＠u-ra’s Neighborhood

　
　
　
さびしさはその色としもなかりけり
　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　真木立つ山の　秋の夕暮れ
　

 10/10/2008 19:49:42  ♥ written by derek ( / www.pegritz.com)

Jewish hip-hop? Is that even possible? Of course it is, silly rabbit! I mean, I downloaded an entire album of Croatian hip-hop from eMusic a few months ago...which is proof positive that hip-hop has escaped the ghettos in which it was born and has spread worldwide. Hip-hop's greatest strength is its ability to absorb any and all influences, states of mind, and approaches and still remain true to its roots and heart.

Modular Moods Records is going to drop a serious chunk of hip-hop funk with a distinctly Hebrew flavor in the form of the LP Freestyle Vs. Written by C-Rayz Walz and Kosha Dillz. C-Rayz, one of the original members of the legendary Stronghold, has been a giant in New York City's underground hip-hop scene for years, hosting all manner of shows and events and beatin' down some of the top battle emcees in the world (even freestyle legend Supernatural). Kosha Dillz, on the other hand, is a fresh face on the scene: an upcoming Israeli-American hip-hop artist who has performed live with big-name rap stars like Pharcyde and Jurassic 5 to Grammy Nominee and reggae ninja Matisyahu. So what happens when you put together the freestyle might of C-Rayz Wallz together with the swaggering beats and multilingual vocal styles of Mr. Dillz?

You get an explosion of classic hip-hop that rests firmly on a bed of oldskool beats but extends high above the heads of many so-called contemporary "rap superstars" with lyrics that jump from the socially conscious to the outright hysterical and back again.

The album's beats recall the glory days of hip-hop's youth, mixing heavy, funkalicious beats with powerful samples taken from old soul, blues, jazz, and funk records. Many of the samples on this album sound like they came from blaxploitation movie soundtracks, which gives Freestyle Vs. Written a true urban edge that complements the sharp-witted, and often sharp-tongued, lyrics perfectly. Horns and phased guitars predominate over the rumbling beats, but the emcees' voices and styles are, naturally, foremost on every track. And these guys have got skills, y'all: their rhymes are tight, their deliveries fresh and rhythmic, and their lyrics often profound. The two emcees play off of one another so skillfully it's impossible to determine what rhymes were written ahead of time and what rhymes are freestyle examples of champion extemporization. Produced by 19-year-old prodigy Kentron Da Mastadon, Freestyle Vs. Written is a superb melange of its creators' "Jerusalem Zionist-meets-Black Bronx ghetto aesthetic" which will appeal to all fans of oldskool rap, freestyle, and socially-conscious hip-hop.

One of the most impressive elements of this record is the lack of swearing. Now, I'm not one of those stuffy prudes who frowns on cussin'--but one of the things that has made me dislike so much contemporary hip-hop is the genre's overemphasis of the words "fuck," "motherfucker," and "nigger," mainly because these words provide all-too-easy staples for rhymes and rhythmic filler. True emcees come to battle and/or record with a truckload of vocabulary and wit, not just foul language and lame insults. Both C-Rayz Wallz and Kosha Dillz are literally overflowing with deft rhymes and sharp observations. "Calouses of a Hustler" and "The Foolish Path" are aimed at uplifting their listeners and educating them, and C-rayz's flow on these tracks is very similar to that of Atmosphere's Slug. Tracks like the lighthearted "I Love Jews" (built around a sample of the Del-Phonics "La-La (Means I Love You)" and "Ariel Sharon" (which rides atop a rolling beat and jangly banjo) clearly display Kosha Dillz Jewish background in his rhymes as he mixes English, Yiddish, and Hebrew.

In short, Freestyle Vs. Written is a solid mixture of oldskool flavor and modern hip-hop styles that will have your head bobbin' as it has your mind thinkin'. This is hip-hop that aims for the brain as well as the booty and demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that even in a music world dominated by such untalented babblers like Souljah Boy and Nelly, real hip-hop is still being produced, and it's coming at you from every corner and every culture of the Earth.

The album is available for digital download, with the CD version coming on October 14th.

Update 10/11/08 from Vu:
Modular Moods Records wanted to us know about their Remix Contest. All info and sound files are at freestylevswritten.com/remix.  They have also expressed that they'd like you to see their ridiculous music video for "Sof".

夜の遊園地.....今年も撮ってきた.....が.....去年と変わらない.....と言うことは.....進歩してないと言うことか.....(*v.v)ハズイ...