November 26, 2008 09:11
LUDACRIS **
Theater Of The Mind
Def Jam
Luda fancies himself the “Last of a Dying Breed” on his sixth LP, and yeah, he’s one of the few MCs with any cred left who’s still peddling that Southern sound. This is more ambitious than his usual club-anthems-and-filler formula, what with the lyrical references to his own artistry and presence of everyone from Spike Lee to Jay-Z. But the hi-hats skittering all over the place sound dated, and, as good as his flow is in places, Luda’s punch lines are getting stale. The guy’s been in Oscar-winning films, imagines he’s an artiste and has caught Obama’s attention — but he still can’t see past the next nice round butt and pair of double D’s? JORDAN TIMM
wordPEOPLE ***
The People’s Eatery
Independent
On their MySpace, wordPEOPLE describe their tunes as “Bump bump in the trunk funk” and this assortment of swinging beats, old-school funk and tight raps creates an ideal bump ‘n’ grind party atmosphere — provided you’ve got a short memory. The album’s cover and concept (featuring an actual restaurant called People’s Eatery) refers a little too obviously to another rap album depicting a storefront, but recollections of Paul’s Boutique and its retro-raiding innovations are also prompted by the blend of funky sampling styles found inside. Tracks like “Aint What You Seem” even ape the age-old rhythms of Sly and the Family Stone, yet, despite these entrenched mores, this debut gallops along with joyful exuberance. CHRISTIAN MARTIUS
RHYTHMICRU ***
Supertoke 3
Heads Connect
Canadian hip-hop collective Rhythmicru have re-emerged from a smoky haze to deliver a third instalment of resin-splotched head-nodders. Produced by Toronto’s D-Ray, this compilation disc features over 30 Canuck rhyme-weavers (Shad, Wordburglar, Grand Analog’s Odario) dropping stitch-inducing lines about THC, Tim Hortons and taking a piss on Queen St. As with the past two Supertoke volumes, most tracks here drift on a stripped-down, ’90s East Coast boom-bap sound — posse cut “We Have Come For Your Children” sounds like a CanCon version of Wu-Tang’s “Triumph.” But elsewhere D-Ray gets more ambitious, creatively sampling bagpipes, UFO whirring noises and Bob Dylan. ALEX NINO GHECIU
MOKA ONLY ***
Carrots and Eggs
Urbnet
Ridiculously enough, this is Moka Only’s third 2008 release. It’s lucky he’s pretty good, or else the world would be angry at him. I doubt he’d care though, as his offhand liner notes describing each of Carrots and Eggs’ songs present him as a man who exists in his own world and who is more than willing to show that world to the people. The beats are all pretty sweet, provided mostly by Moka, with the exception of Buck 65’s boom-bap on “I Mean Biznizz.” The food theme that runs throughout is hard to penetrate, and the production generally hearkens back to a mid-’90s sound, although he’s possibly too referential — “Clapsnare” is a song that vilifies overuse of the handclap in pop-hop. An appearance from Sadat X adds to the proceedings, but with 23 songs it’s a touch too much to digest with ease. NICK FLANAGAN
JEDI MIND TRICKS **
A History Of Violence
Dcide
Jedi Mind Tricks’ fan base will surely be happy with the return of solid MC Jus Allah for the group’s sixth album. Unfortunately, A History Of Violence won’t win over the uninitiated, with its reliance on gothic themes (“Séance of Shamans,” “Butcher Knife Bloodbath”) and solid production from Stoupe The Enemy Of Mankind that relies heavily on DJ Premier-style scratching and sped-up samples. Add that to Vinnie Paz’s hate-it-or-love-it bark as well as lyrics like “I’m here to tell you the Bushes are possibly clones,” and you have an awkward, overly aggressive album that sort of just sits there. NF