like to contact
Leah in regards to her
writings here at Side One: Track One then please do
so
here.
- Leah Manners
-
Unless
otherwise expressly stated, all text in this blog and any
related pages, including the blog's archives, is licensed by
John Laird under a
Creative Commons License.
