Bands like BLK JKS (pronounced Black Jacks) are intriguing right from the get-go. Why? Their back story, of course. The quartet formed nine years ago in Johannesburg, South Africa. And for seven years they rocked the hell out of every festival, club, and bar in their country. Then, in 2008, a trip to the United States on an invite to the SXSW Festival began opening doors on this side of the Atlantic. And months later, in the cold winter months of this year, they began crafting their debut LP in Bloomington, Indiana. It might seem random, but it was relatively close to their label’s headquarters. With such a drastic change in scenery – and not to mention temperature – you might expect some of their fiery passion to be slightly cooled. Not a chance. These four progressive/punk/funk rockers churned out a border-less album, After Robots, likely to please even the more apprehensive hip-hop head looking to foray outside his or her favorite genre.

And they’re off! BLK JKS don’t wait around to dazzle listeners like some groups do with their first track. Opener “Molalatladi” is a blazing mixture of funk and punk, two genres that usually tend to be greatly separated. And in the chance they do come together, the end result can be extremely corny. “Molalatladi” is anything but corny. It’s like Afro-beat thrown into a punk rock blender. As for frontman Lindani Buthelezi’s vocals, they are usually about as straightforward as you can get. He doesn’t reach for notes he cannot hit, but he’s not some monotonous frontman without any edge. And he proves just that on the epic ballad “Standby”, a soothing break from the insanity that gets a little wild toward the middle.

Like on those two cuts, the quartet tends to knock it out of the park musically when it finds a way of matching an accessible sound with experimental tendencies. A fine example of this is “Banna Ba Modimo”, an uptempo track with some crazy chord progressions. The verses may not be intriguing, but they build into some gorgeous bridges and a huge crescendo that is executed beautifully. Standing on similar ground is “Lakeside”. It’s instantly gripping thanks to the fantastic drumming and melodic guitar. And while it has its moments where you’re not sure where the band is headed, most of the track is BLK JKS at their best. Also, the soaring conclusion, which is filled with a killer guitar solo and vocals, makes “Lakeside” especially worthwhile. Other standouts in this style are “Taxidermy”, which is full of staggering guitar work, and “Skeleton”, a fiery blending of reggae riddims and Afro-beat that jumps into straight-ahead rock.

As referred to, the inherent flaw that runs rampant on albums of this nature resides in the fact that progressive rock is inaccessible for many listeners. Two very frustrating cuts are “Cursor” and “Tselane”, if for no other reason than they are initially pleasant before dragging on way too long. To be precise, that goes for even some of the record’s finest moments. Also, give a less seasoned prog-head a track like “Kwa Nqingetje” and watch ‘em squirm. While some might argue that such a reaction isn’t an issue, they would by lying through their teeth. Prog-infused music like BLK JKS’s can be more polished, less dense, and not as daunting. And these four talented musicians from South Africa have it in them to do just that. But that will have to wait until next time.

Download: BLK JKS – “Molalatladi”

The question  is whether the title means IV like the roman numeral 4? Or I.V. like intravenous?

This thing starts with a couple high profile cameos. Every track holds the promise of something new and exciting. The Mos Def track “Magentic Arts” was one that seemed like a sure shot from the giddy-up with a smooth horn sample jacked up by a wailer of a vocal chop. But then Mos brings about 4 ½ – 5 bars of a verse before wandering through a forest of filler and shout outs, stumbling into silence and letting the ample beat ride out.

[Is it unfair to criticize a DJ’s album for the work of a featured MC?]

The Kool G Rap track is creatively titled “KGR and Honda”, but don’t be fooled, it’s like a 21st remake of “Ill Street Blues”. No lie. Probably the hardest G Rap verse I’ve heard in a few years.

[I might be impressed by the rest of this album.]

The EPMD track is a straight up banger, and Parrish drops a nice little feature over a beat that’ll make you chuckle if you turn it up loud. The Group Home track gets a little bit of shrug, mostly because the beat has the feel of obligatory serious, marching drum snare track in the vain of that Eminem song where he responded to, and verbally bitch slapped, Benzino a few years back.

Guess who features on the song “The Incredible”? Can you guess? Try really hard. That’s right. Fred Durst. Didn’t you wonder why you hadn’t heard him on anything lately? No? Really? Oh man. This song is awful. It’s offensive at best.

[Should’ve stayed in the Grotto, Fred. You already get to chill in the Playboy Mansion, don’t sweat the music stuff anymore. Just chill, or party, or whatever it is you’ve been doing for the last several years that wasn’t recording shit like this.]

