Sometimes I hear a rap album and I just say, “Holy. Shit.” Over and over. When I heard Joell Ortiz’s debut, Bodega Chronicles, that happened. I said, “Who brought Big Pun back and bought him a dictionary?” Ortiz is a gangsta rapper for sure, but he’s got so much more that just that going on. Since then, he’s been dropped by his label (fucking Aftermath can’t even get the man behind the label to drop Detox) and released a few solid mixtapes and an album with Slaughterhouse, and now, an EP. And it’s the best thing he’s done since Bodega.
Every cut on the EP burns. “I’m on fire/you got a little buzz/Miller lite/So many lyrics running through my brain/If I don’t put ’em on a track, I’ll go insane/Maybe that’s why everything I say is crazy/And every day I wake up with a naked lady.”
That’s just a few bars. This album is fucking amazing. Plus, there’s cuts produced by Statik Selektah, Don Cannon and DJ Premier, and appearances by Brother Ali (another one of my favorite rappers), Sheek Louch, Talib Kweli and Jean Grae. Not that Joell needs any help.
Murder (direct dl)
http://player.groovebat.com/player.swf
And if the Ortiz EP wasn’t enough, Das Racist just dropped their second mixtape of the year. March’s “Shut Up, Dude” was amazing–it’s like a potty mouthed Native Tongue . . . Basehead on speed . . . Del Tha Funkee Homosapien if he was a Brooklyn cornerboy . . .
There’s cuts produced by folks like Diplo, Scoop Deville, and Dame Grease, and appearances by El-P and a whole fleet of dudes I never heard of.
Rap needs more humor. And Das bring it. The rhymes come thick, hot, and heavy, over playful beats . . . You’ll have to listen at least three times just to begin to get in.
All Tan Everything (Jay-Z sample)
http://player.groovebat.com/player.swf
Sit Down, Man (direct dl)
And here’s their debut, Shut Up, Dude, in case ya missed it. (link)
You Oughtta Know (from Shut, Up Dude)–I love how they pull and Ol’ Dirty Bastard on Billy Joel here.
http://player.groovebat.com/player.swf
Now don’t say I never did nothin’ for you, bustahs.
