Welcome to the first official, (almost) all staff blog post on Dynamicism!
Within a few days, I (Adlai) have assembled an impressive host of writers. Currently, there are 8 contributors to Dynamicism, but the goal is to get that in to the double digits. The blog will continue to run through our "hiring process" though, so our post flow should continue. So, without any further ado, here's what our staff has been listening to this week:
On Return of The Ankh, Erykah works with an equally impressive cast. ?uestlove, James Poyser and Stephen Bruner (a.k.a. Thundercat) serve as the house band while production is handled by Dilla, Madlib and Karriem Riggins. This probably explains why there isn't really a "skipable" track on here, except for maybe the album opener, "20 Feet Tall," a track that meanders with forgettable chromatic up/down chord changes and a boring pentatonic piano line. After that, though, Return of the Ankh gets shit moving with "Window Seat," a song many may remember from its video (remember? The one where Erykah is walking down a busy sidewalk, stripping off her clothes?). Other highlights of the album include the third track, "Agitation," a short, driving, 6/4 track that serves as a spiritual successor to "On and On" from Baduizm with its repeated chorus of "what a day, what a day, what a day," "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long," an aurally satisfying track with production reminiscent of "Get Dis Money" by Slum Village, "Fall In Love (Your Funeral)," perhaps the funkiest track on the album, and, finally, the album's closer "Out My Mind, Just In Time," a track that starts as a Jazzy, piano/vocal duet waltz and then transitions into an eerie Hip-hop waltz accentuated by an uneasy descending piano loop. On each track of the album, Erykah rides the stellar production effortlessly, staying perfectly in the pocket the whole time making you want to nod your head and sing along.
Word. Here's the most of the rest. I'll add the others as they come in.
Hannon: Lemme just start with a, 'yo whaddup' to this beautiful baby of a blog; I gotta say I'm enthused about its creation. I'm Hannon Hylkema also known as ClarkBent. I'm a hip-hop head and a jazz cat with a taste for the majority of musical genres. I like to hear new sounds from people that I have and haven't heard before, but if it's slappin' I'm going to write about it on this blog.This past week I've been bumpin' the styles of Killer Mike and El-P on their 2013 release: Run The Jewels. Every track features original productions by El-P which makes this album really easy to listen to. His style is his own. A filthy blend of electronic, trap, and flawless groove, El-P gives each of the 10 tracks on the album the high energy of a jam session. This producing genius is also gifted with the rap flow.
El-P does nothing but add to the steez of this album with his verses; but honestly Killer Mike is the true MC on this record. Mike's verses cut El-P's on every song. His delivery is confident, his punchlines are hot, and his rhyme scheme is flavorful. I consider this album to be one of the best 20 hip-hop albums in 2013. Every track deserves multiple listenings which is why it continues to blast in my headphones. Check it out here, it's FREE.
We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed is full of funny, honest breakup songs. "All Your Kayfabe Friends," the final track, is about a specialist foot fetish model, singing bitterly about how "I seduced your ex-boyfriend to help you get over him / You found him more attractive, if helped you get over me." Meanwhile, my personal favorite song "It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song for the Other Kurt)" wonders whether it's worse "To see my ex-girlfriend / Who by the way I'm still in love with / Sucking the face of some pretty boy," or to see it all go down "With my favorite band's most popular song in the background." There's music for every season - Winter is 100% folk and 30s/40s oldies, and to me, Spring is catchy pop that you sing along to with the windows tentatively rolled down - Los Campesinos! fit the bill.
Noah: Hey guys, Noah Aaron here. I've been a classical musician since I was 6, and only have really broken out into different genres of music in the past 6 or 7 years. While i'd like to think my taste is fairly refined, I may at times not have the depth of knowledge of different genres that other people on this blog may have. I do, however, have the musical background and chops to back up my criticisms and reviews. I can be strongly opinionated at times, but keep in mind that I take my criticisms seriously and will never flippantly bash an album, track, or artist without legitimate reason. I tend to enjoy rhythmic music with a swing towards hip-hop/rap, but recently softer psychedelic rock influences have creeped onto my playlists. Favorite artists at the moment include Azizi Gibson, Mac Demarco, Of Montreal, Sufjan Stevens, and Freddie Gibbs.Alright, enough about me. This week, I've been listening to Overdoz's "Boom", a free mixtape released in late 2013 to little reception outside of internet circles. The Los Angeles based group have released some small tapes, and recently have collaborated with big names such as A$AP Rocky and Kendrick Lamar. "Boom" is by no means a lyrically strong or particularly intuitive tape, but it makes up for its non-intelligence by being filled with fun and silly party anthems. The two emcees of the group, Sleezy and Tube, flip bars back and forth with the intro track 'Underground (feat. Pimp C)', whilst the comedian of the group, Cream, reminds the listener that this isn't a serious project. 'Lauren London', produced by emcee Iman Omari, provides a synth heavy bouncy background for Kent, the groups main vocalist. Expect lyrical content extending to smoking with the windows down, rolling papers, and infidelity in tracks such as 'Lapdance', featuring a quality Juicy J verse… But what can seem like standard fare subject matter is made fresh by the groups unique humor and energy. The second half is a little bit too slow for my liking at times, and the persistent weed and vagina talk can be taxing, but strong features from Nipsey Hussle and Problem provide some diversity from the in-house emcees. "Boom" is a quality tape, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a not too serious time.
Kirikou: YO this is yerboi, DJ Kirikou and I
have been recently straight up and down rocking the new Black Milk that has
been released in the past year. Producer and emcee from Detroit, Michigan Black
Milk has been providing hip-hop heads with undeniably soulful,
technical and face-twistingly raw production and flows for years. Black Milk is
one of a generation of Detroit (and outside) artists whom I refer to as
Dilla-disciples; working alongside and studying the works of Jay Dee, taking
his understanding of production and his direct influence and working it into
their own styles. Black Milk’s No Poison
No Paradise, released in October of 2013 is a concept-album full of rich,
soulful imagery and great vibes. Not a single song lacks a vibrant, fully produced
quality and Black Milk has worked out any kinks to make every track reach the
standard of quality set by the preceding song as the album progresses. This is
easily one of my top records for 2013.
Earlier this month Black Milk followed up his October full length with an EP titled Glitches in The Break. A collection of great songs that doesn’t quite match the quality of the LP, this is still not a release to be overlooked. An easy high point of the EP is the single, released a month prior to the EP release, Cold Day. I will say no more and encourage you to check out both of these releases and pick up the vinyl for Glitches in The Break when it is released on record store day, April 19.
This is
Kirikou the sorcerer and I’m excited as fuck for this blog, y’all. Holler at
yer boi and shout out to GrammaFone for being a supporter and lover of the
music and giving way to this beauty.
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