Elevate Difference

Reviews tagged hip hop

The Third Hand

Fans of RJD2’s previous albums might want to prepare themselves. Over the course of time, many musicians go through extreme changes and tweak their sound a bit. This can certainly be said for The Third Hand, on which RJD2 demonstrates an entire album with (gasp!) his own vocals. Known for his electronic music and quality of production, it comes as no surprise that The Third Hand is pieced together so well. Perhaps this new change in sound will anger older fans, but this album sounds like more of an experiment than a life change for RJD2.

Moments in Movement

Formerly Romy Hoffman, Australian rapper Macromantics has released a debut hip-hop album that will keep her listeners guessing from track to track. After discovering hip-hop on a 1995 American tour with her pop punk band Noise Addict, Miss Macro spent the next few years fine-tuning her solid rhymes and traditional beats. It’s when she veers from the traditional path, however, that the album is at its best.

Aqua Beats and Moon Verses: Volume I

Chicago based performance artists camil.williams and veronica precious bohanan (a.k.a. AquaMoon) explore womyn-centered issues, such as rape, molestation, incest, and women in hip hop from an African American perspective. These themes are interpreted through the use of choreopoems (poems intended to be acted out on stage), and there is also a CD that comes with the book.

k-os: Live at the 9:30 Club (2/21/2007)

If hip-hop is now comparable to a staid night of champagne swilling, high profiling, platinum-plated debauchery, then k-os is as refreshing as the hazy Sunday morning brunch spread invitingly along an island shore. Following in the tracks laid by former underground artists, Talib Kweli and Common, k-os is a creative contained energy wielding a socially conscious, reggae splashed mandate. On February 21st, Washington D.C. welcomed the Canadian MC, born Kevin Brereton, to the hub of alternative music.

Sticky Fingers: Queers Running the Stage Art Gamut (2/17/2007)

Sticky Fingers featured a medley of performances ranging from spoken word poetry to electro-rock by queer artists from across the eastern seaboard. Held at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn, NY, the show was stimulating in its polymorphous perversity, the performances audacious in their satirical elements and guttural verve. Manhattan-based artist Chavisa Woods opened the night with her spoken word piece “No One is Ever Going to Touch You Like This.” Woods’ piece was a powerful inquiry the reality of passion and fantasy.

Atlantis: Hymns for Disco

This is an impressive record. k-os is a rapper from Trinidad, who was raised in Toronto. His name stands for “Knowledge of Self.” The songs on this album steer clear of typical commercial hip-hop posturing. There is no talk of guns, gang violence or misogyny. In fact, on "The Rain," he openly reveals his pain over lost love. k-os' honesty and workmanship shine through on every number.

Mo’ Mega

At first listen Mo’ Mega’s bellicose sound seems somewhat uninviting. I thought it so heavy handed that it lost intricacy. I was wrong. Everything is intentional, from aggressive baselines to biting political criticism to the frustrated laments of a hardworking emcee. Lif’s lyrics aren’t afraid to get dirty, whether by treading on the Bush administration or describing the sexual exploits of a much-anticipated rendezvous.
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