Ripostes & Replays: November 2011

Riposte (ri-paw-st): A quick, clever reply.

It’s that time of the month again, people. I’m back with the third installment of Ripostes & Replays. Below, you’ll find my favorite mixtapes, EP’s, free downloads, and looked over releases of the past month. R&R touches on the heaters, the slept on, the overhyped, and the “you-must-knows” of each month. The column is here to let you know what’s worth checking out and what to avoid, as well as tell you the joints I’ve been bumping on repeat (REPLAYS). My hope is that this column will provide you with a chance to read quick reviews of less-publicized mixtapes, EPs or free albums you’re unlikely to find elsewhere, as always accompanied by my own personal “riposte” on any and everything related to the release.

Kicking off with a joint from Halloween and ending on a Thanksgiving release, it’s been a month full of holiday spirit and loads of free new music. November truly was a month of giving and for that, as a broke music lover, I’m thankful. So here are my top five “under-recognized” releases from the past month including a couple free albums, EPs, and a Lupe Fiasco dance mixtape. And don’t forget to hit up the comments section with the releases from this past month that you’re most thankful for.

Yonas Michael – Lost In Hollywood

If R&R were around one month prior to its conception, I definitely would have covered Thurzday (now Thurz) of U-N-I’s incredible solo debut, L.A. Riot. However, this month we were given another solo debut, Yonas Michael’s Lost In Hollywood, from the other half of the now disbanded but forever loved LA group U-N-I. But unlike Thurz’s hometown oral history on race issues, Yonas chooses to touch on the glorified region of L.A. tucked between downtown and the valley…and so we have Lost In Hollywood. Yonas’ 14-track collection of ethereal rap/doo-wop-meets-R&B/punk was my top Halloween free release, which is actually quite the complement as it beat out a hefty pool of talent including new offerings from Freddie Gibbs, A$AP Rocky, T3, and L.E.P. Bogus Boys. The split of U-N-I has really given both Thurz and Yonas the opportunity to broaden their sound and take creative leaps that once seemed inconceivable. Thurz has never been more lyrically conscious while Yonas strays further away from the Hip Hop box he was once trapped in. I find Yonas’ sonic shift and newfound sound comparable to post-Stankonia Andre 3000. U-N-I’s career path has certainly shaped out similarly to Outkast, as the group became hometown staples with an ever-expanding sound that ultimately led the duo to pursue individual solo careers. And like Big Boi and Andre 3000, both Thurz and Yonas have proven their skills weren’t reliant on one another, but rather enhanced when in tandem.

REPLAYS: Scumbag Tony’s 8-bit mastery on “Open the Door,” standout track “PUNKS” featuring a rough and tough BrookerT hook, “Big Body Benz (Coochie Max)” be bumping’ that funky Halloween organ, the Neptunesian vibe of “Ms. Popular,” and Mainframe’s finger-picking guitar beat on “California.”

Hannibal King – Flowers For Pamela

From Slum Village, Nas, and Outkast samples to Darondo’s 70’s classic “Didn’t I,” Hannibal King has the ear for sampling and implements them flawlessly into his beats. Flowers For Pamela is a record that packs a whole lot of soul. You can hear the emotion put into this [free] album throughout its concise thirty-minutes. The album’s sentiment stems from King’s grandmother Pamela, and her recent loss in the fight against the always-devastating Alzheimer’s disease, a battle my own step-grandmother lost as well. Flowers For Pamela’s inspiration and instrumental soulscape are what immediately drew me to this release. The one thing about Hannibal King is that his instrumental tracks tend to stand out more than his emcee-featured joints—no jab at the relatively unknown guests (Cody B. Ware, 10ille, Ace Da Vinci, Bub Styles, and Waneek) on Flowers For Pamela, but the fact is, most of King’s production work better on its own. I highly recommend this soundtrack to letting go.

REPLAYS: The impeccably applied Slum Village “Fall In Love” sample on title track, “Flowers For Pamela,” the more perfect sample (Darondo’s “Didn’t I”) usage on the soulful “Gettin’ High (aLoveSong),” even more melodious 70’s soul samples on “Because I Love You,” “Flowers For Love” poses the insoluble question: “How can I love you, when your loving hurts?” and you can’t leave without hearing the horn-blasting closer, “Song For Lovers.”

