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MH-264 K-The-I??? - Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow  K-The-I??? marks a thunderous return to Mush with his latest full-length, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. Production on the album is handled entirely by Thavius Beck, his first project since he finished work on Saul Willaims' Niggy Tardust alongside Trent Reznor. Where his debut, Broken Love Letter, focused on past loves gone wrong, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow is a collection of songs about the MC's cross country relocation, and trying to come to terms with how his life has changed from that. The result is a work of singular focus that catches K-The-I??? at his strongest, dropping ingenious lyrics over Blade Runner beats. The album features a stellar line-up of guest MCs as High Priest of a newly reunited Antipop Consortium, Busdriver, Subtitle, Scribble Jam winner Nocando, Vyle, and Mestizo all drop in. Thavius Beck even leaves the producer's desk and steps in front of the mic for a track. For fans looking for an album that ties hip-hop's past, present and future, K-The-I???'s Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow delivers. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| K's back and kicking - stand clear - NME / Rewards as much as it refuses to compromise - The Wire / Another strong notch on the post of lyrically-progressive hip-hop - Hip-Hop Connection / Go cop this s**t; it's the future of hip-hop - Lost At Sea / Few rappers think to use words like "polyocular"; fewer manage to make them funky. - Q / K-the-I??? has a bright future ahead. - XLR8R |
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| Travel is often an inspiration. From Kerouac to the Muppets, the road has provided a muse. Add to the proud tradition abstract leaning K-The-I??? and his latest record Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. While not a straight travelogue, the inspiration behind the record focuses on K-The-I???’s move from Cambridge, Mass. to L.A. But instead of doing a traditional take on East Coast vs. West Cast vs. Dirty South beats, Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow occupies a place where industrial-edged beats sit next to leftfield club bangers. Credit for the sonic twists and turns lies firmly with producer Thavius Beck, who has worked with similarly experimental Saul Williams and remixed Nine Inch Nails. His take is like a less claustrophobic El-P or a more straightforward Anti-Pop Consortium. But for all the futuristic touches on Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow there’s something almost throwback about the record. K-The-I??? has a lyrical style that’s as dense as a water-soaked fruitcake. In addition, he kicks that "super-scientific" style that was popular among the underground set in the late ‘90s and early ‘80s. And it’s echoed in the choice of guests—from Subtitle to High Priest from the recently reunited Anti-Pop Consortium. Yet the strength of K-The-I??? is how he sidesteps the cliches that could have made Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow a one-note record. With a voice that has echoes of Redman, a delivery that’s a mixture of Chuck D and spoken word, K-The-I??? engages the listener even when they have no clue what he’s talking about. Musically, Beck moves from the slinky guitar driven bounce of "Never Heard It Done Like This" (featuring High Priest) to the electro-glitch of the Busdriver feature "Sabbath Faster" and somehow makes it sound unified. While Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow may not appeal to hip-hop fans that are looking for the latest jeep beats, for those to go off the beaten path, K-The-I??? is the travel agent. - The Agit Reader |
