For many years, hip-hop has been stigmatized as nothing but sexually explicit lyrics and violent content. And if an artists was not down with this, you are a sell out to the industry. Will Smith, Puff Daddy and others have felt this attack. Now, while this label may be unfair, it's there and it's rare to find an artist that can succeed in the middle ground. Black Eyed Peas managed to find this middle ground. There is hardly any cursing if at all, and no lyrics that degrade women. Yet, the Black Eyed Peas latest CD, appropriately titled, Bridging the Gap, from Geffen Records, still succeeds in telling a story, presenting content with a message, while at the same time, not sounding like Backstreet Boys pop.
If I can compare this group to other hip-hop act, it would be The Fugees. Black Eyed Peas has that same type of sound and coincidentally, Wyclef plays some great guitar on the eleventh track. It is not as strong as the other material, but it is fast and shows the talent of this group with some smooth lyrics and tight words. It's the earlier songs on the LP that really pump this group up and lets you know what they are about.
Right from the first song, BEP Empire, listeners just get it. Funky beats and mellow rap. It doesn't have to be hardcore to hit you and this song sure does. But it just continues from there. This is the hip, hip, hip/ the hop, hop, hop/ we keep it, keep it, moving/ non, non stop.
They sure do. Almost every track is pumped with hot lyrics, phat beats and killer hooks. Women also keep the music moving and are heard on the tracks, Weekends (Esthero), Hot (Kim Hill), and Macy Gray in Request Line are just a few examples. No matter if they are just singing the hook, providing some background harmony, or are the feature player, songs just sound so much better with a woman's touch.
But these men can stand on their own with killer raps that infect your mind like a subliminal message. They have your head nodding whether you want it to or not. Yeah, you platinum/ but you wack as hell/ I dubbed over your single/ like a Maxell...Stop now/ get original/ just practice/ and master your flow.
The Black Eyed Peas can do it all from mellow to a fast paced, hard-edged sound. They talk about bringing rap back to its roots, partying, biting other rapper's style, and letting out your anger by screaming-instead of killing. This is the first hip-hop CD I thoroughly enjoyed that kept it real and didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth afterwards. I don't have to defend this CD to anyone (parents need not worry). Rap of old, gangsta rap, Lil Kim, Puff Daddy. They seem like worlds apart. Black Eyed Peas bridges the gap.
Atlanta has blown up in the hip-hop industry and one of the main reasons why the dirty south has made a name for itself is the Cash Money Crew. Still, while I have heard of most of their songs, I can't tell who's who in the group. There's Lil' Wayne, Big Tymers, and more. They all sound the same, their CD covers look the same and they represent the same clique. I only have so much money so I need to sort out the good from the bad and spend my money wisely. The new album Baller Blockin' features the whole Cash Money Millionaires group at their best. Now I finally can get to the bottom of this.
This CD starts off with a nonsensical introduction about what it is to be a Baller Blocker. It sucked, but then the CD picks up right away the title track. Why you blockin' us/ balla blackin us/you n***s can keep trying/ain't no stopping us. This song is funny, catchy and features a great hook and good music. Baby and Turk do a fine job on this CD, but Juvenile shows why if you buy one Cash Money Crew CD, it should be his. He continues this trend with the song, Rover Truck, Everyday you see a phat ass shootout/for a minute/It ain't the projects, It's the n***a that's up in it.
TThis is some classic Juvenile music, but it only gets better when Juvenile is joined by Lil' Wayne and the Big Tymers in the track Project Bitch. This song also pushes Lil' Wayne and the Big Tymers as must buy artists. The beat sounds like a march. It's really phat. I can't explain it in words, by everything with this song follows the old style beat, making this my favorite song on the CD. Give me a project bitch. Give me a hood rat chick/One that don't give a f**k/and says that she took that d**k. This is all done to the catchy beat that I just can't say enough about. I don't know why I love it so much, but I do. Must be the writing-Excellent.
However, the Big Tymers and Lil' Wayne fail later attempts, as do a lot of the other rappers on this CD. The biggest surprise on this CD is how bad Nas is compared to his other works. His guest appearance is not as earth shattering as it should be. He does well, but it failed my expectation. He doesn't help his partners, The Bravehearts, in the song at all.
An even bigger surprise is Unplugged. Who knew the Cash Money Millionaires could hold it down R & B style? On both Don't Cry and I Don't Know, features some wonderful harmony, and excellent words. I almost shed a tear. These guys will have a future in the industry.
