Dilated Peoples have fully mobilised their elite "Expansion Team" here...
Written: Apr 03 '02
Product Rating:
Pros: Great intelligence/braggadocio lyrics mix. Wonderful production. Lack of skits. Freestyles.
Cons: Runs out of steam. Lyrics not in enough depth?
The Bottom Line: This is a strong sophomore album, that certainly dodges the sophomore jinx with its blend of old skool and new skool. A good purchase.
paulyoungotti's Full Review: Expansion Team [PA] by Dilated Peoples
The Westcoast hip-hop scene is very easily stereotyped into a one dimensional, thugged out gangsta rap scene with bouncing beats and less lyrical skill than it’s Eastcoast rival. There are many artists that defy all of the above points, who remain largely below the commercial surface. Lyricists wise, well Ras Kass, Saafir, Kurupt and others are more than on the same level (if not better) than critics would make them out. And in the underground, there is a blossoming positive hip-hop scene with groups like Jurassic 5, Black Eyed Peas, The Pharcyde and Blackalicious striving to bring intelligence to the westcoast hip-hop scene.
Dilated Peoples are a trio consisting of emcees Evidence, Rakaa Irscience and the DJ/Producer, DJ Babu. This trio have attracted recent critical acclaim with their debut album The Platform, released in 1999. Taking a relaxed, intelligent stance on the modern world, The Platform was a scorching mix of old skool turntablism, infectious beats, and literate lyrics. In late 2001, Dilated Peoples released their follow up with Expansion Team, which looked to build upon the success of the first album.
Track Listing.
1. Live On Stage. (*****)
2. Worst Comes To Worst. (*****)
3. Clockwork. (*****)
4. Trade Money. (*****)
5. Heavy Rotation. Feat. Tha Liks(****)
6. Self Defence. (*****)
7. Phil Da Agony freestyle
8. Proper Propaganda. (*****)
9. Dilated Junkies. Feat. J-Rocc, Rhettmatic & Melo-D. (****)
10. Panic. (****)
11. Pay Attention. (****)
12. Night Life. (***)
13. War. (***)
14. Hard Hitters. Feat Black Thought (****)
15. Defari freestyle. (****)
16. Expansion Team theme. (***)
I’m always a fan of tracks that kind of introduce the artist to kick off albums, and "Live On Stage" does exactly this for Expansion Team. Classy producer Alchemist goes all darned old skool with his energetic, up tempo drumbeat and horns. Bit of an anthem this, and the braggadocio spat by emcees Evidence and Iriscience makes for enjoyable listening. The brilliant first single off this album was "Worst comes to Worst". This is a really enjoyable, varied track. The song takes on more of a newer sound, but the amazing scratches and cuts from the DJ, the hypnotic violin and harp strings and the bright, sparkling piano keys make for highly interesting listening. Lyrics wise, DP spit verses on loyalty to each other – friendship, support of their families – stuff like that. Masterful producer DJ Premier lends his considerable talents to "Clockwork". Like the first track, this is one of the faster, more up-tempo, driving beats. Lyrics wise it’s a mix between braggadocio and fake rap insulting. Most people tend to take this as their favourite song off the album, but I’m not feeling it that much. Still, brilliant track.
"Trade Money" finds DP investigating money and hip-hop…. Why selling more albums may not necessarily make artists happy, how money can be used for good purposes instead of flossing with gold chains, cars, houses etc, as Evidence explains…
"Yo, if you live day to day then you proabably live life
More than a cat who got a Benz, bank roll and a wife
'Cause yo, I seen a lot of folks whose so-called success equals depress
And look up to broke peeps who hold mics now
Play the role, reverse and understand
Your friend with no dough might be closer to earth"
While the lyrics don’t really go into much detail, or bring up many new points regarding the subject matter, it’s still a nice lyrical performance by the two emcees, spat over a blaring trumpet sample.
After this, westcoast group Tha Liks join forces with DP on "Heavy Rotation". This adds up to 5 emcees dropping battle/brag raps over a darker, keyboard/flute assisted beat. Tash (from Tha Liks) and Iriscience are the two standout emcees here. Nice track. ”Self Defence”, is one of my favourite cuts on this LP. This is a return to the more minimalist, old skool feel. Over a continous, dark synthesizer in the background and chiming strings that create a dark, dramatic musical landscape, the two DP emcees drop battle rhymes. After a criminally short freestyle from Likwit crew affiliate Phil Da Agony, probably my favourite cut comes with "Proper Propaganda\3. As the title suggests, this is more of a departure into political/social commentary, with some insightful lyrics damming the police, justice system, spat over an appropriately urgent beat courtesy of Babu…
"The pen is mightier than the sword
Cause the pen gives the word sending swords to war
They twisted it when he pulled Mao Tse-Tung
And said political power comes from the barrel of a gun
The officer meets his fate, .44 by .38
It was a dirty deed, but that don't mean a dirty case
Witnesses against the state are shushed
Facts overlooked so the judge can throw the book
Perhaps for politicians with something to prove
In the city where they blew the roof off of M.O.V.E"
"Dilated Junkies" is another beautifully old skool track, where DJ Babu, J-Rocc, Melo-D and Rhettmatic simply flex their DJ’ing skills on the turntables, with only a tight, highly minimalistic keyboard beat. Definitely one for the DJ fanatics, and the excellent scratching makes for interesting listening. "Panic" is the single most focused statement of intent on this album. Largely an Evidence solo, he raps/talks over a highly condensed, sped up, claustrophobic keyboard beat, about DP’s intention to take over the rap game etc.
Dilated Peoples have released a unique album with Expansion Team. Evidence and Iriscience, or the two DP emcees, are quite different to most emcees you’ll hear in today’s hip-hop. Unlike modern emcees, these two don’t put as much emphasis on flow and going smooth and fast, they are old skool emcees really. It’s all about the lyrics, and here’s what’s brilliant about the rapping on this album. DP strike a nice balance between braggadocio/bragging and intelligent, social commentary style lyrics. While the intellectual lyrics aren’t as deep as other artists can get (I’m thinking Common or KRS-One here), and often skim over the surface, it’s amazingly refreshing to other westcoast hip-hop acts. While the lyrics and rapping are both good, the production is arguably better. This is one listenable album, for a music fan of any genre. The numerous high class producers (DJ Premier, Alchemist etc), and DJ Babu himself, create a scorching blend between old skool scratching, drum beats and minimalism, and newer horns, keyboards and violins. Please take me literally here, this is a very listenable album. Ok, finally, the main problem with this album is that I feel it runs out of steam towards the end. While filler isn’t really an issue, the tracks just don’t seem to click as well as they did earlier. Apart from that, a pretty flawless album.
"Expansion Team" has many good things going for it. The sumptuous blend of old and new for the undeniably brilliant and listenable production, the nice old skool-ish rapping from the two emcees, and the nice DJ’ing present on nearly all the tracks. If you like well produced, listenable hip-hop with an old skool sound and a nice mix of intelligent and braggadocious lyrics, Dilated Peoples have certainly expanded the game for you with "Expansion Team".
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