Música: Golden Age Rap/East Coast Rap/Alternative Rap/Hip Hop

Comentário AM:

Besides the upper-middle-class frat-punks-in-rap-clothing shtick of the Beastie Boys and emissary/producer Rick Rubin, who both gained a legitimate, earned respect in the rap community, there were very few white kids in rap's first decade who spoke the poetry of the street with compassion and veneration for the form. That is, until The Cactus Album. Matching MC Serch's bombastic, goofy good nature and Prime Minister Pete Nice's gritty, English-trained wordsmithery (sounding like a young Don in training), 3rd Bass' debut album is revelatory in its way. For one, it is full of great songs, alternately upbeat rollers ("Sons of 3rd Bass"), casual-but-sincere disses ("The Gas Face"), razor-sharp street didacticism ("Triple Stage Darkness," "Wordz of Wizdom"), and sweaty city anthems ("Brooklyn Queens," "Steppin' to the A.M.," odes to day and night, respectively), with A-plus production by heavyweights Prince Paul and Bomb Squad, as well as the surprising, overshadowing work of Sam Sever. The duo may not have come from the streets, but their hearts were there, and it shows. The album embodies New York life. Not every single idea plays out successfully -- Serch's Louis Armstrong impression on "Flippin' Off the Wall..." is on the wrong side of the taste line, and "Desert Boots" is a puzzling Western-themed insertion -- but they are at least interesting stretches that add to the dense, layered texture of the album. The Cactus Album was also important because it proved to the hip-hop heads that white kids could play along without appropriating or bastardizing the culture. It may not have completely integrated rap, but it was a precursor to a culture that became more inclusive and widespread after its arrival.

5

3rd Bass - The Cactus Album [1989]

Música: East Coast Rap/Hip Hop

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"Peace to Ice Cube, peace to Ice-T/ but DJ Quick, he can suck my d**k"!!! Yeah! this was the illest verse on "STEP TO ME". Tim Dog, an Ultramagnetic MC's affiliate, vowed to take on all by himself ALL wack rappers from Compton, "Happy Rappers", and all peanut-butter, pop-corn MC's. At the time, he was Hip-Hop's "Mr.T", ready and willing to dis any sucker MC. "PENECILLIN ON WAX" is definitely one of those "Boogie Down Bx." classic Hip-Hop joints. Tim Dog's diversity on this album is one of the things that make it such a classic. Tim gets "scientifical, lyrical" at times and even drops science! He breaks down lyrically, the wild streets of the early '90's South Bronx, he declares war on all commercialized and "happy rappers"! He even throws in a XXX rated jammie, just to let you know how much the flavor this brother can have! An album like this will never be done again, another "BRONX" classic from another "BRONX" MC!

4.5

Tim Dog - Penicillin on Wax [1991]

Música: Rap/Hip Hop/Dub/Dancehall

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A bright moment for British rap, the debut album from Roots Manuva introduced a hip-hop chameleon boasting dark productions and a distinct style, plus much more to say than most rappers. Both his raps and his productions rely on ragga as a bed, but instead of leading the party, Roots Manuva used it to reflect on the world ("Strange Behaviour") and his religious background ("Baptism"), as well as play the usual game of the dozens ("Dem Phonies"). Also of interest is the devastating "Clockwork", originally released on the Ninja Tune label compilation Funkungfusion. If anything, these low-key , bass-heavy productions (some by the rapper himself) aren't able to convey Roots Manuva's lyrical finesse and thematic complexity.

