Start the Year Off With a Wonderful New Album (And a Little Year In Review)

Wow, where did this album come from? Where is the publicity? I was just randomly on accesshiphop and happened to see that Josh Martinez had a new album out. I'm a big fan; I've had a page dedicated to his discography on my dot.com since the 90s. I follow this shit. But there it was: not a preorder, not a mixCD advance, or a limited tour release. It's his latest album and it's been out.

It's called Blotto and it's the album we always knew he was capable of and been gasping for while he kept messing around with The Chicarones and other side projects. Forget Pissed Off Wild {and apparently Josh feels the same way, since the press for this album calls it his sixth album since his last solo album World Famous Sex Buffet five years ago). Not that the Chicarones weren't good, but it always felt slapdash. Not Blotto. Blotto sounds just like his greatest hits from his past albums. I mean, it's really fucking exciting. This is even better than World Famous Sex Buffet. I mean, his best albums have had songs this good before, but this is the first time the whole album's been this good. This is like "Under Abstract Art" - The Album. It's also the first album in a long time to bring me back to that time when Anticon was an exciting and amazing collective, and not just a lame indie label I can no longer pay attention to.

Every song is emotional, sincere, intelligent, creative... it's just really good writing. And yet the material isn't one-note at all. One song's about a failed relationship, another's about the devil, and another's a refreshing take on the usually un-engaging rapping-about-the-status-of-their-music-career song. Why is it refreshing? Because he actually makes you relate as opposed to just saying yourself, look, I really don't care about your petty drama with your record label or music journalists.

"My money's runnin' low; how low can it go? My confidence is tied up in the money that I owe. I can't go to the store; I told folks I'm on tour. If they see me they will know I'm just at home doing blotto."

Again, it's just really good writing. And delivery. Josh doesn't let two sentences come out without changing his cadence or adopting a new voice or style. He'll dance right on the edge of getting too sing-songy, and literally singing some of his hooks, but then pull it back with a perfectly enunciated, multi-rhyming fast rap flow. One song, "Man Down," is heavily reggae influenced, but it's all still unequivocally Josh.

And the production's just as good. It's rich and original - I'm not recognizing a single sample, but it's very full of instrumentation and very alive. But it never has that band feel. These are produced hip-hop tracks, not garage-bound jam sessions. Regular Josh beatsmith Stuey Kubrick [is that an alias for Josh himself, or is there a real Stuey?] is on hand for almost half the album, so the quality's expected. But more than half the album is handled by a guy named Sapient. This is the first I've really come across him, but looking online, apparently his resume is pretty deep. Well, based on this, I'm going to have to look into the rest of his music. Or maybe Josh just brings it out of him. But either way, every element on this album just works.

This album is feels so much like Josh's brain turned inside out, you could listen to the whole thing without realizing there are any guests. But actually, there's several. Sapient rhymes on one "Numb" (he's good; but definitely more impressive on the production end), and Josh's labelmate Evil Ebenezer appears on "Ashes." Finally, Ceschi appears to fulfill the cosmic, contractual obligation that every artsy indie hip-hop artist feature him on their album. He actually comes pretty tight though, helping to make "My Jacket" one of my favorite songs on an already killer album.

So, ordering this CD from most online stores gives you a free little pin and sticker with it. But I've noticed on Josh's bandcamp there's a whole scaling pay option, where you can get all kinds of extras, including a t-shirt, shot glass, poster, hoodie, beanie, and more stickers and buttons. None of it's actually extra music stuff, though - no 12" or bonus CD - so personally I'm fine with the simple, basic edition. Just the CD for the lowest price. But if you like swag, Josh is definitely providing.

I can't go for the cheap joke that this is the best album of the year when it's the first week of January, because this technically came out in November 2013. But I can damn near call this the album of the year taking all of 2013 into account. But to speak for a whole year, I've gotta think about that, so let's put it all into context and look back at 2013:

_____________________________________________

We saw some very underrated releases from Gurp City: Grand Killa Con and Rime Force Most Illin'. Most of you reading this are probably still sleeping on these with the rest of the world, and it's your loss. Earl Sweatshirt dropped Doris, and despite one or two skip-worthy tracks, was really good. I don't get all the "disappointment" talk around that one. Maybe kids expected something more pop music oriented? I don't know. It felt like exactly the album I was expecting to get to me.

