Grayskul - Zenith Premiere!

JFK is one of my favorite rappers - I talk about him very frequently here. JFK got his starts with Grayskul. As a whole, I think Grayskul has actually released at least half a dozen albums - most of them released independently through JFK and his partner Onry Ozzborn's own pockets, if I'm not mistaken. Deadlivers and Bloody Radio were the only ones released through a major label.

There hasn't been any release of any kind from Grayskul since 2007, when they put out Facefeeder and then Bloody Radio. JFK's done Th3rdz and his solo thing and so has Onry. Six years is a long time, however, and I have definitely missed the duo. "Zenith," the title track, definitely seems worth the wait. The production is much better than their previous two albums - it really sounds like they are going for the epic sound that they've been capable of. Congratulations to Onry and Jeff for their work - I can't wait to hear more.
 

Review Trifecta Part Three: Europa Report

Switching up with the final part of the Review Trifecta. The final installment is a film instead of a record. If you plan on watching this movie, beware of spoilers. I didn't really know how to review this movie without dropping a few. Sorry.

It's the big question - Are we alone?

This question gets asked directly in the movie Europa Report, which I saw over the weekend. I'm not currently rolling in the money but I did dish out $7 to see it online through Google Play. I was so impressed by the movie that I rewatched it several times - until I had worn out the rental limits. I hope to own the movie when it is released on DVD - it's that good.

The plot surrounds a privately funded mission (it's subtlely said that NASA and other state run space programs had really dropped the ball on exploration) to the moon of Europa, a moon of the massive gas planet Jupiter that is suspected to be carrying a large ocean. Usually, wherever we find water, we find life and finding life elsewhere in the universe could help dull down alot of our species' anxiety about our strange, lonely place in the cosmos.

The actors in Europa Report aren't well known but their performance is so genuine. When a readout shows that simple algae is on the surface of Europa, one of the astronauts looks almost stunned with himself as he says, "We did it." Camera shots of the ocean below Europa's icey crust look just like any large body of water we're used to here. 

Finally, at the end (I did warn about spoilers) the astronauts really come in to contact with the life that inhabits Europa. As the ship, which may be advanced but not really quite equipped for a trip so far, begins to collapse in to Europa's massive oceans - the life that inhabits this moon shows itself.

It makes a whole lot of sense - Earth has a few locales of life that lives without direct exposure to the sun, at the very bottom of the ocean. The writers seem to suggest that the massive planet of Jupiter provides a great deal of heat for this moon. The emotional impact is very high - the woman in charge of the Europa One operation tears up as she expresses that the crew on the ship, who lost several members in the process, made the most impactful discovery in human history and by simply discovering the equivalent of marine life and algae elsewhere in the solar system, changed the game in which human beings think about themselves in the universe.

There are a couple flaws - Europa apparently has perfect gravity, which isn't really explained or explored. Also, as they pass the moon, the narrator illustrates that going past the moon is the farthest any human being has ever gone in the solar system. Even if a private independent company did this, it doesn't seem likely that anyone would ever opt for putting a man or woman all the way on Europa before ever exploring our nearest neighbor.

Likewise, after watching, I couldn't help but think how much more impactful this would have been as a miniseries or TV show on PBS or somewhere similar. It ends abruptly and one just has to imagine how average people on earth must have responded.

Discoveries like what occurs in this hypothetical movie would turn the world upside down. I've followed the topic alot - many creationist websites argue that the lack of any evidence of life off of earth validates that God created this earth for man. One has to wonder why God would create an empty galaxy alongside but that may be beside the point. Such a discovery would make the universe more comprehensible and change the sense we have of our own existence.

Science fiction isn't an easy genre - if one just wanted to make a successful film, a crime drama or romantic comedy would be easier. It's easy for science fiction to seem goofy and to lack real emotional impact. Director Sebastian Cordero broke that trend - Europa Report is realistic, terrifying and moving. No easy task.

Review Trifecta Part Two: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

I'm not sure what pushed me to get Daft Punk's new album - . I love some of the songs from their album Discovery but I'm not a huge fan. Piracy or online buying is more common than owning a hard copy of an album - it was certainly out of the ordinary to buy a physical copy of Random Access Memories.

Whatever it was, I'm glad I did. The centerpiece of the album by far is "Georgio By Moroder." Words can't quite express how amazing this song really is.