4

Roots Manuva - Brand New Second Hand [1999]

Música: Underground Rap/Hip Hop

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Any hip-hop album that samples a classic Rolling Stones album track from Between the Buttons within its first five seconds has something going for it, and Cool Calm Pete's debut is a trippy blend of incredibly obscure samples, found dialogue, loosey-goosey beats that never break a sweat, and often-amusing lyrics delivered in an offhand style somewhere between Kanye West's peculiarly off-kilter rhythms and Mike Skinner's conversational casualness. The Korean-born rapper/producer claims to get most of his riffs from all-but-unknown Asian soul and funk records from the '60s and '70s, and indeed, there's a particularly retro quality to these mellow settings, with easy listening piano and fusiony flutes. ("Cloudy" even features interludes of Portishead-style distorted female vocals, perhaps in homage to a band that sounds like a clear influence.) The intelligent lyrics manage to work in obscure references and in-jokes without sounding stilted or exclusionary, and Cool Calm Pete's remarkable ability as a producer puts across even the few tracks that aren't up to lyrical scratch. An impressive solo debut from the former Babbletron member, Lost is one of 2005's best underground hip-hop releases.

4

Cool Calm Pete - Lost [2005]

Plastikman - Consumed [1998]

Surfer Blood - Astro Coast [2010]

VA - Grease - OST [1978]

Josh Groban - Josh Groban [2001]

Everlast - Whitey Ford Sings the Blues [1998]

Everlast - Eat at Whitey's [2000]

Isan - Beautronics [1998]

Shivaree - Rough Dreams [2002]

Vive la Fête - Nuit Blanche [2004]

Damian "Junior Gong" Marley - Welcome to Jamrock [2005]

ZZ Top - Greatest Hits [1992]

The Psycho Realm - The Psycho Realm [1997]

Method Man - Tical [1994]

Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx [1994]

GZA/Genius - Beneath the Surface [1999]

Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) [1993]

Música: Jazz Instrument/Jazz Rock/Fusion

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Emboldened by the popularity of Inner Mounting Flame among rock audiences, the first Mahavishnu Orchestra set out to further define and refine its blistering jazz-rock direction in its second -- and, no thanks to internal feuding, last -- studio album. Although it has much of the screaming rock energy and sometimes exaggerated competitive frenzy of its predecessor, Birds of Fire is audibly more varied in texture, even more tightly organized, and thankfully more musical in content. A remarkable example of precisely choreographed, high-speed solo trading -- with John McLaughlin, Jerry Goodman, and Jan Hammer all of one mind, supported by Billy Cobham's machine-gun drumming and Rick Laird's dancing bass -- can be heard on the aptly named "One Word," and the title track is a defining moment of the group's nearly atonal fury. The band also takes time out for a brief bit of spaced-out electronic burbling and static called "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love." Yet the most enticing pieces of music on the record are the gorgeous, almost pastoral opening and closing sections to "Open Country Joy," a relaxed, jocular bit of communal jamming that they ought to have pursued further. This album actually became a major crossover hit, rising to number 15 on the pop album charts, and it remains the key item in the first Mahavishnu Orchestra's slim discography.

5

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire [1972]

Música: Guitar Jazz/Latin Jazz/Post-Bop

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The title of bass player Oskar Cartaya's debut solo record, My Music, My Friends, My Time, could seem ostentatious after reading the credits list. The personnel on the 2004 release reads like a rough guide to Latin jazz heavy hitters and bad boys. The percussion section alone, including Giovanni Hidalgo, Bobby Allende, Alex Acuña, and Marc Quiñones, goes beyond dream team status. It's hard to believe that any player could count such a crew among his "friends." All doubts are removed after taking a peak at Cartaya's own list of credits, which is even more impressive than his list of personal buddies. Somehow managing to fly below the radar of Latin fusion superstardom, Cartaya has been playing for and with the biggest names and baddest players in the genre. Cartaya puts his all-star lineup to very good use, perhaps even giving them a run for their money. With elusive, languid grooves and regularly morphing time, it's clear that Cartaya's compositions come from the bottom up. Some outdated '80s-esque sound sources aside, the music is incredibly engaging, and the writing is oftentimes as sophisticated as the playing. From Charles Mingus to Ray Brown, bass players have often made some of jazz's finest writers, and Cartaya is excellent modern proof. Though this relatively unknown player probably won't get the recognition, My Music, My Friends, My Time could be one of the best Latin jazz releases of the decade.