What else?

We got the collaberation album I wasn't convinced would actually came out: Necro and Kool G Rap's Godfathers. I understand Necro's rapping ruined the proceedings for them - and I definitely get that - but it didn't ruin it for me. And while G Rap didn't write any greatest hits into his catalog, he didn't disappoint, and Necro's production was a great match for him. I'd really like to see Necro scrub out the embarrassingly bad lines out of his verses in future, I'd definitely be down for a follow-up. Also that Inspectah Deck and Esoteric EP was pretty good. Mad Child kept wildly jumping back and forth between being alternately ill and wack. Eminem is working is way to making good music. Nothing I'd want to own on vinyl yet like his classic 90s material, but he's definitely at least heading in the right direction. And the Banzai Fam EP finally dropped in October... look for a review of that coming soon. But if you already know, you know.

Meanwhile, the limited game has been on fire in 2013. We saw the arrival of a dope, new limited label: Heavy Jewelz. And somehow Good Felons put out some of their best releases after collapsing. Chopped Herring just doesn't stop putting out really impressive, lost releases... like 3-4 a month. It's insane. Phase & Rhythm, JVC Force and Masta Ace were the highlights for me, but there's been so many, I haven't even been able to get them all. And Dope Folks is right there breaking the finish line ribbon alongside the, rescuing Omniscence's lost material (prompting him to make a comeback and prove he's still got it), and of course Young Zee, which is for me the biggest release of the year. And I can't get specific yet, but the Part 2 has a surprise that's gonna blow your mind even more than the Part 1 did! CH and DF are both putting out so many amazing releases, I can't keep up, and I love it!

So overall, the signal to noise ratio of crap to good music in 2013 has been pretty high, and unfortunately probably caused even a lot of earnest listeners to miss out on most of the year's highlights. But hidden beneath all the pop music and internet fads there's been a compelling little undercurrent of good shit. And even the mainstream, big media corporate stuff seems like it's gotten a little catchier than it was the last couple of years. It was definitely another year we had to dig and shuck, but if you did the work it paid off. So I'm actually pretty happy with 2013 - I'm about to go give Blotto another spin as soon as I post this.

Now let's just hope 2014 doesn't fuck it up.

Buck! Buck! Buck! part 2

...And we're back. And it's still 2001 and. Josh Martinez & Low Pressure Records have put out his second version of Buck Up Princess, now sub-titled The Touring CD. It's got a pretty memorable cover of Josh in a mud pit (this photo appears on the inside booklet of the final album), and a black and white back cover with some funky artwork.

This version is only eleven songs long, the shortest of all of them. We no longer have any songs by completely unrelated artists; it's all Josh, building towards the album proper. "Rip Rap," "Theories," "BC Trees," "Nightmare," "Rainy Day" and "Women Loving Women" all return from the previous version, albeit with slightly altered spellings "Nightmare" is "Nightmarezzzz..." and "Sushi/Rip Rap" is now "RAP (r.i.p.?)." Even "Nova Scotia Baby" is back. Oh, and these are still the "demo" versions, by the way, though a couple songs (like "Nightmare") never really differ.

So those songs were carried over, others were taken away... that leaves us with four new songs. Or at least, four new titles. "The Long Way Home" turns out to be the song we now know as "Walk In the Park," though again, it's an early recording of it, missing Josh's opening chatter and the brief turntabelism by Scratch Bastard at the finish. And "Munks Inna Bunka" is actually "End Of the World," which I wrote about in part 1.

That means there's only two new songs. First we have "Never Say Die" featuring Hanni Hotstepper.: actually Logic from The Aboriginals using a silly name.  It's a pretty smart, back-and-forth duet with a funky guitar loop, even better than a couple songs that wind up making it to the final version. And finally we have "Another DAY, Another DOLLAR," produced by Logic. Now, you may recall the final album has two mixes of this song, one titled "Another Day," which opens the album, and then "Another Dollar," which is the last song. Well, this is "Another Dollar" - for some reason, Logic uses another alias - Cills - on there, but it's him again and the same track. And yes, it's another "missing the scratches demo" version.

