Vintage LA Underground

I've been on an underground west coast kick this weekend... you know, that slightly muddy, four-track backpacker kinda rap.  And when I got to this record, I decided it was time to fire up the ol' blog machine.  This is a 12" single called Contraband from 2000, a year (and decade!) in which Hip-Hop was feeling pretty bleak, in terms of bland commercial rap pushing out the quality, indie stuff.  This was a nice little hold-out by EX2 a.k.a. E Times 2 on their own label, Abolano Records.

If you're thinking you've never heard of these guys, actually you might have.  E Times 2 is just a clever way to say that their group's initials are "EE," as in Endangered Elements.  That still doesn't help?  Well, they're essentially part of the broader Shape Shifters crew.  Like, in the Shifters, you've got the core four members: Circus, Awol One, RadioInactive & DJ Rob One (R.I.P.), then you've got the ring of essentially junior members (although guys like Akuma's involvement actually go back pretty much to the earliest recordings).  And then you've got these guys on a further ring out, sort of like Othorized F.A.M. might be to the Wu-Tang Clan or something.  In particular, these guys seem particularly affiliated with Awol; most of them could be pretty much, more or less said to be the "Three Eyed Cowz" of his classic Evil Cow Burger album.  EX2's line-up has itself been known to morph a bit over the years (yeah, they're still prolific, making good music up to and including 2019!), but the line-up on this particular record is: producer Sirk, DJ ESP and MCs Gel One, Syndrome228, Virus, Digit6 & DustOff.  This is the lead, and only, single off of their album Undersounds of the 562.

Their opener, "Life Iz..." features the Awolrus himself, which was the big selling point at the time.  It has a simple but effective hook ("life is what you make it; the worst thing is talent wasted") and EX2's interesting blend of fast raps over slower beats.  GelOne starts us off with who stays on theme while mixing in creative imagery, "proceeding with life rather than getting self defeated over mediocre complaints; I'm self-motivated to be a loc with no motive, potentially explosive with enough inertia to be a locomotive, going full speed, I got a full head of steam,  Contributing to a team who doesn't live in a field of dreams; I remember my life is how I make it."  Then Syndrome gets a little more tongue twisty, followed by a harder, more aggressive flow by Virus and Digit just dropping in for a quick verse that leaves you wanting more.  You can tell these guys are still young as their delivery gets a little convoluted, and we get some corny 90's punchlines like "keep it tight like virgin pussy penetration."  But the flaws never outweigh their talents, and the surprisingly effective looping beats never let you go.

Finally, Awol comes in at the end with his traditional ultra-relaxed flow.  The beat doesn't change, but he makes the samples sound different just by the distinct way he approaches the track.  His verse does feel a little lazy; I wouldn't be surprised if he essentially freestyled his contribution, but he still sounds uniquely raw, especially as his verse minds up melting seamlessly into the hook as if they were always one, "I believe in manifest destiny... can't let it get the best of me.  Since I was born naked... and life is what you make it.  Word.  Karma is my religion... The worst thing is talent wasted.  Life is what you make it."

The first of two B-sides is "Sirkulatin" featuring frequent collaborator Tommy V.  He often produces, but to be clear, here he's dueting with Gel One on the mic over another beat by Sirk.  It's a slower beat and Tommy's flow is pretty crazy.  The way he doubles-up his own lines sounds almost tongue in cheek.  Gel's a little more straight forward, but they both sound cool over this atmospheric track with sparse piano notes sounding like drips from a cave ceiling, as if they're literally underground.  ESP comes in at the end to add some spacey cuts.  Finally "Tarmen" has Virus, Gel and DustOff spitting battle raps over a tougher track.  This is their shouty "don't mess with us!" song, with literal references to "wack MCs," but they don't manage to shake their backpacker vibe.  Although I'm not sure it would be better if they did; I like EX2 as they are and this is probably more fun because they do still sound like their nerdy selves ("we stay on top like salad dressing!").  But it does feel like they're attempting some degree of transformation that they're not quite pulling off.

All three of these songs are on the album, though only the 12" also throws in the instrumentals, plus a supposedly Clean edit of "Life Iz...," which actually still has all the curses in it?  I checked the first version two, in case the labeling was just reversed, but no; both have the curses.  So I'm confused; maybe it's just an error.  Anyway, as long as we get the uncut version, who cares about a clean edit?  This comes in a sticker cover with an address to their long dead website, though they can now be found on ex2.abolanorecords.com.

