Spring Break
New Vibrations
Issue date: 2/21/08
Clipse
We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 3
The Clipse & RE-UP Gang!
Feb. 8, 2008
"Damn, forgot to do something. Oh yeah! It ain't over motherf-----." With these words, backed by epic choir vocals that sound as if they were ripped from the final minutes of a John Woo movie, the new Clipse mixtape, We Got It For Cheap Vol. 3: In the Spirit of Competition (We Just Think We're Better), begins. The gunshots and vocal samples signal one thing: Clipse is back with a vengeance.
The third entry in the We Got It For Cheap series certainly has big shoes to fill. The first (Introducing the Re-Up Gang), released in 2004 and produced by Clinton Sparks, was a vehicle to showcase the renowned lyrical skills of the group, which hadn't released an album in years due to a long running dispute with their label, Jive Records. It also introduced the world to Ab-Liva and Sandman, two other members of Clipse's Re-Up Gang who have toiled in record label obscurity almost as long as Clipse themselves.
The second installment (The Black Card Era) followed soon after, an attempt to publicize their upcoming album Hell Hath No Fury. Both were filled with thinly veiled insults directed at upper level execs at Jive Records and more cocaine talk than Tony Montana in Scarface, all set to the most popular hip-hop beats of the year.
The new installment doesn't offer much departure from the first two. Although produced by renowned mixtape artist DJ Drama, it is still set to familiar beats such as the Jay-Z song "Roc Boys" or Kanye West's "Good Morning." Part of the pleasure of the mixtape is hearing amazing beats that were ruined by the commercial artists who bought them revitalized by the wordplay of the group. Most of the recycled beats are a significant improvement on the original.
The original songs on the mixtape do not disappoint either. "20K Money Making Brothers on the Corner" is a epic ode to drug culture, and one cannot help but marvel at how the group can make even the sound of a steel drum ominous.
The subject matter of the group hasn't changed much either. Although a new million dollar contract with Elektra has relieved the group of their label frustrations, most of their anger is now directed towards Louisiana rapper Li'l' Wayne who has been carrying on a feud with the group in interviews for over a year.
While the slander is fierce, the real star of the show is the drug talk, and the entire Re-Up Gang seems to have an infinite amount of cocaine similes at their disposal, spitting fierce lines like "I push powder like Maybelline/Sell tons like Medeillin" with the greatest of ease.
In the end, the album is an enjoyable exhibition of the same things the brothers have always done. At this point Clipse are the go-to rappers for gangster wordplay, and with metaphors like "My gun speaks Spanish/It goes papi, papi" there are not a lot of groups that can put up better bars than Pusha T and Malice. Their subject matter transcends stereotypes, addressing everything from Socrates to season two of The Wire. Nobody does coke rap better, but with 18 years in the music business (and away from the street) one kind of whishes they had something more to talk about.
- Aidan Renaghan
Mike Doughty
Golden Delicious
Ato Records
Feb. 19, 2008
In the first part of his career, Mike Doughty led the band Soul Coughing, known perhaps best for Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry and the experimental style of music Doughty himself described as "deep slacker jazz," a moniker that means as little to me as it does to you.
Since Soul Coughing split in 1998, Doughty has gone solo. In 2005, he released Haughty Melodic, an album that featured layers and layers of instruments and sounds, and chronicled much of Doughty's recovery from addiction. The heavy production was well received by many critics - and hated by others.
Now, on Golden Delicious, Doughty has moved toward a sound anyone can get into - a much more standard four-piece band sound with clear, catchy vocals. The first single, "27 Jennifers," is already playing on your finer FM stations.
This is not to say Doughty has sold out nor abandoned his artistic integrity. Quite the opposite. Take, for example, one of the major hooks in the track "I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing." Doughty's awareness of sibilance is impressive: "I assess the essence of the mess. The perfect hourglass of my loneliness, yes." In print, it might seem a bit forced, but in the song, the sibilance only adds to it, and makes the song flow.
Or on "Fort Hood," the first track, which opens the album with an "anti-war but pro-troops" tune. Doughty has acknowledged how cliche this may seem, but he cites his army brat background as justification. Because of his experiences with troops and in Army hospitals, this song simply happened, and he could not choose to soften or change its sentiments without denying its originality and honesty. Doughty borrows the famous "Let the sun shine in" line from Hair (for obvious hippie reasons), an interesting method that somehow works for him.
Another gem comes on "More Bacon than the Pan Can Handle," on which Doughty is joined by a lilting, almost laughing female accompaniment who sings the title lyrics. The song is light, catchy, and fun - a great nod-along tune.
While Doughty excels on this album at the joyful and relaxed, it is not without its more serious tracks. "I Got The Drop On You" features a bluesy-folksy guitar and lyrics with phrases like "rattling the chains." It's not my favorite song on the album, but it certainly gets an emotion across.
"Wednesday (Contra La Puerta)" features more of Doughty's impressive poetry, but he does need to work on his Spanish accent a bit.
"Nectarine" is catchy and groovy in a don't-think-about-it-too-much kind of way. The string of "Na na nas," while not particularly expressive or deeply meaningful, add a bit of relaxed fun to the song.
Golden Delicious is an excellent, well-rounded album. It combines pop catchery with poetry, groovy tunes with innovation. It's the sort of thing that gets you to dance around your room when no one's looking.
Doughty will be at the 9:30 Club on April 5. You'll see at least one News-Letter reviewer there.
