Review: Jack Foley
IN WHAT has proved to be a good year for the hip-hop movement,
DM (Danger Mouse) and Jemini have done more than anyone to make
the medium worth getting excited about again.
Their brilliant album, Ghetto
Pop Life, is already being hailed as a hip-hop classic, and
looks set to feature prominently among the album of the year lists,
but barely has the heat surrounding that long-player started to
burn out, than they release a timely EP, to serve notice of their
talent ahead of the Christmas rush.
The Twenty Six Inch EP boasts a new track, as well as
five remixes of certain album favourites, and resonates with that
old-school quality which makes time in their company so hopelessly
hip and funky.
Opening track, What U Sittin' On?, gets things going in
electro-fashion, complete with an ultra-fuzzy bassline and a vocal
set that Outkast would be proud of, before things slip into more
familiar feelgood territory, with the Ghetto Pop Life remix,
featuring Sadat X.
It is here that the Ennio Morricone vibe returns in full force,
with the bigger beats still wrapped around the operatic, even
cinematic, background that makes the album so stand out from the
rest of the hip-hop pack.
New track, The Shit, is a typically self-congratulatory
rap, complete with David Holmes-style bassline and some funky
Motown-based trumpets, which proclaims that 'I'm the shit', and
'a bad motherfucker'. It's hard to disagree, given the standards
DM and Jemini have set - they continue to be 'the shit'!
The best moment on the EP, however, comes in the form of the
second Ghetto Pop Life remix, which slows things down considerably,
and even goes mellow.
The PR describes it as a Summer-inspired DM retake, complete
with bright new lyrics from Jemini, and it is an ultra-slinky
number, with a really feelgood, lazy vibe that wouldn't sound
out of place on a Nightmares on Wax or Zero 7 remix, while also
keeping its soundtrack feel with a nod to the likes of Lalo Schiffrin.
Proceedings are rounded off with Live on Both Sides, another
melody-strewn rap, which brings things to a masterful close, complete
with yet another blast at the Bush administration, which is one
of the features of the long-player.
If you haven't had the chance to sample the delights of DM and
Jemini's album yet, then let this EP ease you into the delights
it has to offer.
These two belong in the Golden Era of the hip-hop movement, as
they certainly possess the Midas touch in terms of their music.
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Track listing:
1. What U Sittin' On 26" Remix, starring Cee Lo & Tha
Alkaholiks
2. Ghetto Pop Life remix, starring Sadat X
3. The Shit
3. Ghetto Pop Life II
4. Omega Supreme DM remix
5. Live on Both Sides
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