Tag: music

audio review : Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater ( album ) … Rza

audio review : Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater ( album ) ... Rza

It’s unclear why one of hip-hop’s most acclaimed beatmakers decided to limit himself to the role of MC for this project, which, with just six songs and an Intro, straddles the line between album and EP. The boom-bap is provided by DJ Scratch, who does an admirable job substantiating his “superproducer” moniker.

Every beat is composed of gritty drums juxtaposed with a layer of melody; Shaolin-style strings, horns and pianos. Rza’s raps help make Kung Fu Theater a fairly enjoyable show. The most crowd-pleasing act is Fate Of The World, though the song probably should’ve been saved for the next Wu-Tang joint.

my rating : 3 of 5

2022

audio review : IMAMCRU12 ( album ) … KRS-One

audio review : IMAMCRU12 ( album ) ... KRS-One

This album is best at The Beginning and end. The former has KRS-One rapping “straight thru”; something he should do more often because, like most MCs, his skills decline at the breaks. When he passes the mic to a guest vocalist with “the right hook”, as he does with wife G Simone on the latter; a melodic life lesson entitled Think Bigger; “the song becomes a knockout”.

The ones in-between are mostly mediocre. At 50-something, Kris still spits better (raps) than most of his students, but Can You Dance; a tribute to old-school hip-hop dances like the wop; sounds like an unfinished demo. The worst thing about the album though is the title. IMAMCRU1? Get it? No? Well, there’s a whole song to explain it. Not that it’ll make it any less lame.

my rating : 3 of 5

2022

video review : The Pepsi Super Bowl 56 Halftime Show

video review : The Pepsi Super Bowl 56 Halftime Show

Snoop Dogg is the highlight here and that’s not a weed pun. In a Halftime Show full of stilted performances; Mary J Blige, who isn’t a protégé of Dr Dre and shouldn’t have been included, goes way over the top; he easily comes across as the most authentic and likeable. Watching him Crip walk to California Love, you’d think he was entertaining guests at a backyard barbeque; not on stage in front of the biggest viewing audience in America.

50 Cent is comparatively stiff, but he at least has sexy groupies In Da Club with him. The logic of giving three fat chicks a stage to themselves is lost on me. Not that the show, which is a bit of a mess, makes a lot of sense in the first place. Eminem is big enough to headline The Super Bowl on his own. His appearance here to perform his most obvious hit comes across as both anticlimactic and corny. Still he’s not as annoying as Kendrick Lamar. Few rappers are.

my rating : 2 of 5

audio review : BODR ( album ) … Snoop Dogg

audio review : BODR ( album ) ... Snoop Dogg

If you’re wondering why Snoop (Doggy) Dogg is Bacc On Death Row, which should be the actual title instead of the silly initialism, it’s because the record label is now owned by him. This album serves as a toast, rather a puff of that “sticky icky”, in celebration of the news.

There’s a song called Daddy about his allure when it comes to “bad bitches” young enough to be his daughter. It’s better than anything from Tha Doggfather, but BODR, his third album on Death Row Records, doesn’t come close to matching his “classic” Doggystyle debut.

my rating : 3 of 5

2022