KJPLAY
Immortal Technique Revolutionary, Volume 2
Not in the carnal sense, however; DJ's thrive more on a sort of "greener pastures" system, wherein every single record dug can never be the last, because there's always something else to discover that could be better. This leads to eventual obsession, with DJ's lustily chasing after any and every sign of wax to be had, canvassing their grooves to find that perfect break, that rare gem, that unattainable pleasure that can only be obtained by knowing something that no one else knows.
Funk 45 aficionado/sometime Kansas City denizen/pal of DJ Shadow Dante Carfagna probably knows more than a little bit about this type of deviant behavior. From his position scribing for beat culture bible Wax Poetics to the label he co-founded with like-minded DJ's, Memphix, Carfagna is steadily ascending to renaissance man status in crate digger circles. This is due in no small part to Chains and Black Exhaust, a compilation of some of the rarest tracks from the oft-overlooked and microcosmic black rock movement of the late 60s and early 70s, recently compiled and released by Carfagna on the fictitious Jones label (partly to quell any legal action).
The disc's intro is a humorous clip of a radio show in which one man is talking about what he looks for in a car, saying "I don't need all of that stuff" in response to the other man's insistence on asking him about style. It functions as a comment on the comp's simplicity and rawness, with its lack of a tracklist
or artist/title information and the familiar skips and pops of the vinyl on each track (sure to please vinyl purists who scoff at the very idea of the CD format).
Jimi Hendrix's influence permeates throughout the album, whether it's in the vibrato-fret effect and frantic vocals of track five, or the Brill Building intro on track seven getting run straight through by the best stomp Captain Beefheart never made. Elsewhere, the progressive drumbeat and sound collage approach of track ten makes it not only the most psychedelic track on the comp, but also the most modern-sounding.
Even the more timid and bland moments of the disc are still easily redeemable - the staid blues of track twelve's middle and end belie its excellent punk cacophony/Speak 'n' Spell intro, and track fourteen's standard psych-boogie is split by a drum break at about 2:40 in that would make any beatmaker salivate.
Grade: A+
— Phil Torpey
Breakfast for Beatlovers
9 a.m. — noon, Tuesdays
Don't expect polish or glamour, because this comp is definitely without. But if you've got enough dust in your lungs to fill a vacuum bag, if you like your tunes coarse and rude, or if you just appreciate funk, blues, rock, R&B and soul music, then Chains and Black Exhaust is essential listening.
In pop music, conformity has become the order of the day. As the underground hip-hop scene has aged, the emcees who travel its expressive depths seem to have developed a standard.
Recent underground hip hop, in all its anti-pop glory, has mutated simply into conformity without a record deal. Revolutionary, Volume 2 is not that "nod your head/keep it real/you can't step to my metaphysical metaphor" stuff that the hip hop underground seems to consist of these days.
This is that "move the crowd music." This is that "Damn, did you hear that last verse? I just gotta hit rewind to hear that again" music. Intelligent, distinct, profound. Immortal Technique provides the type of hip hop that microphones were invented for. Revolutionary, Volume 2 will leave you awestruck.
Grade: A
— Cornelius Minor, II Host of "Voice Activated" 7 - 8 p.m., Thursdays
Missy Elliott This Is Not a Test
Missy does not deviate far from the dance-friendly electro-sound that has made her one of the most sonically enthralling artists in hip-hop. Though her music pays homage to the infancy and golden age of hip-hop, at times the album expresses more style than substance - definitely a product of the current scene. Missy can be appreciated for what she manages to do with the elements that contemporary hip-hop has handed us.
In this hip-hop climate of guns, drugs, and jewels, and in the political climate of joblessness, wars and political posturing. Missy does more than just remind us of a time when hiphop, and consequently, life was innocent and fun, she reminds us that it still can be. She is correct in her assessment that this is not a test, though blemished occasionally by unnecessary filler; this album is the real thing.
Grade: B-
— Cornelius Minor, II Host of "Voice Activated" 7 - 8 p.m., Thursdays
2.B.04 Jouley 21
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