by Twelve Reasons To Die II
Twelve Reasons To Die II Ghostface Killah and Adrian Younge (PBS feature record)
Following on from the 2013’s ‘Twelve Reasons To Die’, Ghostface Killah, original member of The Wu-Tang clan has once again teamed up with esteemed analogue producer Adrian Younge for Part Two of this narrative-led rap album series.
Adrian Younge’s first studio output was the score to the Blaxpoitation film “Black Dynamite” in 2009. He uses only analogue production gear and cuts everything to tape for all his albums. This gives his sound a classic, raw feel you can only truly get by using these methods. Building a narrative to a rap album might seem a strange concept to begin with, but once you hear Ghostface Killah’s raps over the top of Adrian Younge’s production, it comes together very naturally.
Part One’s tales of 1960s Italy move into 1970s New York for Part Two, with Ghostface Killah’s raps speaking of gangsters seeking revenge for killings with Younge’s analogue production really set the scene nicely here. The story is told in only 32 minutes, but Ghost packs many punches into this album, and demonstrates he still has some of the best flow in the rap game in 2015.
The door is also left open for a third instalment, which I definitely am looking forward to hearing. I would recommend listening to Part One before delving into this album, and soak up the narrative built by these two craftsmen.
While I generally enjoy my hip hop more reality based (e.g. Kendrick Lamar), it’s quite a nice change to delve into some fiction-based themes, so grab some popcorn and sit back and enjoy this most-excellent series.
To hear Mike Gurrieri’s interview with Adrian Younge discussing ‘Twelve Reasons To Die II” you can listen back here: http://pbsfm.org.au/node/46587
By Mike Gurrieri – Mystic Brew
Quarter Street Quarter Street (Featured on The Breakfast Spread)
For those who don't know a lot about latin music, this is a great place to start. Local band Quarter Street have delved into the sounds of 1970's New York latin sounds for this, their debut album. You can hear little tastes of Eddie Palmieri and Ray Baretto amongst others in this driving set. There is so much joy in this music, led by vocalist Sergio Botero and it really comes across on this wonderful album. Opening track Fantasia kicks it off in a fashion where all you feel like doing is dancing and that continues through all eight tunes on the album. For fans of latin music as well as beginners, Quarter Street is an album to check out.
Crispi.
By Crispi – The Breakfast Spread
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