So originally, this disc hit us with two new songs.; they were the selling points for fans to buy this CD  But now that time's passed and more versions have been released, there's really no exclusive music on this version, making this the least desirable in the series today. You don't need this in your collection unless you're a diehard completist.  But, uh.... no, I still won't sell you mine  :P

Now we enter 2002. Josh is still promising us that his new album is just around the corner, but in the meantime, he's got some more rough drafts we can buy to tide ourselves over. He released Buck Up Princess!!! (The Touring CD Vol. 2) on Low Pressure and then released it again as Buck Up Princess, Volume: Whatever on Good Luck Records. These CDs have exactly the same, identical track-listings. So that's how I came up with a half when I said there was 4.5 versions of Buck Up Princess. I just can't bring myself to call these two separate versions, and even I couldn't bring myself to purchase both.

So this one has essentially the same cover as The Touring CD, though if you notice the fonts are different, and of course the subtitle is, too. The back cover and CD itself are completely different, though, so they're easier to tell apart that way. Ten of the eleven songs from the last CD are on this one(!) - "Nova Scotia Baby" has finally been retired and "Never Say Die" has been retitled "These Pillllls!" But this album's longer, clocking in at 16 tracks, meaning we get 6 new songs.

So, what's new? "Hard Fall," "Uphill Climb," "Forged," "Blaze of Grey," One More Coffee" and "Deep End." All of those are also on the final retail version, and they aren't really "demo" versions. A couple songs, like "Uphill Climb," do feature some additional vocal samples at the beginnings and ends, but it's hard to say whether they're updates to the songs or just skits between the tracks that get blended in (the final version of the album uses a lot of snippets from movies). So in 2002 it was another six new songs to compel you to buy this next CD; but looking back on it now, it's not adding much. "These Pillllls!" never made it onto the final version, so you'll want to get one of the "mud pit covers" for that exclusive track. That paired with the demo versions (though the differences are just academic, not preferable) make them version reasonably collectible. I'd recommend either one - not both - for the dedicated fan, but no one else.

And finally, in 2003, the actual finished album dropped. And god damn is it good. It's got the new, final mixes of just about everything we've heard before, plus a couple additional tracks: "Hobo's Lullaby," "Bermuda Shorts" and the new version of "Another Day" that's even better than the old one (which is also here, anyway). This is indisputably the best version, and as I've said, the best album Josh has ever done. The production is fantastic, and Josh is on fire with both his flows and his song-writing. If you just swapped out a couple songs from other projects with the weakest three or four from here, Buck Up Princess would be a greatest hits collection all by itself. It was a slow and tortured journey, but the destination was surely worth it in the end.

I do have a few last notes, though, before I leave you. First of all, the track-listing on the final version is all screwed up: "Nightmare" is listed as "Blaze of Grey," "Uphill Climb" is listed as "Deep End;" and if you notice, the numbers jump from 5 to 8. This has only added to the confusion over what songs are and aren't unique to each version over the years. Then, the other thing I have to say, is that not only did most of this album get released years earlier on these tour CD versions (and label samplers) I've been talking about, but Josh had released many of these songs on other projects as well. There were two EPs: Rumble Pie (2002) and The Good Life (earlier in 2003), which were full  of Buck Up Princess songs, too. I think the man set some kind of record for selling the same songs to his fans the most amount of times. It was seriously ridiculous; and it's only because the album is so good that I've forgiven him.

Buck! Buck! Buck! part 1

Somebody recently tweeted me a question about one of the many, varying versions of Josh Martinez's Buck Up Princess album, which made me realize what an ideal blog post this album makes, what with all its obscure, different versions. There's a couple listed on discogs, and a couple others will turn up if you google around enough... Well, I think I have them all.  It's really hard to confirm that, though, considering how rare and unknown some versions are. See, for years before the main, commercial version of the album was released, Josh used to put out "rough versions" on the indie tip.* These were made to sell at his shows on the road and online, where the rest of us could snag them if we were quick and on the ball enough.

Buck Up Princess is, to my mind, Josh's best album; and one of the time period's best (and most under-valued) hip-hop albums all around. It had better be pretty f'ing good, after all, for me to have kept buying it over the years. But thanks to the fact that I did, I'm now in a position to break down every single version, compare them, and see what's special and unique about each one. Ready? By my count, there are... four and a half.

