ye olde down south shit

i like ludacris. he was one of the original rappers to bring the 'dirty south' sound to the mainstream. fusing humourous rhymes with actual skill, his stuff is fun, energetic & witty, with little of the dumb-as-dogshit attitude of so many charting hiphop artists (i'm looking in your direction fiddy). and now luda has dropped his 5th album release release therapy - sure, gangsta posturing and aquiring the bling still make up a lot of the subject matter, but it's all executed with style and a great sense of humour. like most hiphop records it's not perfect but there are some right bangers at the start before all the slow jams and odes to g-funk start :) the second half never really regains the energy of the opening 6 tracks, rather, starting with a bang and slowly lulling the listener into a state of relaxation. very weird pacing but a solid record nonetheless.

something that lil' jon and many of his peers can't seem to grasp is that within commercial hiphop and all it's excess lies a hotbead of material ripe for clever satire; these guys are larger than life cartoon characters who lead dual existences that most of us can only dream of. haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to have an alter-ego to command the world's perceptions of you? worked for bowie, right? below are some of my favourites.

ludacris feat. kardinal offishall & pyrelli - no. 1 spotz (samples the austin powers theme!)
from dj semtex presents - crunk and grime mix-tape (2006)

ludacris feat. pharrell - money maker
from release therapy (2006)

ludacris - girls gone wild
from release therapy (2006)

in unrelated hilarity, this discussion about mylo's 'doctor pressure' single made me laugh my arse off. read the whole thing, sometimes internet discussion boards can be quite entertaining..

phalanxx recommends...

john dahlback - at the gun show (2006)
quite decent (semi) minimalist electro album. first heard of him when i dloaded his remix of cirez d's knockout - which i heard on a recent tom neville mixmag cd. warm analog synths and plenty of melody, something that is sorely lacking in alot of minimal techno.
part 1
part 2
password: iRis

modeselektor - hi mom! (2005)
another act i stumbled across through a remix (miss kittin's professional distortion) and i'm sure glad i did - this is some of the freshest, most inspired music i've heard in a while. covering a range of styles (techno, dub-step, electro, ambient, glitch) this record is engaging right the way through and doesn't really have any dud tracks.

knifehandchop - bling the noize (2003)
released in 2003 on kid606's tigerbeat label, this record is fun with a capital F. these guys plunder top40 hits from eminem, venga boys, destiny's child and countless others, creating breakcore and gabber style tracks that are actually easy on the ears and very danceable. tongues firmy in cheeks here.

ministry of shit: the 2003 anus (2003)
i may be a little biased (i'm on it) but i like this cd and still listen to it. another one with a sense of humour about it - MOS actually sent a cease and decist to spasticated records and got it pulled from sale. laughable. it's basically pop tracks mutilated and reformed into glitchy stompers and other weird shit. highlights include ac/3p's hilarious cover of ac/dc's tnt, and girltalk's fantastic drum & bass mash of about 10 different pop acts (including kelly osbourne, queen, & timberlake). you can dload the whole shebang for free from here.

kode9 & spaceape - memories of the future (2006)
crap title aside, this is really excellent dub-step. spaceape's vocals are low and just plain creepy, while the beats are first class - lots of bottom end and crisp percussion.
password: iRis