“That Knock” featuring Problemz is a designer impostor for something of Jay-Z’s circa ’96-98. Just because their similar, doesn’t mean that more expensive one isn’t better, because you know what it cost you, hence making it inherently more valuable. In this case, it’s not hard to tell Problemz has studied the book of HOV, but just doesn’t have the smoothness or the delivery of the man in his prime. Plus, the beat sounds a little polyester. Synthetic. Itchy. Likely to stick to your skin on a hot day.

Some of the production sounds like it was made from a “Hip Hop Loops Pack” and then assembled into interestingly arranged, but overall, occasionally unspectacular or flat.

[I was wrong earlier when I thought there was potential for me to like the rest of the album.]

There are a spattering a nice cuts on this album. Might be 50/50 songs-wise. Might be a little worse.  Nothing except the Fred Durst track is outright offensive, the unexceptional tracks are just that though: Unexceptional.

IV might stand for intravenous, because parts of this album are in need of life support and a medicinal drip.

Let’s begin by stating that there is nothing wrong with this album. Okay maybe there are a few minor slips here and there, but nothing is flagrant, and certainly no track can be labeled as filler. Needless to say, Audible Mainframe has put together a great sophomore LP, Transients, filled with fun, danceable grooves. Audible Mainframe is a hip-hop group that uses live instrumentation and alternative rock to propel its music forward. They were based in Boston, but have since relocated to California, a move made evident on the opening track, “Money & Flash”, which incorporates a small sample from Notorious B.I.G.’s “Going Back To Cali”.

Transients is an interesting album, as MC Exposition turns out rhymes with an extreme awareness of the world around him – political, social, and emotional – all while working with a central theme of transitions; he focuses on describing how we’ve gotten from one place to another, to where we are now. For example, “Ice Cold”, the album’s marvelous centerpiece, focuses on our downfall into economic turmoil, and the methods various people use to cope with such circumstances. “Poison Ivy” traces a love story turned sour by a femme fatale of sorts, showing off MC Expo’s ability to narrate lighter anecdotes.

However, the album may best be embodied by the track “Subi Alto (Climb High)” an inspirational piece meant to trigger uplifting emotions. After all, Transients not only depicts how we’ve gotten into the various binds of the present, but it also presents optimism for the future.

From a production standpoint, the music matches the optimistic vibe of the album quite nicely. The tracks are fun, and as with an actual live hip-hop show, they feel free enough to roam anywhere. Some tracks rest on finely tuned guitar loops, others bust out more power and zeal, embodying many aspects of alternative rock, jazz, and ska. The hooks here are also highly entertaining and don’t skimp on intelligence. Certain tracks even make use of breezy ambient music, for added lightness.

So what is holding this album back? Despite being consistently good throughout, there are no standout moments that would make people immediately rewind and replay. It would be nice to hold Audible Mainframe to the standards they set with “The Clout pt.2” from their debut album, Framework. And ultimately, that lack of jaw-droppers is what may cost this album replay value. Anyone who is a fan of fusion records, especially with live instrumentation should give this a listen and allow MC Expo and Audible Mainframe to delight your ears, if only for one full spin.

You may have heard Really Doe lace the hook on Kanye West’s “We Major” or the bars he laid on Consequence’s “Disperse”, featuring his best friend Gangsta L Crisis (GLC). But, Really Doe has been making moves ever since the mid 90’s. The “Go Getters” was a rap group formed by West and fellow Chicago natives, Doe and GLC in 1996. The group even found success and spawned a single “Oh Oh Oh” which got major airplay in Chicago’s South Side. After the trio disbanded, West took Doe under his wing and signed the Chicago emcee to his Record Label, G.O.O.D. Music in ‘05. Finally, in 2009, Really Doe inked a deal with Cartel Records – headed by producer Griffin Guess. Guess has worked with some great artists in the industry such as Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Andre 3000, and Eminem. With no mixtape hype, no release delays, no viral marketing, just plain old word-of-mouth buzz as a name associated to Yeezy, Really Doe steps into the spotlight with his Cartel Records debut release First Impressions.

The debut album opens up with the tenacious “Sew It Up”. The soulful track is an ode to Doe’s personal street struggles and being humble through the distractions of stardom. Next up is the symphonic, piano driven “RPS”. The track is also deals with modesty as the hook suggests: “Paper, Scissors, Rocks, we solid (x2)/First get the paper, then you cut the fake niggas/Everybody eating now we all grow bigger.” The album did generate its second single (first single being “Plastic”), “Mesmerized”, which is featured and produced by Danny Klein. It is easy to compare the single to Lupe Fiasco’s “Superstar” but the mellow track highlights Danny Klein’s impressive production and shows its Doe’s slow tempo flow is where he shines brightest. The upbeat, jazz-fused “Marvelous” produced by Jaye Jeffers’ allows Doe’s slow flow to shine yet again on the clichéd love song.