The Mini Chandelier

Today we have Canadian producer Factor's The Chandelier EP, from his full-length album, also dubbed The Chandelier, that came out this August on his own label, Side Road Records. This EP conveniently collects the best vocal tracks with the most notable MCs, and leaves off all the boring instrumental stuff.

As you can see, it's a 7" picture disc on Ooohh That's Heavy Recordings, a label that specializes in limited 7" edition picture discs. And, yeah, this is limited, too. 500 copies were made; but that's beginning to feel like an appropriate, regular run on hip-hop vinyl these days. So, it's six solo songs by an eclectic collection of guests: "More Rude Than Handsome" by Awol One (California), "Time Of the Year" by Sadat X (New York), "The Leen" by Josh Martinez (Canada), "Good Old Smokey (My Kanine)" by Mykah Nine (California), "Pray" by Ceschi (Connecticut) and "Out Of the Same Thing" by The Gaff (Canada).

Like you'd expect from a Freestyle Fellowship veteran, Mykah gets creative with his flow, this time using a quick staccato delivery to contrast with the slow beat. Each sylable is deliberately pronounced, fitting in between rather than over each piano note, chopped vocal sample and drum hit. I get the impression both the MC and the producer were making a showcase track here.

Awol One, on the other-hand, goes for a sing-songy hook and a very relaxed flow for his verses/ The beat features driving power chords, rolling piano riffs, and a snare-heavy drum. The production is amazingly effective at making Awol's verses sound distinct and important, and he's written his unique brand of lyrics and dramatic pauses for the tune: "People and passion die inside. Your friends are just dorks and losers; my friends are incredible people that change peoples' lives. And my friends they influence the world. Your friends are just little drunk boys and girls with big dreams that they'll never carry out." He doesn't quite bring his A-game in the writing, which is a shame because the track is going all out for him, but the combination of the music and his delivery still make this a worthwhile Awol One venture.

Ceschi and Josh Martinez also go for sing-songy hooks. I don't know if Factor's beats just naturally inspire that type of hook, or if he specifically requests it. It doesn't sound out of place at all for Josh, who's upbeat number sounds like it could be lifted right off any of his recent albums, but Ceschi sounds like he's auditioning for The Eurythmics or something. It's certainly interesting, with a simple guitar loop, strong bassline and keyboards that sound like they're straight out of a Lucio Fulci film - but he leaves hip-hop a little too far behind for my tastes.

That's not a problem for Sadat's track, though. With sharp, horn-like keyboard stabs and a chopped vocal sample, care was clearly taken here to make Sadat sound at home on this track. But there's still enough piano and guitar here to make this exercise stand out from your typical Sadat X album filler. My only disappointment here is that it's too short - just 2:04... Sadat really only kicks one (nice) verse. If he'd just added one more, this could've be a successful single for Sadat to coincide with his new album.

Finally, The Gaff's contribution is a short DJ track. He cuts up various vocal samples as Factor adds and subtracts one musical element after another. The actual cutting is unexceptional, but it all adds up to a nice little interlude, anyway.

So, all in all, it's a solid EP. The best moments, the ones you'll find yourself going back to, are when the guests really manage to keep up with the producer. The rest is definitely passable, and will easily keep your head nodding if you've got it playing in the background. Bottom lime: they've made an affordable EP (and as a bonus, they've made it a cool picture disc) so you can skip the clunkier full-length. Definitely worth picking up for the highlights.

Three Eyes, Four Tracks

Evil Cow Burger to me is the flagship of the 4-track tape movement of the late 90's. It wasn't the first, and what the best was is endlessly debatable; but this album, to me, really signaled that the primarily west coast driven, underground movement of self-manufactured cassettes was the scene to watch. This gritty and eccentric sister release to the more mainstream compilation Beneath the Surface showed that 4-track tapes were no longer just the stuff of demos or music not worthy of being pressed onto vinyl, but was really where some of the best and most innovative hip-hop music would be coming from in the late 90's.

The group Three Eyed Cowz was essentially just Project Blowed alumni Awol One as a solo artist recording with all of his friends. Awol's on pretty much every song, and some are solo, but it's packed with guest verses from his fellow Shape Shifters and Ex2 (pronounced: "Ee Times Two"), a crew he's not technically a member of, but who were featured each other on their releases. The Visionaries, who were coming up as the crew to watch at that time, make a guest appearance, as does Rashinel of The Hobo Junction... Abstract Rude does a drop. It's really an ideal snapshot of a great, often overlooked, period in rap's diverse history.

