Last (or last last, can’t remember) weekend I bought a few new CDs:
- Neighborhood Watch by Dilated Peoples
This album was a big disapointment. The first two Dilated albums (The Platform and Expansion Team) are on constant rotation through my music playlist ever since I bought them three or four years ago. I’m not sure what it is about it that I don’t like, but the lyrical strength of the other two doesn’t exist at all in this effort. - Stereo: The Evolution of Hiprocksoul by 4th Avenue Jones
I first saw 4th Ave in a free concert in San Diego, and picked up their album No Plan B after the show. The original album blasted through on fast lyrics, amateur production and Christian moral undertones. Fastfoward to Hiprocksoul, a guitar infused, fast moving and emotional mixture of everything from straight hip-hop to mashup to rock. It’s a huge departure from their last album, and I love it. - The Cosmic Game by The Thievery Corporation
I’ve only started listening to downtempo recently and this album turns up some gems. My favorite song from it is easily Revolution Solution, with Perry Farrell fronting vocals. The album is all over the place, with songs in Hindi, English, and Spanish, non-cohesive but interesting overall. Undoubtedly, tracks from this album will end up in many mixtapes over the next year.