At moments during First Impressions, it seems as though the up-and-coming emcee is trying to find a happy medium from radio friendly to emotionally compelling. He ultimately finds comfortable skin somewhere in the middle. Another example of Doe living in that middle ground is the Paul Davis-sampled “They Say”. The redemptive love song is surely one of the high points of the solo LP. A majority of the album’s climax has to deal with Doe spitting about love.

The debut album does possess a few downturns. Doe’s punchy flow hurt tracks such as the consequent “Roll Out”. In “Roll Out” Really Doe finds himself chasing the hypnotic keyboard synth bounce and later spots out an ill-advised delivery. The vexatious “Million Dolla” and “Checkin’ In” we hear Doe’s attempt at describing an alluring lifestyle while rhyming asinine lyrics in the process. From here forward, it’s clear that Doe’s first solo effort lost the strong direction it started with. In turn, the listener may feel inclined to lose interest in another affiliate of the Kanye West Camp. In the closing moments of the album, Really Doe calls on Go Getters alumnus, Mr. West, on the album’s first single, the credit card carnival “Plastic”. The Grammy award winner is a sonic relief and eventual savior of the subpar track. The record First Impressions loses steam late as the first half tracks are the upper echelon of the record, collectively. Doe’s album is best at fragments but as an actual whole the 29-year-old emcee left much to be desired.

Orlando, Florida-based quartet Solillaquists of Sound has constructed a sophomore LP that employs styles that aren’t easily definable. While Hip Hop remains at the group’s core, many blends of musical textures intersect with their base sound. The production from talented producer DiViNCi is largely electronic and seemingly devoid of any sampling. The main MC of the group, Swamburger, is in possession of a busy (and perhaps unconventional) flow. Rounding out the group is vocalist, Alexandrah. Their new LP, No More Heroes, is an enjoyable and diverse piece of work that gets better with each listen.

The album gets off to a great start with “Marvel”, a kinetic romp that displays everything great about the group. Swamburger’s verse is strong and Alexandrah’s vocals are nothing short of beautiful; the production is equally as stellar. Next is “Harriet Tubman Part 2”, and again the production from DiViNCi soars again. Strong vocals from Alexandrah begin the comparably understated track and gels when Swamburger adds his verse. “New Sheriff In Town” is an early highlight. The rock-influenced track is a good compliment to Swamburger’s rhymes – and he is in near perfect form with his bold performance; The female vocalists’ contributions are as excellent as the preceding tracks. “Gotham City Chase Scene”, with its sinister and urgent pacing, soars as an early highlight. Again, Swamburger’s rhymes fit exactly with the production – offering just enough contrast between he and the busy backing track. The vocalists, again, enhance the track and there is some fantastic turntablism present toward the end of the song.

“Look”, another early highlight, offers another great melding of all the group’s strengths. From the production, to the singing and the rhymes, it becomes clear that Solillaquists of Sound have something special here. However, while the group strives to be against formulaic conforms, towards the middle of the LP the songs tend have a sameness to them – save for “The Curse”. With nothing but vocals from Alexandrah and sparse production, this beautiful piece of work is a standout. As the LP nears its end, the last two tracks perfectly sum up the aim of the group. “Bulletproof” is another showcase of production wizardry and outstanding vocal performances from all involved; Swamburger’s poignant verses are easily absorbed and resonate long after the song is done. It may very well be the LP’s best work. The closing title track is a spoken word piece from Tonya Combs and its message seems to embody what the group’s aims are musically. Solillaquists of Sound have made one of the year’s best LPs and there should be little surprise if this album ends up on many of the year-end lists for the best Hip Hop albums of 2009.

Personal taste and expectations are two angles critics have to work through when fairly reviewing an album. The task can become more difficult when the artist being analyzed is up and coming. Their image and initial sounds can misguide a listener from an artist’s creative objectives. Che Grand’s Everything’s Good Ugly fits perfectly into this scenario: an emerging New York emcee, (by way of Virginia and London), who’s known to post on OkayPlayer’s message boards, and who has dropped a couple of free mixtapes. If one judged by the title and cover art, they’d think a raw, boom-bap, no bullshit rap album was ready to grace their ears. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Everything’s Good Ugly sounds as polished and triumphant as most mainstream rap albums, has its fair share of woman/relationship tracks, and expresses a joy for the simple things in life. Everything’s Good Ugly is more a reference to preserving through the ugly circumstances life hands you, while you aspire for the finer things.