- John Kernan
We Got It 4 Cheap, Vol. 3
The Clipse & RE-UP Gang!
Feb. 8, 2008
"Damn, forgot to do something. Oh yeah! It ain't over motherf-----." With these words, backed by epic choir vocals that sound as if they were ripped from the final minutes of a John Woo movie, the new Clipse mixtape, We Got It For Cheap Vol. 3: In the Spirit of Competition (We Just Think We're Better), begins. The gunshots and vocal samples signal one thing: Clipse is back with a vengeance.
The third entry in the We Got It For Cheap series certainly has big shoes to fill. The first (Introducing the Re-Up Gang), released in 2004 and produced by Clinton Sparks, was a vehicle to showcase the renowned lyrical skills of the group, which hadn't released an album in years due to a long running dispute with their label, Jive Records. It also introduced the world to Ab-Liva and Sandman, two other members of Clipse's Re-Up Gang who have toiled in record label obscurity almost as long as Clipse themselves.
The second installment (The Black Card Era) followed soon after, an attempt to publicize their upcoming album Hell Hath No Fury. Both were filled with thinly veiled insults directed at upper level execs at Jive Records and more cocaine talk than Tony Montana in Scarface, all set to the most popular hip-hop beats of the year.
The new installment doesn't offer much departure from the first two. Although produced by renowned mixtape artist DJ Drama, it is still set to familiar beats such as the Jay-Z song "Roc Boys" or Kanye West's "Good Morning." Part of the pleasure of the mixtape is hearing amazing beats that were ruined by the commercial artists who bought them revitalized by the wordplay of the group. Most of the recycled beats are a significant improvement on the original.
The original songs on the mixtape do not disappoint either. "20K Money Making Brothers on the Corner" is a epic ode to drug culture, and one cannot help but marvel at how the group can make even the sound of a steel drum ominous.
The subject matter of the group hasn't changed much either. Although a new million dollar contract with Elektra has relieved the group of their label frustrations, most of their anger is now directed towards Louisiana rapper Li'l' Wayne who has been carrying on a feud with the group in interviews for over a year.
While the slander is fierce, the real star of the show is the drug talk, and the entire Re-Up Gang seems to have an infinite amount of cocaine similes at their disposal, spitting fierce lines like "I push powder like Maybelline/Sell tons like Medeillin" with the greatest of ease.
In the end, the album is an enjoyable exhibition of the same things the brothers have always done. At this point Clipse are the go-to rappers for gangster wordplay, and with metaphors like "My gun speaks Spanish/It goes papi, papi" there are not a lot of groups that can put up better bars than Pusha T and Malice. Their subject matter transcends stereotypes, addressing everything from Socrates to season two of The Wire. Nobody does coke rap better, but with 18 years in the music business (and away from the street) one kind of whishes they had something more to talk about.
- Aidan Renaghan
Mike Doughty
Golden Delicious
Ato Records
Feb. 19, 2008
In the first part of his career, Mike Doughty led the band Soul Coughing, known perhaps best for Doughty's stream-of-consciousness poetry and the experimental style of music Doughty himself described as "deep slacker jazz," a moniker that means as little to me as it does to you.
Since Soul Coughing split in 1998, Doughty has gone solo. In 2005, he released Haughty Melodic, an album that featured layers and layers of instruments and sounds, and chronicled much of Doughty's recovery from addiction. The heavy production was well received by many critics - and hated by others.
Now, on Golden Delicious, Doughty has moved toward a sound anyone can get into - a much more standard four-piece band sound with clear, catchy vocals. The first single, "27 Jennifers," is already playing on your finer FM stations.
This is not to say Doughty has sold out nor abandoned his artistic integrity. Quite the opposite. Take, for example, one of the major hooks in the track "I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing." Doughty's awareness of sibilance is impressive: "I assess the essence of the mess. The perfect hourglass of my loneliness, yes." In print, it might seem a bit forced, but in the song, the sibilance only adds to it, and makes the song flow.
Or on "Fort Hood," the first track, which opens the album with an "anti-war but pro-troops" tune. Doughty has acknowledged how cliche this may seem, but he cites his army brat background as justification. Because of his experiences with troops and in Army hospitals, this song simply happened, and he could not choose to soften or change its sentiments without denying its originality and honesty. Doughty borrows the famous "Let the sun shine in" line from Hair (for obvious hippie reasons), an interesting method that somehow works for him.
Another gem comes on "More Bacon than the Pan Can Handle," on which Doughty is joined by a lilting, almost laughing female accompaniment who sings the title lyrics. The song is light, catchy, and fun - a great nod-along tune.
While Doughty excels on this album at the joyful and relaxed, it is not without its more serious tracks. "I Got The Drop On You" features a bluesy-folksy guitar and lyrics with phrases like "rattling the chains." It's not my favorite song on the album, but it certainly gets an emotion across.
"Wednesday (Contra La Puerta)" features more of Doughty's impressive poetry, but he does need to work on his Spanish accent a bit.
"Nectarine" is catchy and groovy in a don't-think-about-it-too-much kind of way. The string of "Na na nas," while not particularly expressive or deeply meaningful, add a bit of relaxed fun to the song.
Golden Delicious is an excellent, well-rounded album. It combines pop catchery with poetry, groovy tunes with innovation. It's the sort of thing that gets you to dance around your room when no one's looking.
Doughty will be at the 9:30 Club on April 5. You'll see at least one News-Letter reviewer there.
- John Kernan
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