If you don't know, Georgio Moroder is a musician who helped to produce the music for films such as Scarface. His work on Scarface is his best - the theme works on its own as one of the first great electronic themes and is completely listenable even when not watching the film itself.

There is an effect where Moroder layers the main synthesizer loop in the Scarface theme with a couple keyboard notes and Daft Punk appears to mimick this on "Georgio By Moroder." That's followed by a live bass and drum solo and then a keyboard solo and then more drums. Then all the instruments come together in a symphony led by a guitar solo. The song is layered with Moroder telling his life story and clocks in at literally nine minutes! It's pretty incredible - it's the work of a serious rock band and not just an electronic duo.



If that's not striking enough, Pharrell Williams (yes, Pharrell of the Neptunes) springs up on this album on two songs - "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself To Dance." "Get Lucky" is the first single and you're sure to hear it blaring out of car radios or bumping at clubs and parties. Pharrell's lyrics are mature and advanced - he is a much stronger singer now than he was when he was part of the Neptunes. I liked "Get Lucky" more than "Lose Yourself To Dance" but I do appreciate the latter - it's amazing how Daft Punk, which became famous with mindless dance songs like "Around The World," are now able to synergize and create serious pop music.

DJax - The Cloud 9 Tape

I've shared the work of my friend Dominic several times before - well, here it is again. Dominic is offering The Cloud 9 Tape through bandcamp.com for any suggesting price - that means whatever you personally see fit. Pretty good deal.

 

June G. - Young God

I posted alot of June G. when I started this project about two years ago. He is still doing it. Support him.

 

More Kenan Bell!

Kenan Bell is a genius. A big, integral part of hip-hop is using music that has often gone before as a canvass for one's own poetry. Kenan understands this very well - better than most - and has often used music that is definitely not typically affiliated with rap and hip-hop. The backdrop for this song was Moondog's 1969 song "Stamping Ground." And yes, this song was used in The Big Lebowski.



 Just for fun, here is the original song he used:

 

Great stuff, Kenan. It's great to have you as a friend.

Review Trifecta Part One: Th3rdz - This, That & Th3rdz

Over the last few months, as I've become involved again in the NW hip-hop scene, I've acquired some new music. I figured it would be a good idea to share my ideas and thoughts about the music I've acquired in some short reviews.

I know the guys in Th3rdz, at least two of them, casually. I've listened to all three since they came out. JFK I have interviewed a handful of times. I do know their music history and that is what makes this project so interesting. The last collaboration between Candidt and JFK was "Paranoid," where Candidt helped on a chorus "I'm so sick having issues, boy, paranoid," and "I think they fucking with me, boy, cause I'm paranoid." The video had JFK banging his head against the wall and screaming at a lightbulb. Meanwhile, JFK worked with Xperience, the third part of Th3rdz, on an entire album called Facefeeder with his Grayskul teammate Onry Ozzborn.

All the work these guys have done with one another is on the rough side - not gangsta rap but most certainly some form of horrorcore - the hip-hop equivalent of heavy metal. JFK, the most seasoned rapper in Th3rdz, has definitely been somewhere in the horrorcore realm for most of his rap career.

Th3rdz isn't any of that. Once all three of them are together, JFK, Candidt and Th3rdz have all teamed together to make one of the most pop-friendly hip-hop records from the Northwest aside from Macklemore. With a clean hook of "This is your favorite song" and a clean hook by Candidt, "Favorite Song" is obviously and effort at radio/MTV stardom.

Meanwhile, none of the rest of the songs are rough in any way either. "Hustle Harder" and "Work" send a pretty positive message toward young people of moving forward while not letting others game them. "Boobiewho" and "Be Yourself" are smile inducing tracks about sex and relationships that show more courtship than the frustration that JFK's solo album Building Wings On The Way Down exemplified. The guest list is pretty small too - reduced to only local superstars like Sonny Bonoho, Sleep of Oldominion and Geologic of Blue Scholars.

Everyone in Th3rdz is Oldominion fam - a super network of rappers that encompass twenty plus artists in the Seattle and Portland areas. It would be really amazing to see an Oldominion effort take off in even a quarter of the way Macklemore did. Th3rdz is certainly a step in that direction.