The album open’s fairly strong with tracks like “Bless’d”, “Gift Wrap” and “Walking Under Ladders” featuring Elucid and Spec Boogie. “Gift Wrap”, produced by fellow up-’n'-comer Brian Brizzo, is full of blaring horn and trumpet samples rattling against rolling drums and crashing cymbals, as Che delivers an effortless flow and witty couplets. “Walking Under Ladders” is a beastly cut courtesy of underground heat maker Illmind, show-casing all three emcees’ gift for mic control. In a nice surprise Wale Oyejide pops in to produce the gutter, but joyous “Celebrate We”. It’s very much akin to a torso grabbing electro clash hip hop take on Afro-Beat. Another stand out is “Large Hadron Collider”, where we find Che Grand addressing a myriad of topics while incorporating Talib’s intro to “African Dream” as the hook.

Here is where one is reminded that those “type” of songs are just one-third of the album. Che and his team of producers have “radio friendly” songs like “Too Much Too Soon”, “I Know You Still Want Me”, and “Life’s Grand”; full of R&B hooks and testimonials to experiences with the opposite sex and life’s obstacles. The club is also locked down with tracks like the enjoyable “Swing”, the annoying “City on Fire” and the bland “Restart”. And while Che sounds comfortable on the various sound palettes, the results are a bit schizophrenic.

To be fair, Everything’s Good Ugly is a strong album that suffers not from production or emceeing, but from length and the desire to please too many types of listeners. In a moment where the album as art form and viable commodity is in a state of turmoil, an 18-song debut with 10 different producers can be a bit exhausting. Trim the fat, give us 10-14 darts that express who you are and where you are coming from, but more importantly, pick two to four producers to help maintain a unified sound. All in all, it’s good to hear Che Grand with others like Elucid, Fresh Daily, P. Casso (who now goes by P.so) and Homeboy Sandman give New York rap a breathe of fresh air, and uproot it from its obsessive hold to that boom-bap aesthetic, or selling itself short to the more popular musical stylings of the time.

Crown City Rockers have definitely evolved a ton since their debut album as the group Mission. When the track “Disturbing Behavior” came through the airwaves, we felt we had someone who was finally confronting the keeping it real aspects of mainstream hip-hop. Since their evolution into Crown City Rockers, Rashaan Ahmed and crew have taken it to a live band aspect and have given us enjoyable releases since. However on this new effort the Kiss EP, surely it’s a similar route by going a little more on the electro-funk side, however this six-song EP (three of which are instrumentals) operates more like a vinyl A/B side than it does a proper EP.

It’s not that the songs are not dope. “Kiss” operates with a fun yet romantic tone, and the chorus is what makes it all the more catchy. However, it is the remix of the song “Break”, which operates with a stuttering drum break reminiscent of old school breakbeats while Rashaan raps with intensity and structure that makes it a thrill ride. Meanwhile “Clap Your Hands”, the only other lone new track on this effort, is a nice zone-out crowd rocker, where Rashaan acts as the crowd-controller. It’s definitely a song you can see working well in a live setting.

Again, as said before, it is not that this particular effort is bad, its the effort that it is masked as an EP. While the Kiss EP operates well, it leaves the listener yearning to hear more. But at the same it would have been nice to hear three more new jams that sparked with the same intensity and fun as the Kiss EP does. It’s a nice snack, but a full meal would be just as pleasurable.

Download: Jermiside & Danny Diggs – “Maintainin” ft. SoulStice

I totally missed the boat on this one, but I wanted to get this out to you regardless. “Pure Grind” is the first official single from J.J. Brown’s upcoming solo LP, Connect The Dots, which features one of my favorite emcees, Reef The Lost Cauze. A truly epic production that features some sweet samples and throwback scratches. Check out the track, peep the promotional video and share with us your thoughts…

Download: J.J. Brown – “Pure Grind” ft. Reef The Lost Cauze

Download: Fashawn & The Alchemist – The Antidote

Hit the skip for tracklisting…

Tracklisting:
01. Intro
02. Shall Come A New Name
03. Fash Plays It Cool
04. The Antidote
05. Gone In 60 Seconds
06. Rap Seduction
07. Whats Your World
08. From The Creation f. The Alchemist, Roc C & OHNO
09. FYT
10. Lost In New York
11. Got It Sewn