A few years back an amazing record came out that not enough of you bought. It was an instrumental hip-hop record based on a water theme, and it was obviously created by someone who smokes a lot of weed. The dude’s name is DJ Frane, and the record was Frane’s Fantastic Boat Ride (or Beats to Blaze to, Vol. I). I know a few people who spent countless hours absorbing that shit while bubbling up the bong water. Well, dude is back with Electric Garden of Delights (Revolver Distro, www.midheaven.com). This one is another musical trip into the mind of a madman. Rap psychedelia is what I’m talking about, some acid-tabs-under-your-eyelids hip-hop. Do yourself a solid and track this one down, smoke something, and send me an email to let me know what kind of weird shit you ended up seeing.
Still on the instrumental tip, but less soundscape-y and more on the DJ vibe, are the No Luck Club. Their new one, Happiness (Ill Boogie), will appeal to all you kids who bought up the Return of the DJ compilations and are into Kid Koala. This one’s not going to blow you away, but it’s solid from start to finish. Each track has a different theme to it, and you know they worked hard finding all the right samples for this record.
Another dude who makes killer beats, and one of the most slept-on guys in the game, Fat Jack has a new instrumental album out, produced with DW. The Message (Revolver) is some more straight-ahead shit than No Luck Club or Frane, but this shit is still killer. Matter of fact, it’s the type of record you just want to record all of your own vocals over top of, so you can front to your friends and act like they actually produced beats for you.
Since I’m on the producer tip right now, I thought I might mention another cat you may have heard of, Pete Rock. He used to make wicked songs with this rapper cat CL Smooth, and produce for damn near everybody, like the Kanye West of his day. Anyway, at the height of all that, dude was starting to gear up for his own situation and start putting out his own groups and shit. Somehow that all fell through, and after getting teased by a couple of 12”s, we never got to hear the group Pete was producing, INI. Well, thanks to the good folks over at BBE Records, INI’s debut album, Center of Attention, is finally seeing the light of day, and it’s well worth the wait. Pick up two copies.
Two EPs out right now from two veterans of the mid-90s indie rap explosion. J-Live and Jean Grae have both been putting it down for a while now, having gone through some serious indie successes and failures, and having been hailed as the “next big things.” Your man J can spit, and Always Will Be (Fat Beats) is what you need from him, intelligent lyrics that aren’t preachy or boring, and one of the most effortless flows around. Jean’s The Bootleg of the Bootleg EP (Babygrande) has mellow, soulful production that keeps to itself, allowing her to stay on top with the lyrics and be heard. And believe me, you will hear some things when you listen to this record.
That’s it for this month, folks, some juicy stuff to sink your teeth into. Seriously, hit me up and let me know what you think of that Frane record.
FRITZ THA CAT
Send music, medicine, soup, and prayers to: Fritz tha Cat, c/o Vice, 383 Queen St. W., Toronto ON, M5V 2A5 Canada. fritzthacat@viceland.com www.fritzthacat.com
