For Doseone And Fatboi Sharif, The "Truth Ugly" Prevails
Hip-hop's most idiosyncratic bridge the generational gap on their joint effort. +reviews of Che Noir; SLAM BAND
Between the apparently growing acrimony between Griselda brethren Conway The Machine and Westside Gunn, the unsurprisingly announcement of Jay-Z as self-appointed Super Bowl headliner, and Nicki Minaj's cringeworthy MAGA grift double-down right at the precipice of a nationwide ballot box rebuke, terminally online hip-hop fans over the age of 35 have had plenty to absorb in the past couple of weeks.
Those truly embedded in this world likely picked up on an unexpectedly revitalized debate over anticon., the long-shuttered indie record label and effectively disbanded collective that rose in the late '90s into the mid-aughts. Sparked by the October release of two immense literary volumes by author and Deep Puddle die-hard Joseph Rathgeber, the flames of critical discourse were then fanned by the likes of Call Out Culture's rapper-podcasters and a certain handsome journo-turned-creator, only to grow into a full-on blaze when actual anticon. members including Sole weighed in alongside their myriad bespectacled defenders.
But as things naturally quiet down on the anticon. front and November promises its own set of topical talking points to rebut on Reddit, we're left with a rather rare related scenario: a new release from one of the crew's most prodigious emcees.
Having arrived on the eve of All Hallows' Eve, Truth Ugly marks the latest effort from a resurgent and resplendent Doseone, who unlike most other members of his predominantly dormant former set is drawing newfound acceptance with new music. First came last year's All Portrait, No Chorus with producer Steel Tipped Dove (who returns for Truth Ugly), followed by a pair of politically poetic Wood Teeth EPs soundtracked by Heigh Keech of Wave Generators. Earlier this fall, he unveiled Sighting, a collaborative effort with Wino Willy and Zetroc.
As much as those records ushered Doseone back into the contemporary conversation, what sets Truth Ugly apart is the refreshing presence of vocal counterpart Fatboi Sharif, whose own idiosyncratic approach to rap made him a (oc)cult star. Their gruff, phlegmy interplay on disorienting opener "Vietnam Ghosts" evokes rap supervillain greatness with just a smattering of splatterpunk panache. This diabolical microphone communion extends across the roughly half-hour long project, marked by the brilliantly bizarre bits of "Diseased By Blood" and "Left Handed Harp Lessons."
A singular artist in his own right, Steel Tipped Dove, to his credit, appears wholly disinterested in resurfacing what worked for Dose on his seminal records opposite Boom Bip or Jel. Though judging by his work on the industrial strength "Wake Me When I'm Dead" and the Carpenter-esque "Reaper Box," there's a strong argument to be made for this endeavor as the looking glass nightmare realm reboot successor to the hazy illbient freakout of cLOUDDEAD.
SLAM BAND, THE ALBUM
Part of the beauty of hip-hop's widespread cultural influence is how pervasive its aesthetics impacted other genres, even when the results sometimes proved, shall we say, inelegant. Indeed, if the rap world can accept face-tatted emo crooners and proudly punk'd alt-lyricists, then surely there's room in the coalition once again for metal. City Morgue's ZillaKami and SosMula have been doing this credibly for years now, together and alone, to say nothing of Backxwash or $uicideboy$, all doing the work to challenge the notion that the sounds and styles from these scenes should remain separate. And, if your algorithm is anything like mine, you've probably encountered SLAM BAND, an offshoot of North Carolina deathcore unit Filth that brings heaviness and humor to everything it does. Their "PEEWEE JERKIN" music video went viral for its willfully ignorant pairing of classic kiddie show playhouse decor with five of the grimiest looking dudes, a narcotized FYP fever dream tailor-made for American end times. With track names like "COCAINE MANE" and "DRIVE FAST EAT ASS," not to mention the profane King Of The Hill impressions of "BOOBIE HILL," you can tell they're not taking shit all that seriously on THE ALBUM. But their extreme death metal sensibilities ensure that every single one of these songs hits like a sack of Acme brand anvils on Wile E. Coyote's head. While most of the vocals are inscrutable and guttural, as is the standard for this subgenre, Dustin Mitchell's stone cold rhyming comes through loud and clear on "SUCKED FROM WITHIN" and closer "GANGSTER GURGLE."
Che Noir, It Takes A Village
After starting out the decade linking with the likes of Apollo Brown and 38 Spesh, Buffalo native Che Noir subsequently made a name for herself in the hip-hop underground by exerting greater control over her art as well as the means of its dissemination. Yet even as her projects turned more introspective and individualistic, she was still out there building, which makes the musically collaborative album such a rewarding listen on several levels. Between the breezy and bright "This Morning" and the grittier "Blood Bath," along with production from vets including Havoc and Nottz, It Takes A Village is that music your disgruntled friends complain doesn't exist anymore. Her cuts with Conductor Williams prove the duo a suitably symbiotic pairing, and the inclusion of Ransom on the penultimate "Wasted Time" only amplifies the effect. As an emcee, she's come so far over the past six years that her bars on "A Caged Mockingbird" and the intricate "Grandma's Cookies" require multiple plays to try and unravel the gratifying tangle of metaphors and reference points. Unlike a lot of your faves, she's bold enough to go toe-to-toe with two of rap's most recognizable rhymers, triumphantly rising above it all with Black Thought atop a rugged Mathematics beat on "Fame & Fiction" and looking back with 20/20 clarity opposite an uncharacteristically disconsolate Bruiser Wolf on the grand finale "Magic."
Three new tracks to snack on...
Armani Caesar, "Sephora In Ibiza (feat. Benny The Butcher)"
Daniel Son, Asun Eastwood & Futurewave, "Dirty Weaponry"
Mike Ladd, "Murder Is"
