| Here is an idea: take two innovative and talented producers, form a group, produce an album loaded with beautiful, brooding beats swelling with live instrumentals, drum loops and stunning samples, recruit hip-hop legends to perform mind-jerking lyrics, and put out an album. Genius. This is precisely what producers Kingston and Young God have done, forming Blue Sky Black Death in 2005. After signing with Mush Records, the duo released their aptly named, debut double-LP A Heap of Broken Images in 2006. Disc one of Heap is a virtual resume for Blue Sky Black Death, bluntly demonstrating their production skill with an elegant blend of live instrumentals, electronic music and samples. These tracks are the rainy forests of the Pacific Northwest: dense, dark and lush. Performed with live guitar and bass, they are in harmony with the traditional beats that make underground hip-hop such a pleasure, but Kingston and Young God infuse nontraditional elements such as violin and cello that take these instrumentals to an utterly unique realm. From the disturbingly relaxing “Skies Open” to the damn near paranormal “Still Asleep,” Heap is consistently powerful, exuding an emotionally charged realism that infects the listener with chilly, brooding joy. With this album, the pair serves notice to underground emcees and music fans alike: they are truly masters of production. With disc two, the producers tone down their musical styling, allowing lyrical talent to take precedence. “This ain’t rhymes / it’s evil commands / from the demon you’ll see again when you’re asleep in the sands…” begins the violently serious Jus Allah on the second disc’s first track, “Engage My Words,” immediately setting the cold, smoky and soulful tone for an album that feeds off the brilliance of some of hip-hop’s most talented emcees: Guru, Awol One, Jus Allah, Mikah-9, Rob Sonic, Sabac Red, Wise Intelligent, Chief Kamachi, Pep Love, Chief Virtuoso, A-Plus and Holocaust. This group of talent shines on Heap, delivering intelligent, serious passionate lyrics. Each track on disc two features the eloquent flows of different artists, each with his own style. With this plethora of inimitable lyricists and revolutionary music production, A Heap of Broken Images is just that, a heap of broken images. It is a compilation of scattered but nonetheless engaging ideas and images; it is a musical road trip through the smoky, sweaty venues of the East Coast; it is a mix tape for emcees, hip-hop junkies and anyone else who appreciates thoughtful and artistic music; it is an exercise in diversity, yet these varied and distinct tracks are melded together by the consistent and compelling production work of Kingston and Young God to form a beautiful heap of an album. - Amp Camp |
2XLP/Out Of Print