| cLOUDDEAD is not your typical independent hip-hop music. I am not even sure I would call it hip-hop, but because it contains all the necessary (and unnecessary) elements of hip-hop, that is what it is. Oh yeah, and it's flipping brilliant. Consisting of Anticon collective members: Doseone, why? and odd nosdam, cLOUDDEAD took me on a fifty-seven minute head-trip. The title of the record is Ten. It has ten tracks. I would not presume to make even the slightest attempt at discovering the meaning, if one exists, behind the name. It just isn't my place. One listen to the album will have you asking yourself where the hell I found it. It's not a very complicated answer that I have for you. I began listening to Doseone for unknown reasons my freshman year in college. His nasal vocal tone and uncommon delivery converted me into an instant disciple. Toss in his off-the-wall, manic, socially-conscious lyrics and it's not hard to see why I own most of his catalogue. Hence, my purchase of the cLOUDDEAD disc is explained! Written, concocted, mixed, meshed and dreamed into existence over a two-year period ending in the spring of 2003, the appeal of the cLOUDDEAD transcends genres, possibly even dimensions... as long as you like hip-hop on some conscious or subconscious level. The whole CD was made in Oakland, be it some overpass near Fairmount, or on BART. While it was originally Doseone who drew me to the group, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the lyrical ability of why? and nosdam's production abilities. The musical variety of the tracks on this record should by itself be enough to keep listeners coming back for more. Toss in the lyrics and it's a done deal. "Pop Song" is the first track on the disc - the haunting vocals immediately bring the realization that we're not in Kansas anymore. Blend a drum machine with the kicks, snares and high-hats, along with a synthesizer and clever samples, and you've got one hell of a way to start off an album. "How can I be your lover / When you sport the head of a rubber? / Sucker / You can't take applause to bed with you." This verse, along with the rest of the track, pokes fun at popular music in a disturbing, yet satisfying way. Another standout on the album is the sobering "Son of a Gun." Criticizing guns, gun-manufacturers, television, the military and even an obscure sample with a reference to Vietnam, the song combines scathing lyrics with an urgent mixture of cacophonic samples and the ever-present drum machine. "The makers of guns will never go hungry / May their children always play murder weapons since stick." The song is an indictment, and a convincing one at that. The track switches to a military drum sample and a sing-song cadence mixed with up-beat keyboard riffs, while reciting the names of different historical figures such as Abe Lincoln, Gandhi, Malcolm X, MLK, JFK and John Lennon who "jumped the gun," or died violently, and finds cLOUDDEAD possibly blaming televised violence for their deaths. At first listen, this song might seem odd to most people, but with closer examination, it is revealed as a deeply emotional reflection on our society and the things it lets people get away with. Not to mention the powerful criticism that it was meant to be. Without a doubt, the beats on this album stand out just as much as the rhymes, and after one listen, you will not disagree in the least little bit. Ten takes us on a journey to another planet, while at the same time confronting the reality of our own lives in a most uncomfortable way. This record makes you want to be a better person. It might not affect you quite as much as it has me, but make no mistake, you will be affected in some way. Do yourself an enormous favor and go pick up this album. It's quality, experimental hip-hop music that makes the world a better place. There is so much crap on the radio and MTV. It's all the same. It's popcorn. It's trash. cLOUDDEAD is what hip-hop should become. It doesn't necessarily have to sound just like this, but the fact that this record was made from the heart, without much care for financial compensation and to combat the filth that Corporate America subjects us to every minute of every day, well, that is a definite step in the right direction. - Daily Barometer |
1XLP/Out Of Print