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MH-214 AWOL One & Daddy Kev - Slanguage  AWOL One and Daddy Kev are back together to follow up the underground hits, Souldoubt and Number 3 On The Phone with Slanguage: hip-hop's take on free jazz. Daddy Kev has crafted a fifty-minute soundscape using minor-keyed pianos, brushed drums, stand-up bass, and jazz guitars over methodically programmed beats and the virtuoso turntable manipulation of D-Styles. AWOL One's lyrics are genius in their simplicity, yet hide double meanings and depth, and his voice remains one of the most recognizable in the business. Movements interweave without constraint, tracks start, stop, then start again, and the line between full vocal track, instrumental, and interlude is blurred beyond recognition. |
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| Reviews Summary |
| Chock full of slang language that rivals the hip-hop norm, Slanguage puts avant-garde on its ass - Ghetto Blaster / AWOL One and Daddy Kev manage to always stay ahead of you as they lead you into fresh territory - Pop Matters / Beat heads will go bonkers - Synthesis / Release of the Month. 5/5 - Muzik |
| Reviews | |
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| During one of my more pretentious moments (and they are many), I once compared the current state of hip-hop with post-WWII jazz: when the big band furor was way too popular and formulaic for many of jazz's more talented musicians and they'd reacted with the more challenging be-bop. Today, with hip-pop being depressingly predictable, there are many underground/neo-soul hip-hoppers who are trying to reinvigorate the form: today's equivalent to the be-boppers. But, for the folks at Mush, it seems that they have cheated and have skipped bop and hard bop and have gone straight to free jazz. From Count Basie to Ornette Coleman. With artists like Busdriver and Radioinactive, Reaching Quiet and now Awol One and Daddy Kev, this Dirty Loop subsidiary is really putting in serious effort to expand the boundaries of hip-hop. And, just like their free-jazz progenitors, you definitely have to be in the right frame of mind for Slanguage and a lot of other Mush releases. Awol and Daddy Kev refuse to let you sit back and head nod, and you definitely can't cruise down the street and let the Bose vibrate. This is intellectuals' hip-hop with a sly sense of humor (so much so, it's sometimes hard to figure out if these fellas take themselves seriously). Yes, you have elements of boomin' bass throughout, but you'll struggle your way through a lot of other stuff to get to it. For those resistant to change or fans of bubble-gum gangsta (c)rap and pseudo-Southern bounce, Slanguage is definitely not for you, and I highly discourage you from throwing this on at a party; unless it's time for folks to go. However, those who enjoy adventure, who love having their horizons expanded (without the ear-splitting screeches of Albert Ayler), I highly recommend these two. It's not quite Derrida, but it is incredibly challenging stuff that is definitely worth the endeavor. - Ink 19 |
2XLP/Out Of Print