Hip-Hop Producer RJD2 Expands His Horizons Into Rock With Since We Last Spoke..
Written: Jun 01 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The best instrumental album since.. well.. Deadringer
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: More great work from producer mastermind RJD2.
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| rsz15's Full Review: Since We Last Spoke - RJD2 Movies |
RJD2, not to be mistaken with R2D2 from Star Wars, is definitely one of the hottest producers in the underground hip-hop scene today. After his 2002 release Deadringer left heads' jaws on the floor, RJD2 went on to produce tracks for the Cunninlynguists and MF Doom as well as a horde of other artists. Teaming up with Ohio native Blueprint, the two formed Soul Position and dropped 8 Million Stories, easily one of the top ten albums from last year. With his fame growing constantly among underground circles, RJD2 released his 2nd full-length solo on Def Jux, headed by El-Producto. Rest assured, RJD2 has not been influenced by the jarring, unlistenable sounds of El-P. Since We Last Spoke debuted at #128 on the Billboard, not bad for an album of its type. Does RJD2 continue his streak of solid work? Pretty much..
The first thing you'll notice is that RJ's instrumentals on this album are much more rock-influenced than before. This fact grips you right away with the album's title cut, Since We Last Spoke. A crunchy guitar loop, with high piano keys in the background, starts and stops at the beginning of the song. Adding the vocal samples towards the central portion of the song seems to calm it down some, leading way to a heavenly, lush instrumental section without the guitars, which slowly gets quieter until the track is silent. Out of nowhere, the guitar loop comes again, with the addition of strings (i think), creating a depth to the instrumental that is rare in this era of two finger keyboard beats (Lil Jon!). Exotic Talk follows with a heavier guitar loop kicking off the track, with hard hitting drums as well. All this stops and gives way to the clouded vocal samples over a soft instrumental, until the two effects are combined. Later on in the track, the drums and keyboard trade off sounds until the vocals and heavy guitar kick in again, playing with the listener’s sense of volume and tempo constantly. A delightful Caribbean sounding display of drums and trumpets in the form of Since 76 follows, and it is sure to keep you’re head nodding as well.
All is not hard guitars and flamboyant horns on Since We Last Spoke, however. Guest artist Krohn appears on Making Days Longer, lending his vocals to RJ’s arrangement of soft keys and guitar plucks. Occasionally I skip this track, just because sometimes I’m not in the mood for such a slow, quiet song. Make no mistake, the song is technically flawless, it just depends on my mood whether I want to listen to it or not. Someone’s Second Kiss also is backed by soft guitar strings, and a slightly harder drum loop. RJD2 places a very static-ish vocal sample over the track, creating an eerie atmosphere which leads into a constant variety of sharp, yet blended guitar notes.
Iced Lightning returns to the feeling of the first three tracks of the LP, as RJ combines a funky, thumping guitar loop with a guitar loop that sounds like it could have been pulled from Jimi Hendrix’s discography. Once again, a soft vocal sample is thrown over the beat sparsely throughout the track, as the cymbals and oriental strings take over the track. Clean Living, a track which appeared on the Def Jux compilation at the start of the year, opens with a unique keyboard instrumental which is joined by quirky synthesizers and a hard bass drum loop. The effect of these three is quite amazing, as they go higher in pitch and crescendo majestically off and on. All this is on the path to a serene section of the track which creates an aura of pure relaxation. Through The Wall starts as a pure rock track, with sharp guitar melodies and a rapid drum loop backing vocals, giving way to pianos and an even harder guitar instrumental. As expected, RJD2 then combines the two effects creating a multi-layered instrumental that is sure to keep everyone satisfied.
I don’t know how well I described these tracks in the review, because RJD2 has a knack for making beats with such depth and multi-facetiousness that it makes it hard to pick out which instruments are creating which effects and sounds. RJ has indeed created one of 2004’s finest albums so far with his 2nd full length album, displaying his versatility as he forays into the genres of rock, soul, and funk. Be sure to give this a few spins in your CD player however, as this took a bit of time to grow on me. At first, I would have given it maybe 3 stars, but now I’ll give it the full 5 stars, about the same score I would give to Deadringer. There is no filler whatsoever at a compact 12 tracks, and no guest appearances from his Def Jux labelmates (thank god Aesop Rock or El-P isn’t here to mess things up), so his production speaks for itself. Don’t hesitate to pick up RJ’s Since We Last Spoke and learn why RJD2 is one of the best experimentalists in the industry not named DJ Shadow.
5 Stars
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rsz15
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Location: USA
Reviews written: 45
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