Madlib and Freddie Gibbs – Thuggin’ EP

These Madlib beats are unlike any instrumental we’ve heard Freddie Gibbs over in his career. Thank God there’s more to come from these two as the EP only features two completed tracks, along with the accompanying instrumentals and two bonus beats (“Riot Call” and “Cold On The Blvd”) courtesy of the Oxnard Beat Konducta…the one and only, Madlib. The beauty of the two completed tracks, “Thuggin’” and “Deep,” is that after hearing Gibbs’ rough rhyming verses, you get to hear Madlib’s soothing instrumentals on their own. The “Thuggin’” beat is a gorgeous, ear-ringing yet soft beat tailor made to get lost to in a haze of smoke. But there’s no way that’s the same beat Gibbs just murdered three minutes earlier—oh but it is. The “Deep” instrumental isn’t as transcendent as “Thuggin,” but nonetheless, Lib and Gibbs have chemistry, with or without vocals. These two coastal opposites will please the musical pallet of any Hip Hop head come the release of their Stones Throw LP. But for now take comfort in the yin and yang that is the Thuggin’ EP. Nothing this different has clicked so much for me since a summer camp counselor suggested I put jelly on my grilled-cheese sandwich. Gangsta Gibbs and Otis Jackson Jr. are the best of both worlds; ambient and gangster…a sweet and salty Hip Hop revolution of which I just can’t get enough.

REPLAYS: Regardless of having only four songs (two with rhymes from Gibbs), you must peep these four tracks. Gibbs attacks these Madlib clouds of sound like a Stones Throw veteran. But since there are only four songs (six tracks) to replay on this EP, I’m going to use the REPLAYS section for…

ALBUM ARTIST/TITLE SUGGESTIONS: Here is my Top Five:

5) MadGibbs

4) GibbLib

3) Freddie Libs

2) Gangsta Libs

[And]

1) OJ Gibbson

Post your own ideas in the comments section.

Juan Deuce and Falside – The Mechanics EP

Rhode Island Hip Hop culture has pretty much been limited to Sage Francis, his Strange Famous crew, and an excessive amount of OBEY stickers. Enter up and coming emcee/DJ duo, Juan Deuce and Falside. Having only collaborated for the past year, these two Providence natives have developed one of the more cohesive chemistries within underground Hip Hop this year. Following their appearances on Fameless Fam’s Eat Fly compilation, Deuce’s steady stream of videos and Falside’s July beat tape, Snare Conditioning, the two have been hard at work on The Mechanics EP and 2012’s Mechanics LP. The seven-track EP, released two weeks ago, features Deuce’s steady rhymes and Falside’s genre-expanding electro/boom-bap production. Match that with the jaw-dropping visuals of Nicolas Heller (Ricky Shabazz and the Boom Bap Boys) and you’ll once again regain hope that the East-coast underground Hip Hop scene (outside of NYC) is still alive. This EP is true to its form as it preps the listener for what’s to come. Only seven tracks deep, you’re left anxious for more while the wheel and axle just keep turning—MECHANICS.

REPLAYS: Can’t stop bumping’ the first single and video of the year candidate, “Guts,” Eat Fly contribution, “Hey DJ,” obsessed with the ambient, electro beat on title track, “Mechanics,” can’t get much better than a My Cousin Vinny sample (“Frank and Dean”), or the “King of Rock” vocals on spacey instrumental closer, “Kings.”

Lupe Fiasco – Friend of the People [MIXTAPE]

Happy Thanksgiving from Lupe Fiasco! Two of the past three Thanksgivings, Fiasco has blessed his fans with free mixtapes. This time around we get Friend of the People (follow-up to 2009’s Enemy of the State), jam-packed with a lyrical Lupe over production from some of his favorite European and American dance DJs (Nero, Sebastian, Justice, Bassnectar, Kaskade, and Skrillex). While Lupe spits with relative success over two songs from Justice’s newest album, Audio, Video, Disco, I would have much rather heard him over some electro-house gems from their debut, †. With the remainder of FOTP’s beats ranging from jazz godfather John Coltrane to L.A. synth-group The Glitch Mob, sprinkled with some Ellie Goulding Brit-pop and electro-indie rockers M83, somehow the hodgepodge that is Friend of the People manages to work. The only two completely original tracks come courtesy of Lupe’s go-to-beat-maker, Soundtrakk (“Joaquin Phoenix” and the year-old “SLR,” which could’ve worked well on The Cool even though it was recorded during the ill-fated Lasers sessions), who fills out the rest of the rap-dance mixtape just in time for the post-feast, tryptophan-induced dance party.

REPLAYS: “Lupe Back” is a thunderous intro courtesy of a Nero dubstep beat and Lupe’s newfound hunger to rap again (just gonna pretend Lasers never happened), Justice’s song “Ohio” provides the gospel-synth backdrop to “Double Burger with Cheese,” the epic mash-up collab, “Lightwork,” featuring Lupe on Ellie Goulding and Bassnectar’s “Lights Remix.” You can’t get more contemporary than “SNDCLSH in Vegas,” as Lupe spits Penn St. punch-lines over a Skrillex beat, and then there’s “The End Of The World”’s lyrical love-narrative lain seamlessly over M83’s “Midnight City.”