4.5

Oskar Cartaya - My Music, My Friends, My Time [2004]

Música: Guitar Jazz/Modern Creative/Post-Bop

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Guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel's Deep Song is an intimately atmospheric album that finds the ever-reaching jazz musician in the company of a stellar ensemble. Rosenwinkel has always displayed the strong influences of such expansive players as Pat Metheny, John Scofield, and Pat Martino, and tracks such as the continually overlapping "The Cloister" do nothing if not reinforce such high comparative praise. In fact, Rosenwinkel's moody take on "If I Should Lose You" brings to mind such cerebrally mellow Martino classics as We'll Be Together Again and Cream. Joining him here are the deep-color talents of saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummers Jeff Ballard and Ali Jackson.

4

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Deep Song [2005]

Música: Piano Jazz/Contemporary Jazz/Fusion/Post-Bop

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Hiromi Uehara's version of jazz is unique without being willfully strange -- clearly deeply rooted in the straight-ahead jazz verities, she nevertheless writes with a distinctly postmodern sensibility, gleefully juxtaposing wildly disparate musical elements and infusing everything with a joyful energy. In fact, joyful energy is probably the most significant hallmark of her music; on her latest album, even her attempt at a ballad eventually winds up in swinging uptempo territory, and just about everything else either rushes headlong or rocks out strongly in midtempo. This is actually something of a concept album centered on the idea of time, the control of time, and the effects of time on humans. It opens with the frantic but lovely "Time Difference," on which guest guitarist David "Fuze" Fiuczynski is given ample room to rock out, and then lapses into the slower, funkier, but no less energetic "Time Out" (an Uehara original, not the Dave Brubeck standard). "Time Travel" starts out strong but runs out of gas about halfway through its eight and a half minute length, but "Real Clock vs. Body Clock = Jet Lag" is a real hoot -- a surf-rock theme that alternates with a barrelhouse barroom piano theme and then becomes an exercise in advanced guitar and synthesizer tonal insanity. One of the most interesting things about this album is the way that Fiuczynski's tonal experimentation draws out a similar adventurousness in Uehara, to the extent that it's sometimes hard to tell which of them is playing a solo. Several tracks on this album are several minutes too long, but overall it's a real treat. You'll be tired at the end, but it will be a good tired.

4

Hiromi - Time Control [2007]

Música: Electronic/Experimental Techno/Acid Techno/Minimal Techno

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For Musik, the second full-length album in the Plastikman series, producer Richie Hawtin returned to everything that had made Sheet One so successful, crafting a follow-up that is as much a sequel as it is a rewrite. Once again, he powers each track with minimal yet harsh 909 percussion and adds plenty of crazed 303 acid lines, wonderfully re-creating the acid techno motifs of Sheet One. This time, however, Hawtin veers away from the pervading ambience of that album, giving Musik a much livelier feel instead, particularly toward the beginning and end of the album, where the tempos reach dancefloor intensity. The album begins with two lengthy tracks, the slow-building "Konception" and the snaking "Plastique," both of which amble on for a total of 20 highly acidic minutes. From this grand introduction, Hawtin follows with a series of shorter tracks -- "Kriket," "Fuk," "Outbak," "Ethnik," "Plamastik," and "Goo" -- that push the limits on what can be done with strictly percussion. This somewhat experimental middle section of Musik resembles the percussive tone of the preceding Recycled Plastik EP and its standout inclusion, "Spastik," forgoing acid lines and synth melodies in favor of multi-layered 909 percussion and little else. From here, Hawtin returns to the acid sounds of Musik's opening 20 minutes for "Marbles" and "Lasttrak," a very similar 20-minute stretch of slow-building, snaking acid techno. While the opening 20 minutes had been lively and energetic, these closing 20 minutes are foreboding and dark, even downright chilling at times. Taken as a whole, Musik masterfully covers all aspects of the minimal techno spectrum, from acidic anthems to ultra-minimal explorations and back, in the process showcasing Hawtin's staggering command of the Roland 303 and 909 drum machines as well as his brilliant grasp of album-level continuity.

5

Plastikman - Musik [1994]