We begin in 2001, with this very homemade edition on Low Pressure Records, the precursor to Camobear. It's a hand-written CDR that comes in a slimline jewel case, and the artwork is a simple, black and white print out, folded in half to give cover and interior artwork, wherein the old Charles Atlas comic book ad meets airplane safety instructions.  All of these are strictly CD releases. by the way, except the final LP, which came out on both CD and wax. This version is fifteen tracks long, and you can see the complete track-listing for this and all the iterations on my Maxwell page. But as a short summation, this is the most removed from the final retail album of any version, not just chronologically, but content-wise.

This Buck includes some songs that had been previously released by Josh and Low Pressure, on sampler compilations and such, and a bunch of songs I suspect weren't ever intended to actually be on the official Buck Up Princess album. "Theories," for example, is credited both here and on its earlier sampler appearance as being by InkOps featuring Josh Martinez. I'd bet you two dollars that it was initially planned to be on InkOps' Low Pressure album that never wound up coming out. So it was stuck on here along with some other random tracks - a couple of these don't even feature Josh! - but slowly became an integral Princess element, lasting through every tour CD and eventually landing on the real album.

The track-listing is a bit screwy. "Rainy Day" and "Energy Crisis" (a duet with mcenroe that's didn't make it to the final version of Buck) have their titles swapped. One entry is left blank - they don't give a title for it - but we know from later versions that it's "Walk In the Park." And did I mention songs on here that aren't even by Josh? Yeah, there's a couple Governor Bolts songs on here that were never otherwise released, a Kaboom (of InkOps) song from his first album, and a DJ Moves-produced instrumental called "Boy Sex With Knowself."  I'll guess that it's maybe an instrumental version of a track off one of Knowself's albums; but I don't have those, so I'm not sure. There's also a song by Stubs, Seriph and B-Side... whoever those guys are, and a weird, instrumental/ skit called "Nova Scotia Baby."

It's important to note, too, that some of these songs are essentially early "demo" versions of the better known versions on the final Buck Up. At first glance "Sushi" sounds like an exclusive; but it's actually an early version of "Rip Rap" under an alternate title. The instrumental and lyrics are the same, but they seem to have been re-recorded a little cleaner for the later version. Josh's adlibs before he starts rapping are completely different, and this early version doesn't have the scratching at the end. "Rainy Day" is also missing the scratches from the later version, but instead has an exclusive outro with Pip Skid talking about healthcare. "Nightmare" is missing the scratch breakdown (sensing a trend here?) and the opening vocal sample. And "Walk In the Park" is missing, yes, the scratches... but it also doesn't have the distinct echo effect on Josh's vocals, making it sound decidedly more ordinary.

Finally, there's "End Of the World," a Josh solo song (produced by Moves) that never made it to the final version of Buck Up Princess. Josh raps a literal narration about the end of the world over a dramatic, low-key instrumental (with some cool cuts, presumably by Moves). "I nearly died that day when I was carried underground; thinkin' fightin' why can't I follow all these people I've seen fallin' down?" Although I wouldn't rank among my favorites, it's a good song. I suspect it may've been removed from later versions simply because of the darker tone.

So ultimately, only seven songs from the final version (which has 17 total) are on this early disc. That means there are eight "exclusive" songs, though many of those appeared on other releases, and again, several don't even feature Josh. This feels like half a Buck Up Princess album and half a Low Pressure sampler. A pretty neat collectors' item for the serous fan, for sure.

And golly, that was long... and we only covered the first disc. Looks like this is gonna have to be a two-parter.


*This isn't the first time he'd done this. There are at least three incarnations of his previous album as well.

Pissed Off Mild

In 2004, Josh Martinez debuted the title track to his upcoming, self-titled album with his new live band, Pissed Off Wild.  And just seven years later, as off like a week ago, the album's finally come out.