One star that I though would be big in the industry, fails to end this CD off properly. Rappin' 4 Tay was great on the Dangerous Minds Soundtrack, and I was happy to see his name on Baller Blockin', I was disappointed to hear his song. Not a great way to end a pretty good CD. But I still recommend Baller Blockin' to anyone out there as I also do with any CD by Juvenile and Unplugged. BLING, BLING BABY!
What is BANDWIDTH about again? Oh, yeah, discovering new talent, enjoying new kinds of music, and letting our readers know what they are missing. Sounds of Mass or SMP definitely fits the category of new talent and they are certainly playing a new type of music. But are you our beloved readers mission anything at all by not listening to SMP? Hell YEAH!
I totally enjoyed this CD and I popped it into my Discman, and went through a heavy workout. This music is totally exhilarating! It reminds me of Gravity Kills, and the type of music on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. You have heard of the hybrid, rap-rock, but what about electro-punk-cyber-rappers? This is SMP.
SMP has just released their third CD entitled Terminal and it is definitely worth a listen to. The music itself has found its way on the MTV's Road Rules. We all know how bad MTV is at using non-mainstream music, so there must be something good about these guys for MTV to give them a try. The CD spans 17 songs, no longer than five minutes each. Titles include, Picutres of You, Mothkiller, Dirt, September, Necron 99, and Mutate. These titles alone should give you a taste of how eclectic this group is.
I can't describe the sound without using the word intense. There is something familiar about this group's sound. The voice has an echo of something I heard in the past and I once again must bring up Gravity Kills, as an example of what this group sounds like. I like Gravity Kills and enjoyed their songs on the Mortal Kombat and Seven soundtracks. Hence, the fact why I like this group as well and plan to continue listening while I work out.
Now, with all those compliments, there surely must be something I have found wrong with this CD. Well, there was one problem I had. I have to admit that many of the songs sound similar to one another. I mean this is one complaint I have about many songs that focus on screaming and hardcore music. Once you listen to the words and feel the music, only the voice sounds, the same, but the message is clearly different. You just have to open yourself up t SMP. Give it a try and I am sure you'll go back for more.
When I first opened the package from M'Lou Music and saw the CD cover I was expecting the CD to be a folk rock band, with plenty of mellow tunes. Instead I was greeted by some pop-rock sounds, reminiscent of the 1980s pop. The Masticators sound is a cross between Pat Benatar and the GoGos. It is great to see mature bands take on pop music, in this era of polarized love and hate for the genre.
The songs on this album are inspired by a variety influences including rock, punk, calypso (if you liked Blondie's The Tide is High check out track number 5 on Masticate "He's the One"). Pop fans young and old you have to own this album! The album has 13 tracks I liked six out of the 13 and to me that is a definite buy! And at only $13.98 US you cannot beat that price!
My only concern about this band is what I like most about it-their 80s sound. Sometimes the Masticator's music, sounds so 80s pop, it borders bubble gum, and not that bubble gum music like Debbie Gibson's Only in My Dreamsyou can still sing, but annoying bubble gum like Gibson's Electric Youth. The Masticator's Radio Police is bordering that corny sound.
So if you miss the rock/pop sound of the 80s then you have to check out the Masticators. You will not be sorry. Listen to their music at their Website NOW!
Sounds like a movie title, right? Well you are correct! The Boondock Saints' co-founder, Troy Duffy was writer and director of the Blockbuster direct-to-video movie, The Boondock Saints (starring William Dafoe, Billy Conelly, Sean Patrick Flannery, Norem Reedus, and David Della Rocco). This group personifies what I like to see-Baby Boomers aging without fear. The Boondock Saints are continuing to create the rock of their youth, and they can make it big if they continue on this track.
The songs on this CD brought me back to the 80s when my father would take me, my sister and cousins with him to Long Island to play Softball with his brothers. The Boondock Saint's sound is like that of late 70s-80s rock. It reminds me of Metallica, just not as hard. The Boondock Saints is definitely late Baby Boomer type rock. This is what I would expect to see on VH1 or on an adult contemporary station.
While I personally would not buy a CD like this, there are many that would. Again Baby Boomers of the later 50s and early 60s would definitely be into this kind of music. And I strongly encourage the band not to get caught up in the mass-market scene, because they rely too much on the fickleness of youth (like myself) to sell albums.
Hit the Baby Boomer market. Stations like 95.5 WPLJ here in New York are the types of stations you should be targeting for airplay. I do not know why there are no adult contemporary rock stations? There are many bands that still have managed to maintain that classic rock sound and deserve some airplay.