| The So-Called Artists are originally from Maine, but since the lobster state isn't exactly known for its killer hip-hop scene, the trio relocated to San Francisco and has been flourishing. These guys are right at home on Mush, which has been mapping out the heavier corners of the way-out hip-hop galaxy recently (check out the cLOUDDEAD record for some truly psychedelic hip-hop). A layer of murk on the production adds vibe here, as this worldly crew: Sole, Alias and DJ Mayonnaise - searches endlessly for meaning, or something. Hey, we're all baffled about life; just so long as you keep searching for that, you know, something. Anyway, the So-Called Artists ramble on at times (the lyric sheet is crammed with words), but it flows rather than piles up, with the trio giving themselves enough time to stretch out with their verbiage. "Someone is Watching" actually a near-instrumental, is dope as fuck, moving like a hipster jazz track - a bass rumble and a jumpy drum beat - with a paranoiac atmosphere and the occasional key word dropped here or there. This is hip-hop whose sound can't be pinned to one coast or another (or anywhere for that matter), and while purists might argue against even being called hip-hop, it is: beats, rhymes, and rhythms, made by real heads. And the So-Called Artists are just the tip of the iceberg; there ain't no "next shit." It's now shit, and it's happening all over. - Your Flesh |
2XLP/Out Of Print