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After the Notorious B.I.G. was killed, Puffy Combs spent a lot of time trying to fill the big man's shoes. To this end, the Bad Boy label chief has enlisted a slew of substitutes, creating a catalog of dance-friendly, thug-life chronicles of high-life fantasies and gritty realities. Enter Harlem native Black Rob. A competent MC with a guttural delivery that recalls the smooth, reserved style of the late B.I.G., Black Rob constructs explicit tales with hooks you can feel and lyrics that stick. On a disc that includes support from Mase, Jennifer Lopez, Puff Daddy, and the Lox, Black Rob details hard street life replete with pain, death, and stark honesty. With 20 thoroughly bruising cuts, Black Rob's debut may just succeed in helping Puff Daddy regain the street credibility lost when Combs achieved mainstream/crossover status. ~ Roxanne Blanford, All Music Guide
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Dear Science TV On The Radio |
| On the way to be established as the best American band of the decade, TV on the Radio's third album has arrived surrounded by five star reviews. Good news is the music totally justifies this level of hype. The Brooklyn-based combo has not abandoned their experimental nature; albeit "Dear Science" sounds deliberately shinier, funkier and more accessible than its, already polished, precursor "Return to Cookie Mountain." Lyrically, though, is quite a darker proposition. Many see on its tone a suitable metaphor to describe their country's collective mood, demoralized and confused, right at the end of Bush's presidency. The band's eclecticism is on full display: electro hooks next to D&B touches; shoegaze's atmospheric layers mixed with post-rock's bass lines via P-funk, often all in the same song. This sonic fusion can be as impressive as disorientating; rich and dense, but also the key that makes TV on the Radio's work improve with repeated listening. Main vocalist Tunde Adebimpe, often helped by guitar player Kyp Malone on second vocals, appears as a sort of missing link between Peter Gabriel and Prince; whereas David Sitek recently turned into producer du jour, applies his multi-instrument playing skills. Members of Antibalas guest on horns, highlighting the romance a new generation of US bands is having with African music. Celebration's Katrina Ford also helps in the mighty single "Golden Age" and the ballad "Family Tree", another of the album's many standout moments. . | |
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