Thanks Dan & Brock on that info - any of you checked out Common's new LP ?
If so give me the rundown !
Had the pleasure of seeing Ronny Jordan last night - If you get the chance
I seriously recommend - Must of been one of the smoothest jazz gigs I been
to, made you want to fill up that brandy glass, light up a big cuba (or
whatever), and get an allover body rub from that gal with talented
hands................Mmmm
Shame I was workin behind the bar !
Easy
Jay
At 17:57 24/03/00 +0000, dan hill wrote:
>> > Also while I'm at it - Mike Ladd - what's the score ?
>
>hope people will forgive me posting my review from motion here. it's
>at http://motion.state51.co.uk/reviews/543.html for those that want
>to hear a couple of sound clips too.
>
>Mike Ladd
>Welcome to the Afterfuture
>Ozone Music
>
>Those in the vanguard of hip hop are looking further and wider for
>inspiration, stepping outside of the conventions of rapping to draw
>new lyrical flow from poetry and soul, drawing sounds from
>increasingly interesting vernacular and avant-garde sources. And
>nothing epitomises this better than this hand-grenade of a release,
>lobbed into the mix by Mike Ladd, with the utterly serious intent of
>pushing beat-driven, creative music forward. It's bloody great.
>Though completely unique, it reminds me of last year's great Dälek,
>Co Flow and Mos Def albums - the same intensity, similarly rich sound
>palette, the same probing mind seeking out new forms to work with.
>Lyrically, Ladd is phenomenal. His sharp ear enables him to cut his
>rhymes directly into the grooves, shaping the sound as much as his
>smart samples and loops, and he's not averse to drifting his complex
>poetry across the beat (he featured on the "Eargasms" hip hop poetry
>compilation, and though he has a different style, he's ploughing the
>same articulate furrow as the awesome Saul Williams). The lyrics are
>passionate, informed, well-turned, and hit home hard. There's a
>seductive futurity about the content, which matches Ladd's sci-fi
>soundscapes perfectly. Assisted by Bruce Grant (tape loops), Jeff
>Cordero (guitar), Eric M.O. (bass), Charles Calello (keys), Fired
>Ones (all cuts, except Co Flow's Mr. Len on "Bladerunners"), Ladd
>himself is credited with pretty much everything else: various synths,
>writing, programming, production etc. Company Flow collaborate on
>"Bladerunners" - one of the angrier cuts on the album - a storm of
>sexual politics, drawled basslines, and string samples cut adrift
>from their moorings. Other standout moments include the irresistibly
>funky keyboard riff and soulful singing on "The Animist", and the
>breakbeat-driven whirlwind of polemic and electronic sparks of "Red
>Eye To Jupiter (Starship Nigga)". Some tracks are completely
>beautiful: "Airwave Hysteria's" Bollywood string samples; "Planet
>10's" time-stretched vocals and ambient drift; and particularly the
>final, stunning track "Feb.4 '99 (For All Those Killed By Cops)"
>which indicates just how free-thinking and far-seeing Ladd is. It's
>nothing short of early-70s Alice Coltrane in feel: gently throbbing,
>droning, swirling strings; Indian flutes; and rolling drums emerge as
>Ladd recites lovingly sketched reminisces before building slowly to a
>thunderous crescendo and inspirationally fierce, almost preacher-like
>delivery. Ladd states that he's "just trying to stretch the
>parameters of Soul music ... trying to create a practical fusion -
>trying to work in mixed media without making mixed mediocre. My
>mission is to disappoint everyone who has preconceived notions of
>what black people or music should be like, and that includes black
>people as well." This has all the hallmarks of a classic, and I've no
>doubt people will be digging Mike Ladd like mad.
>
>
>hope this helps
>cheers,
>dan.
>
>--
>---+ dan hill [state51]
> ---+ new reviews on motion [23.3.2000]:
>< the who | koji asano | position normal | sonovac | don byron | mike
>ladd | koji asano | otomo yoshihide >
> http://motion.state51.co.uk/ +---
>
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