7. Voxtrot-Voxtrot. (review)
Where rappers do mixtapes, indie bands do EP and web releases, and Ramesh Srivastava’s five-piece have been content to do just that since 2003. This year, we finally were treated to the full length album for which all those EP and web singles were the prelude. And the result, Voxtrot, was no disappointment.
And speaking of mixtapes, Lupe Fiasco’s The Coolest Mixtape came out in ’07 and it was pretty good. It certainly has whetted my appetite for the full-length, which will not be released in time for this ’07 best of list. Like all of us did since 2003 for Voxtrot, we must wait patiently for Lupe’s release.
Maybe I’m just hungre for more Lupe, because the series of mixtapes that led to his first album was fucking amazing, but I’ve been spinning the latest one over and over and over. (The proper album drops soon, but too late to be considered for this year’s list.) There’s a little too much filler, but the new verses dropped her, like “What It Do” and “Dumb It Down” are amazing. And “Us Placers” (with Pharrell & Kanye West) is really growing on me, with its Radiohead hook. One thing, though: Is anybody else here completely bored with Lupe’s threats that he’s gonna retire? I didn’t believe it when Jay said it. I didn’t believe it (or care) when 50 Cent said it. Lupe’s only released one real record. The thought that that made him enough money to retire just pisses me off.
Real Life Version-Voxtrot (from the album)
Shayla (Blondie Cover)-Voxtrot (Ramesh solo)
Heaven (Talking Heads cover)-Voxtrot
Love Vigilantes (New Order cover)-Voxtrot
Us Placers-Lupe, Kanye, and Pharrel
The Coolest Mixtape (album download)
Trouble-Voxtrot (from the album)
