The manner in which I came across Lupe’s work did not hold enormous promise – his track ‘The Instrumental’ stood out among many on Madden’s 2007 soundtrack - that’s an American Football computer game before you ask... Furthermore, 2007 was not a vintage year for urban music releases.
So it was with trepidation that I purchased his second LP, 2008’s ‘The Cool’. Any thoughts that this would be a posturing, all about the bling hip-hop album were quickly dispersed in the first minute. The intro, ‘Baby Says Cool For Thought ’ contains mentions to Katrina (9 seconds in), Virginia Tech (15 seconds), and Police violence (34 seconds). Turns out ‘The Cool’ is actually all about the substance.
Standout tracks such as ‘Superstar’ is reminiscent of Kanye West’s best outings, Gold Watch contains beats worthy of DJ Format, and the chorus of ‘Streets on Fire’ is familiar to anyone who familiar to Ian Brown’s work with UNKLE. ‘Little Weapon’ has such a raucous beat you can’t help put nod your head.
I was excited to see this album even featured an UNKLE collaboration, and its testament to how good this album this is that that track (Hello/Goodbye) can disappoint and I’m still writing this review. Plus any album featuring un-intentional references to Inspector Gadget (Go Go Gadget Flow) are always a listen.
29.1.08
Armin Van Buuren – A State of Trance Yearmix 2007 - B000XBYUCK
It is with great hesitancy that I decided to write this with Real Reviews in mind – after all, anything music that lifts me on a long run is not normally found on this page. That’s certainly not a criticism of this page, more a recognition that the words ‘dance’, let alone ‘trance’ are particularly absent. In the end, I narrowed it down to writing about this or ‘Kind of Blue’ by Miles David – and came to the conclusion the majority of readers on this page are already pretty familiar with the latter’s work.
Armin Van Buuren, for the trance novices out there, is a DJ whose weekly mixes grace the airwaves during the ‘A State of Trance’ podcast. The Yearmix is a two-hour long continuous mix of 2007’s best trance releases (all 85 of them). Rather than just merging the end of one track into the beginning of the next, acapellas, beats and rhythms are expertly re-jigged.
This is an album I’ve found myself listening to in a variety of situations, and I’ve found it uplifting on every occasion - stuck on the tube or the train (having moved to London this is often the case), on my daily runs up and down the side of the Thames, or through one headphone while at work.
Furthermore, like all good yearmixes should, it reminds me of the 365 days I’ve been lucky enough to experience - flying to and travelling around three continents, my daily runs up and down one of the most beautiful beaches you can imagine, or through one headphone while I’ve shared my iPod with countless friends.
Armin Van Buuren, for the trance novices out there, is a DJ whose weekly mixes grace the airwaves during the ‘A State of Trance’ podcast. The Yearmix is a two-hour long continuous mix of 2007’s best trance releases (all 85 of them). Rather than just merging the end of one track into the beginning of the next, acapellas, beats and rhythms are expertly re-jigged.
This is an album I’ve found myself listening to in a variety of situations, and I’ve found it uplifting on every occasion - stuck on the tube or the train (having moved to London this is often the case), on my daily runs up and down the side of the Thames, or through one headphone while at work.
Furthermore, like all good yearmixes should, it reminds me of the 365 days I’ve been lucky enough to experience - flying to and travelling around three continents, my daily runs up and down one of the most beautiful beaches you can imagine, or through one headphone while I’ve shared my iPod with countless friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)