The production is solid... using very traditional hip-hop production techniques (he also DJs and graf writes... don't think these west coast underground cats aren't more hip-hop than you - heh), but using samples and loops you'd never heard before (at a time when a lot of east coast beat-making was cannibalizing itself) with slow, growling basslines, accepting and making the most out of the fact that final output wouldn't be "CD quality" clarity. It made for a steadfast nest for Awol's deep voice and off-kilter flow, while still accommodating the varied styles of his guests. A few DJs (ESP, Roach and Awol himself as "Awol Crumb") add some cuts to the mix.

"Have I None," a duet with Jizzm, is an excellent, instantly absorbing use of sung vocals as a background loop... sort of along the lines of, say, Ras Kass's "Understandable Smooth." "Demo Killa" is just a banging, hardcore posse cut, while "Mountains-More Mountains" takes the posse cut to all new heights of... strangeness. With an acappella hook and a catchy mix of humming and piano for the beat, Awol starts the song off in one direction:

"She was only a baby... ten brothers and sisters,
Wishing she was an only child for a while.
Waiting for countdown 'till next time she eats;
Got a fat uncle, who likes to grab her ass.
Hates school,
'Cause her clothes are out of style,
And she hates life,
'Cause her pops travels miles.
Mom gets around the apartment building...
Uses television... as a shielding.
Tired of the habits... shared by her sisters;
Takes a vow
To never be like her siblings.
Finds her great escape... staring at the ceiling;
Takes a shower
Four times a day,
But still hates to brush her teeth... with her finger.
Radiowave dreams of becoming a singer."

...But then Gasia (of Acid Reign) takes it takes it to a whole 'nother planet with his verse:

"The polymorphic swordfish
Is planting seeds and granting wishes,
Damaging the past malicious
mannequins of sacrilegious
Nature.
Make sure your glaciers of ice suffice,
'Cause when the polar ice caps collapse,
Your rough neck raps could mean your life."

...And that's not even getting into Circus's verse (you can imagine)!

"Working for Peanuts" uses one of the only recognizable samples on the tape, and very intentionally. It starts with Vince Guaraldi's super famous Peanuts theme song as a backdrop to a vocal sample of a hooker talking about her financial issues, then when the beat and Awol's verse kick in, the same Peanuts sample is chopped, using the deepest notes as a crazy bassline. Then it plays at a slightly higher tempo for the hook, while Awol sings "She Works Hard for the Money" off-key - I mean, if you're not familiar with Awol One's style... imagine Biz Markie if he was dead serious all the time, with just sparks of an alternately angry or melancholy sense of irony.

Even the lesser material on the album, like Ex2's "Computervirus," which is really just about literal computer viruses, is fun and more compelling than what the major labels were dishing out at the time.

The word classic might be thrown around too often in hip-hop - as we get older, it's tempting to throw it at every record we liked as teens - but this one really is a classic of it's era.

Today, Awol is as prolific as ever. He put out three collaborative albums out in 2007 so far (one with Josh Martinez, one with Mascaria and one with Factor), and probably has at least one more project due to be out before the new year. ;) Oh and, yeah, here's his myspace.

Tags: Awol One, Three Eyed Cowz

The Second Stand Out Album of 2007?

In April, I made a short post saying that in a very dry year for hip-hop albums that appealed to my personal tastes, I found Sacred Hoop's Go Hogwild album to finally be the first stand out hip-hop album of 2007 (excluding older stuff that's just now getting released, like Ultimate Force or Mikey D & the LA Posse's albums). And, really, it's hot. You should check it out.

Well, now in June, I've found the second stand-out album of the year for me. Finally: some new material that I'll actually listen to more than once or twice before putting it away in favor of some old school 12"s. Awol One and Josh Martinez's double EP, Splitsville, on Camobear Records. I'm gonna keep this write-up short like the last one, but basically you've got two solo EPs (though each artist appears at least once on the other's "EP"), both produced by DJ Moves, buttressed up against each other as one LP. This is quality work from both artists (sometimes it seems each of them can get a bit lazy with their releases, but not here), primarily on the theme of - you guessed it - broken relationships. It's all new material except, interestingly enough, Awol One's cut from Camobear Records' 2004 New Recruits label sampler, "Shake Yer Eywind," seems to have found a home here. I always liked that one anyway. :)

So yeah. Now there's two albums I'm genuinely pleased with... halfway through the year. Hopefully there'll be a couple more before the new year, ey?