Lateef the Truthspeaker – “Experimental Slap” review

Oakland, California emcee Lateef the Truthspeaker tapping in with Nick Andre for his official sophomore effort. A member of the Quannum Projects collective in addition to their subgroups Latyrx alongside Lateef & the Chief and The Mighty Underdogs, his first few solo mixtapes Ahead of the Curve including Truth is Love & Truth at Sea were all decent ahead of his official 2011 solo debut FireWire surpassing them in quality. 13 years later, he & Nick got more of an Experimental Slap for the underground.

“Show Love” is this sample-driven trap opener demanding his flowers considering that he’s been in the game for 3 decades already whereas “Tic Tac Toe” taking a much calmer route instrumentally relying heavy on drums talking about holding his own. After the first of 3 “Slap” skits, “Things Never Seen Before” psychedelically reminds everyone that he’s the coldest with the pen while the bassy “Watch What You Say” featuring Phesto from the Hieroglyphics subgroup Souls of Mischief puts everyone in their place.

As for “California Sober”, we have Lateef putting it down 7 times for the struggle on top of a playfully fun beat that Nick cooked up just before “Snake Bite” featuring the late Zion I frontman Baba Zumbi & Deuce Eclipse airs out every last individual who happened to turn a blind eye to them. “Guns 2” featuring Jumbo & nOOdy Oddy after another “Slap” skit serves as a sequel to a 2018 joint picking up right where the predecessor left off leading into “Freed Up” featuring Baba Zumbi & Deuce Eclipse setting out to convert nonbelievers.

“Started Dreaming Again” featuring Aima the Dreamer pairs both of them talking about their recent dreams of coinciding within them starting to feel their pens while the crooning boom bap “Waiting on My Time to Come” featuring the late Blackalicious frontman Gift of Gab eerily expresses the self-awareness of his demise quite possibly coming soon. After the final “Slap” skit, “Not Asking” feels like a cool homage to one of my favorite groups A Tribe Called Quest while “Last Night” featuring Slug takes it back to the basement talking about how ain’t nobody tryna eat off your peace.

Latyrx gets together with Baba Zumbi, Casual of the Hieroglyphics crew, The Grouch of the Living Legends & finally Lil B the Based God formerly of The Pack for a sequel to “Life is Awesome” showing their gratitude regarding the way life’s been treating them at this point in all of their careers & “Almost as Blue” finishes Lateef’s long-awaited follow-up to FireWire with this heartfelt tribute to Baba Zumbi, who passed away in the summer of 2021 following the 48 year anniversary of hip hop culture’s formation.

Mostly made during the pandemic, Experimental Slap was made during a time of great change, turmoil & personal revelation composed with fun and love as well as terror & tragedy. It’s emotional, intelligent & irreverent & while we’ve never really been for the drama. And there is in fact some drama because this album is a reﬂection of the time it was recorded. Personal & political. Intense polarization & isolation, coupled with extreme communal connection & service. Humanity in the face of death.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lyrics Born – “Goodbye, Sticky Rice” review

Lyrics Born is a 52 year old MC, songwriter & producer born in Tokyo, Japan & raised in Berkeley, California notable for being a member of the Quannum Projects collective under the original moniker Asia Born for nearly 3 decades. His 2003 solo debut Later That Day… became an underground classic within the west coast hip hop scene, following it up with the Epitaph Records-backed sophomore effort Everywhere at Once & 6 more albums through his own label Mobile Home Recordings since. However, he’s looking to move on to the next chapter by dropping his 9th & final album.

“What Dreams are Made Of” starts with a g-funk instrumental from Lench Mob Records in-house producers Hallway Productionz telling everyone to remember who they are instead of who they used to be whereas “Take It 2 Far” talks about being unable to quit smoking & drinking keeping the gangsta funk vibes rollin’. “Smokin’ with My Lady” is another g-funk banger that’s dedicated to puffin’ zaza with his wife Joyo Velarde, but then “Gyrlz” featuring The Egyptian Lover discusses their love for women over som funky bass-licks.

Latyrx gets together on the smooth “It Might Not Be Love” telling their romantic interests that there’s something in-between them just before the synth-driven “Shades of Jade” admits to struggling with loneliness. “Beautiful DJ” fuses reggae & hip hop telling a female DJ to play that 1 song for him while the spacey “If Ur Down, I’m Down” talks about Joyo checking off all the boxes in his eyes. “Can We Still Be Friends?” hops over another g-funk asking this woman if they can remain cordial & “Live Your Life (Without Permission)” ends with him staying true.

