I wrote a review of Gil Scott-Heron’s I’m New Here for today’s Washington Post. I think it may be the best album of the young year. (I didn’t bother to listen to many January releases, so I can’t say this with certainty). After a veritable drought recently, this week’s new release schedule is full of good stuff to listen to: I recommend the new Sade and Jaheim albums, though I haven’t had the chance to spend much time with either yet. One release that I have jammed quite a bit is Galactic’s Ya-Ka-May, a great, sprawling and accessible overview of New Orleans music in all its variations, which I covered in a Post profile that ran on Saturday. Read the rest of this entry »

Only the first one gets a pic this time

DJ QUIK AND KURUPT—BlaQKout (Mad Science)
This was the year of the “temporary” rap duo, as declining record sales and other factors led everyone from EDO.G and Masta Ace to Buckshot and KRS-One to pool their resources into one-off collaborative albums. BlaQKout was easily the most revelatory of these releases, a decidedly un-gangsta, throw-everything-in-the-kitchen-sink type party album that works from start to finish. Kurupt sounded reinvigorated in his role as hype man and pinch hitter while Quik continued to quietly elevate his production and mic game, almost 20 years in. Read the rest of this entry »

Rap-A-Lot dropped their official version of Z-Ro’s Cocaine mixtape two weeks ago, but I can’t find a single review of it. Even Noz and noted Z-Ro biographer “Maynholup” have been quiet since offering these advance reports. My Rap-A-Lot connect never sent me a copy, and it’s not available on iTunes, so I’m still banging the extended “double-disc” bootleg version that leaked online earlier last month. That one’s 35 songs and nearly three hours heavy, fattened with previously released weight like a 15-minute DJ Screw mix of Guerilla Maab’s “Fondren and Main,” and Z-Ro leading a crowd at one of his shows through a singalong of his classic “Mo City Don” freestyle. It’s a daunting amount of material, but there’s some superb songs. Without all the extraneous stuff, and with better mixes, I imagine that 17-song official disc must make for a damn good listen. Read the rest of this entry »