| During the past few years, Doseone has gotten a lot weirder, which can be both good and bad, depending on your tastes. The Doseone you heard on Hemispheres no longer exists, but has morphed into an abstract being with a knack for confusing even his most loyal listeners. He is joined by Boom Bip, a production wizard that hasn't gotten enough of the spotlight but will probably become more like, the guy who did Circle after people hear this. This is Doseone at his strangest and most introspective, where he is free to test out his vocal chords in any way he feels necessary. Half of the obvious criticisms of this work would include anything from "this isn't hip-hop" to "I can't stand Dose's voice" to "This is just weird" to "He's trying to be abstract." However, strip away all the ideas you've ever heard about Doseone and this album becomes incredibly enjoyable. It's refreshing, not in the hip-hop-needs-a-change sort of way, but in the Hey-I-can-really-get-into-this way. It's interesting and strange, not interesting because it's strange. And let's not forget that this is a two-man effort, because Boom Bip has a mastery of production that most will never see. He does everything from recreating the hip-hop styles of the 80s to almost turning this piece into a classical ensemble to laying down the electric guitar. In fact, this would make a rather intriguing album, without any words to accompany it. Whatever you make of this, just know that for every thought you have, someone has a different one. This music isn't pushing the boundaries, because Doseone already erased them couple of years ago. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing, since no one on the planet can duplicate this musical soundscape anyway. - 4th District |
2XLP/Out Of Print