New on the HIp Hop Horizon

Here is the dilly-yo.

Modill is all good. His project is call "Midnight Green". what I like is his flow. With lyrics that are fun and with beats that are jazzy and laid back. He goes for 18 tracks (including several requiste skits) including a track w/Dave from De La Soul.

Next up is Colossus. Whoa! this is a monster cd. I did not see this one coming in that it packs a great deal of musical ingenuity. Colossus has some music history to stand up, according to his bio, he's toured with Roy Ayers, Gil Scott-Heron, James Brown and others. Thus this double disk is broken into a pair of genres - jazz infused hip hop and jazz infused and remixed hip hop. I favor the remixed cd with its deep beats and guest lyricists and comic tells from the hood. "Brotha's Tryin' To Be" and "The Tribute" are two of my favs.

Develop[mental]1 is an exciting complilation. Some known undergrounders are there like Lunar Heights. Right alongside some true hip hop ballers namely Paul Wall. There is a remix on one track that is so incredibly stacked, that you will listen to the track on loop for several rotations. Then there is Bavu Blakes. He has several tracks on the disk including "Nobody Leavin" which has a crazy catchy hook as well as the stand out track "Play the Role" the line that is sung and rings to true is 'just because you play the role, doesn't mean you get the part'...another outstanding lyric is 'you fake, you phoney, you falsifying'. whaaaaaaaaadddddddddd?

Finally, the Psyche Origami promo disck came across my desk late last year. I immediately listened to it and liked it. I thought I caught a running theme throughtout, but dismissed it. Then I read the cd jacket when the final pressed edition arrived. Sure enough, there is a theme. The cd is called "The Standard" and there is a focus on gas stations/convenience stores. It is one part humorous; two parts thoughtful and any many parts creative. I would not thrust this one in the novelty bin though. It is refreshing an pleasant to listen to from front to back.

The last word is on J Dilla. Probably not familiar to many - at least in name. But a well sought out producer and extremely talented! Additionally, he was a founding member of Slum Village. His contributions to the hip hop genre is extensive. J Dilla's latest cd was recently released to radio "Donuts" (should be available for purchase now). When I heard it, I thought, this is way cool...31 tracks from 35 seconds to nearly three minutes...just mixin it up. Good stuff. Well, the bad news is J Dilla passed away this week. Apparently, he was a workhorse and would work for extended periods of time without eating properly. He will be sadly and sorely missed.

Ah-ight hip hoppers...stay true...kfox