The initial "Pissed Off Wild" appearance was on a label compilation album called New Recruits, and the band consisted of Josh on vocals, Peter Schmitt on bass and Kenten Loewen on drums.  In a 2009 interview with AWMusic, Josh concisely explained the impetus and concept behind this new group, "A live band that wasn’t like a cheesy Roots knock-off, that had it’s own sound and really widened my ability to tour and gain more festivals or bigger venues and play with rock bands. I just wanted to be able to have more looks and I listen to a lot more music than underground hip hop and that’s what was inspiring me. Having a live band was important to me to show I was really musically inclined and not just a rapper, it was a personal thing to not be pigeon holed because I could see that the window was narrowing."

Well, so like I said, that original "Pissed Off Wild" song does appear as the title track to this, their 2011 self-titled album, though some things have changed since then.

Firstly, the band is now a 4-man ensemble, with guitarist Jesse Waldman added to the mix.  And second, the band is actually no longer an ensemble at all anymore.  As the liner notes inform us, "By the time the Pissed Off Wild record was done, so was the band. Jimmy quit. Joey got married."  Yup, Pissed Off Wild is finished, and this album is their legacy.

Oh, and one more thing has changed since New Recruits - the song itself.  Lyrically, it's the same, but musically it's been quite revamped.  The original had that live band feel, sure, but it was smooth and laid back.  Here it's rocking, and all the good and bad things that term entails, with grinding guitars and Martinez shouting into a distorted microphone.

The song "Outlaws" that they recorded for the 2006 compilation album, Hue and Laugh and Cry is also on here.  But, curiously, the song from Camobear's 2007 label sampler, "The Pirhana" is absent.

Anyway, I don't know much I even like this album... it's another in an increasingly long list of cases where a talented, noteworthy MC reaches out to other indie artists who aren't nearly so outstanding to band together and for an uneven, mediocre project with more crossover appeal.  It's like Buck 65's last album, or those Z-Man albums I just reviewed a couple weeks ago...  Hell, Josh has even done this before with his other group, The Chicarones.  Yeah, Josh and Sleep have made some decent songs together; but you know who makes better ones?  Josh without Sleep.

So yeah, this is all kinds of garage band rockish.  It mostly sounds noisy and kind of annoying, and while Josh can still be a compelling writer/vocalist, you really have to strain to appreciate the good in a lot of these songs.  He also uses this album to experiment a lot, which sometimes results in some interesting twists on his vocal styles, and sometimes it just sounds like somebody who can't sing taking over the karaoke mic at your local bar.  Some songs are better than others, but at the end of the day, I just wanna hear Josh over some dope beats by Moves and Jel and those guys.

This album isn't terrible.  And if you're a serious Josh Martinez fan and you go in with tempered expectations that this won't be the next Buck Up Princess or World Famous Sex Buffet, you won't be disappointed.  But it was really more comforting than sad to read that this album is the closing of a chapter and not the beginning of one.  I know Josh said he wanted to branch out in ways like this to have more looks, but this... just isn't a good look.

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.

Werner's New Music Seminar!

Yaknow, I spend so much time going over old music, that it's easy to forget there's still new music coming out that's more than worthy of your attention. This is some NEW music that I've gotten recently, and I recommend everyone reading this (and indeed, some people who aren't reading this) do the same. All of the below are on the heaviest rotation for me.


Pace Won & Mr. Green - The Only Color That Matters Is Green
As I mentioned at the introduction to my necro'd Outsidaz interview, this album just arrived in the mail the other day. I haven't seen this around many (any?) of the usual online spots, but I got it direct from Pace's myspace page. Twelve songs, no skits. Hardly any guests (just a couple unknowns on one track)... only one talented MC and a producer who provides consistently solid beats. The songs you haven't heard are definitely up to par with the ones they've already leaked onto myspace, youtube, etc. A must have. ...I got a free compilation CD of his label's roster with my order, too.


Invincible - Shapeshifters
God damn; it took long enough! But Invincible is one of the very, very few artists who was a hot indie artist in the 90's to come back and be just as good - even better - than she was when she got underground heads into her in the first place. Anomolies represent on a posse cut, and there are a few other guest spots on songs that manage to be ill in a battle-type way and socially consciously message driven at the same time. I think the proper release date for this one is still a week or two coming, but it's already available direct from her site, EmergenceMusic.net. Be sure to watch the 12 minute music video/ documentary on urban gentrification featured on this disc as well. And vinyl heads be sure to cop the 3 song (plus instrumentals) 12" single.