To cap off his solo career, Lyrics Born throws a funky & messy going-away party for himself pulling good-time ’80s R&B & funk music that brought him comfort as a youth & during the pandemic ahead of him shifting his focus to bettering his health. He’s having fun lyrically & Hallway Productionz during the 35 minute listening experience cohesively recaptures the essence of the west coast g-funk subgenre that dominated the ‘90s.

Score: 4/5

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DJ Shadow – “Action Adventure” review

DJ Shadow is a 51 year old DJ & producer from San Jose, California who came up as a member of the Quannum Projects collective. His 1996 full-length debut Endtroducing….. is a landmark in the instrumental hip hop scene & the sophomore effort The Private Press was well received too, but everything since then has been treated to moderate reception. Last we heard from Shadow was the 2-disc Our Pathetic Age, but is returning 4 years later by making a stylistic departure for his 7th LP & his 3rd under Mass Appeal Records

“Ozone Scraper” is an underwhelming choice of an opener setting the tone of what’s to come by pulling from synthwave and dancefloor drum & bass whereas “All My” draws inspiration from footwork musically although I’ve heard the late DJ Rashad do this style better on Double Cup. “Time & Space” is a longwinded IDM cut lasting at 8 & a half minutes even though it just makes me wanna listen to Aphex Twin after a while just before “Craig, Incels & Wrightson” goes back into a more synth-based groove.

Approaching near the end of the first leg of the album, “Witches vs. Warlocks” hooks up these synths & hi-hats coming off a little robotically dull leading into “A Narrow Escape” becoming one of the better tracks here going for a more energizing atmosphere this time around. “You Played Me” was the best single we got from the project drawing inspiration from synth-funk, but then “Free for All” fuses elements of wonky & rock that wind up with mixed results.

“The Prophecy” shoots for a ghoulish vibe clocking in at nearly 5 minutes while “Friend or Foe” brings the synthesizers & hi-hats back together once more with a crescendoing 2nd half. “Fleeting Youth (An Audible Life)” strips the drums completely incorporating a spacious atmosphere while the 8-minute “Reflecting Pool” feels a bit hollow to me personally. The penultimate track “Forever Changed” pushes towards near the end by giving a cloudier trap flare to the beat & “She’s Evolving” closes shop by cooking up 1 last synthwave cut.

For an album called Action Adventure, I didn’t really find it to have either of those as entertaining aspects disappointingly. There’s definitely some adventure in Shadow making a headfirst foray into electronic dance music, but it hurts me to say that it doesn’t hold a candle to previous material & could very well be the weakest thing he’s ever done. Compared to those who paved the way for EDM like Daft Punk or like I mentioned earlier Aphex Twin & DJ Rashad, his takes on synthwave alongside wonky or footwork & IDM feel very plain.

Score: 2/5

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Gift of Gab – “Finding Inspiration Somehow” review

Gift of Gab was a 50 year old MC from Sacramento, California who came up as 1/2 of the duo Blackalicious & a member of the Quannum Projects collective almost 3 decades ago. However, it wasn’t until the spring of 2004 when he broke out solo by dropping 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. This was followed up with Escape 2 Mars as well as The Next Logical Progression & Rejoice! Rappers Are Rapping Again! but with his passing over the summer, he was able to complete 1 last album & Nature Sounds is now putting it out.

After the intro, the first song “Slaugtah Dem (Godly)” has a thunderous instrumental with Gab getting in his battle rap bag whereas “Going Farther” works in a boom bap instrumental with some plinky keys & the title basically speaks for itself in terms of content. “The Gentrification Song” has a moodier sound addressing his feelings on the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more wealthy residents & businesses just before “You Gon’ Make It in the End” with Lateef the Truthspeaker & Vursatyl is a touching moment on the album telling the listeners to push on.

Meanwhile for “Vice Grip”, we have Gift of Gab switching in between rhyme schemes over an explosive beat from Nick Andre leading into him describing “The World Without Money” & the instrumental is funky as Hell. I like the atmospheric shift on “Alchemy” as Gab tells the listener to keep it going, but “Enter the Dragon” has a more cinematic sound ascending to another level.

“A Weekend in Venice” is more of an R&B-tinged interlude while the song “The Idea of America” has a funnier sound with Gab continuing the streams of consciousness. The penultimate track “Breathe In” is a more tropical cut saying all you need is love & then “Back to the Light” couldn’t have ended the album any better by providing a beautiful glimmer of hope despite the dark days.

Overall, I think Finding Inspiration Somehow is a bittersweet swan song from the late Sacramento emcee. It showcases why a truly one of a kind lyricist lyricist he was, the production’s on point & I love the miniminal amount of guest MCs being featured. Just exactly how he would’ve wanted it to be.

Score: 4/5