The next Wes Anderson pelicula needs J-ZONE.

The master of witty anecdotes and compositions returns but with a project that stands out against his previous four LP's. J-Zone embodies everything going through the mind of a regular dude on the verge of becoming half Frank the Tank from Old School, half Christian Slater from True Romance". "To Love a Hooker" is an imaginative ride. Be ready for fucking, snuggling, smuggling, smashing and crashing. Track by track, Zone reveals the ins and outs of what being an entrepreneur in the field of desperation ultimately evolves into. The mood is both hilarious and fluid at the same time, a rarity in terms of instrumental records now-a-days. Sadat X makes a few guest spots just to add that raw appeal to an already rugged beatscape. There's no doubt this soundtrack could easily be utilized as a tutorial for those interested in the ways of pimp. Trust me, after you listen to the album, you'll clearly see the picture. Old Maid needs to make a DVD quick and J-Zone needs to score Adult Swim or Nick Short Break.



http://www.myspace.com/jzoneoldmaid

I'm Back Like Nene. Mighty Healthy with Bronze.

Bronze Nazareth's The Great Migration rings old bells of glory. Loud at times and even louder others. It's been awhile since Killarmy and the Gravediggaz were standing as proud sprouts of the original swagger generals. Since then nothing and nobody from the Wu has really taken the initiative to build past what history's already seen done. Bronze has. Production credits on the Wu Tang Think Differently "Wu Tang Meets Indie" project signaled something new, bold and raw. From bottom to top the beats are never less than knocking. I'm talking about "in the heat of the moment" bed rocking, knocking. Although the content of the Wu, especially now a days remains hit or miss for many, Bronze keeps it remotely close to hitting. Guest spots from Wu affiliates Timbo King, Killa Sin (!!!) 12 O'Clock and Prodigal Sunn keep the LP tightly woven in styling. All around this is a solid pickup if you see it sitting in Amoeba's used lots. Migration has begun I can happily conclude that the Wu is still reinventing the gritty.

Beat: "Here What I Say"
Verbal: "Black Royalty"

Coincidence SANsei

Good Ole' Ghosty Does It Again...

The man with a thousand aliases and alter-egos has conducted a masterpiece yet again.

Fishscale only solidifies Ghosty's title as the greatest in storytelling this side of the sun. His wordplay and humor are witty as ever and definitely match up with the top notch production. Faces of consistency are all over as J-Dilla (RIP), Pete Rock, MF Doom and the Wu Camp help Ghost sling to his supreme clientele. A Ne-Yo song is the only nod against the album's greatness in it's entirety, but the dude is on Def Jam, he gots to sell SOME records. Even on that track Face is still Tony Starks, raw and on edge, complaining about a dime piece who just got on the wrong side of the robe rocking wallaby king. I admit, I had my doubts about Big Jay signing up Mr. former Ghostface Killah, but I feel stupid for the impulse of second guessing him. His reign is complete and I can only await what lies next for the dude who admits to fucking his fans.

Awol One meets Mascaria

Chemikillz. The title of recently released Awol One and Mascaria production. At a time where music has once again turned grey, something unexpectedly dope like this is always a great come up. That's what this album is to me... a CD that I wasn't meant to discover.
Like many of the Awol One CD's, that seem to come a dime a dozen, I was reluctant to give it a listen purely to avoid hearing Awol ramble about his personality. But after I got over my fears of Awol's lifelessness, and Mascaria's fresh approach to production sparked my interest, I paid attention to something I thought was lost long ago... C-R-E-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y.

I hadn't heard much, in fact anything, from Mascaria before, and I think this is a proper introduction to him for anybody who is interested in checking out socal independent music. I grew up in an area where everybody had demos. Everybody had computers and recording equipment to record whatever they damn well pleased, most of the time however, it was so-called gangsta rappers talking about guns. Regardless, on the local hiphop note, it's great to see independent talent created close by. Mascaria's production makes this cd a must hear. I'd be happier with less Awol on it though.

Awol has always been somebody that I thought was good only in certain cituations. With an addictive flow and controversial topic discussion, Awol brings interest in the form of a performance rather than as an MC. Which isn't always for everybody.

The album features a few heads you may or may not have heard of: nite n dae, akuma, liferaxall, lord zen, 2mex and existereo.

Favorite track: Mechanical Dolphins

So checka-check it out. Be on the lookout for more Mascaria... and watch Awol continue to release opinionated rambling.