Josh Martinez - Skulldruggery EP
For a while Josh was promoting this online but it was only available for digital (mp3) download. So I asked him about it, and he answered, "physical copies are in manufacturing. they will be available at cd baby, our webstore (www.camobear.ca) and other weird locations...i'm trying to get them into vinyl format by the summer... hopefully... the album itself (The World Famous Sex Buffet) will be on double vinyl. release date is aug 14/08./...thanks for reaching out." Well, sure enough, very shortly after CD copies of this 4-song EP (+ instrumentals) are already available from his online store. Hopefully the vinyl's still coming, but this EP is so hot I couldn't wait to pick it up. "Bobby Loveable" has to be in the running for best hip-hop song of the year.


Buck 65 - Heck
This is a tour-only CD that 's been picked up by Sage Francis' online store (since they're distributing his latest official album). You can tell why it's tour-only as opposed to a proper album: it features some previously released tracks (off the Dirk Thornton 7"'s), remixes of older songs (though after releasing multiple versions of "Kennedy Killed the Hat," I think he's finally hit on the definitively best version here), and covers (The Jungle Brothers' "I'm Gonna Do Ya" and Barnes and Barnes' "Fish Heads"), which will only appeal to the most die-hard completists who'll want to recapture their memories of hearing him perform these live at a show. In fact, this whole album might be more of a "for completists only" venture, but Buck is talented enough that we should all be completists. Besides, there are some dope completely unreleased songs here - including the last ever Sebutones' song, "Sebutones Is Dead?"


Sole - Desert Eagle
With the pending arrival of his widely distributed album, Sole and The Skyrider Band (and the very limited Exhile EP if you were hip enough to pre-order it direct from his site), Sole was announcing plans for a return to traditional hip-hop with his next, limited album, Desert Eagle. Listening to it now that it's available (from his online store), it clearly didn't turn out the way he intended - this is even artsier and sketchier than his collaboration with that rock band, with all of the music provided by himself and his wife. But if you're courageous (or stoned) enough to take a little creativity and experimentation with your rap, this is actually pretty fresh. My favorite song is "Sedona;" possibly because I've lived in Arizona myself and know exactly what he's talking about when the hook goes, "this place is called Sedona; Hopi Indians used to fish twenty feet from my house. Now there's art galleries on every corner, filled with Indian art made by white women. And it'll cost you thirty quartz crystals here to get a proper psychic healing."
Fun Fact: a short, untitled instrumental track in the middle of the album throws the track-listing on the disc and artwork off. Check my DPD page for the fixed track-listing.

Moka Only - Martian XMas 2004, Martian XMas 2006 and Martian XMas 2007.
Moka Only has finally released all three of his crazy, fun low-fi Christmas albums onto CD through Legendary Entertainment (I guess he never recorded one in '05). You'll definitely want to pick them up. But you'll surely be confused when you pop in MX2004 and the guest verses by Aceyalone, Josh Martinez and Psy don't turn up... in fact all of the song titles seem way off-base. Well, It turns out the track-listing is completely wrong! Like, not out of order... the songs listed just ain't on here! I asked Moka about this and he got back to me, "crazy.. yo.. mustve mixed it up cus THAT is the 2006 martian xmas." Yup, all pressings of the 2004 album are wrong and feature the track-listing for the 2006. Here's the correct track-listing for 2004, so those who get it can have it:
1. Intro
2. Touch the Sky
3. Ho, Ho, Ho
4. Interlude
5. Upside Down Dayz
6. Ring Them Bells
7. Save Us (Just Try)
8. Interlude
9. Green & Blue
10. Interlude
11. Could Of Been...
12. The Signal
13. Interlude
14. Joy
15. Interlude
16. Make It Work
17. Scrooge
18. Interlude
19. Season Shopping w/ Innocent Bystanders
20. Interlude
21. Little Furry Friends
22. Walkin In the Snow w/ Emotionz
23. All The Things
...At any rate, they're all cool, so get 'em all. In this early summer heat, a little Christmas spirit will really brighten you up. =)

Tags: Pace Won, Invincible, Josh Martinez, Buck 65, Sole, Moka Only

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?