Bag of tricks.

By Mosi Reeves

THREE WEEKS AGO I was walking through Fat Beats in downtown Manhattan and heard some crazy-ass song that sounded like chaos on wax as the DJ cut and flipped it with flurries of scratches, adding to the arrhythmic vibe percolating through the store. I wanted to ask someone what it was, but I felt too intimidated by the store clerk walking stoically through the record aisles, eager to ridicule anyone who didn't know who Yaggfu Front was. Then yesterday I was leafing through my vinyl stacks, trying to figure out which records I was going to write on, and lo and behold! There it was, on Marq Spekt's "Liquid Smoke" backed with "The Shoplifter" (Sub Verse, www.subversemusic.com). It's called "No Dessert Till You Finish Ya Vegetables," features production by Lune TNS, better known as Bigg Juss, formerly of Company Flow, and sports Spekt spitting metaphors on some cella-dwelling, "Land of the Lost"-type shit.

Ironically, some of the best joints I heard this month were B-sides. Long before its release last month, I was sent a copy of the1Shanti's "Deadline" backed with "Trilingual," "Stardom," and "Black Ops" (Downs Elementary Records, www.hinduhop.f2s.com). Once again, the first three tracks are aiight, but "Black Ops" is the real winner, as the1Shanti (meaning "oneness"), a member of New Jersey's Rock with Finesse Crew, transforms into "Angela Bassett's counterpart / Burning your car in exhale mode" over a tasty, buttery beat.

I've had Common's recent collaboration with DJ Hi-Tek, "Tekzilla," backed with a remix of "1-9-9-9" (white label) for some time, but only recently decided to play it. "Tekzilla" is a melancholy song reminiscent of Reflection Eternal's "2000 Seasons" that feels like the glow of a setting sun as the afternoon shifts to night. I haven't seen it on press versions of Hi-Tek's forthcoming Hi-Teknology, so it probably won't be officially released, but you never know with those crazy kids at Rawkus Records. By the way, Rawkus's new distribution arm is dropping two new singles that are worth checking out. The first heralds the return of Number One Soul Brother Pete Rock to the limelight and contains two songs, "Give It to Y'all" backed with "Nothin' Lesser" (BBE, www.bbemusic.com), from the Chocolate Boy Wonder's forthcoming album, PeteStrumentals.

Meanwhile, a new collaboration between Rawkus Distribution and Seven Heads Entertainment (home of Unspoken Heard and J-Live) is set to donate profits from each 12-inch to a different charity. The single series is called Get Up Stand Up and the first issue, Maspyke's "S4 Regiment" backed with BJ a.k.a. Homeskill's "Family Stand" (Seven Heads, www.sevenheads.com), is a benefit for African American voter-registration groups. "S4 Regiment" is serviceable, while "Family Stand" features a hot beat from J. Rawls, of Lone Catalysts fame, that's eerily reminiscent of Tribe Called Quest's mid-'90s work. So enough with the mixed blessings and uneven efforts; are there any sure-shot singles? See if you can find MF Doom's "I Hear Voices" parts one and two (Sub Verse), the latest salvos from the illmatic super villain. Part one is lightning quick, with MF Doom massaging lines like "I'm nasty like the freaky-deaky at your local sleazy speakeasy" into the beat (which sounds like Steely Dan or Genesis), while the sequel is a sobering meditation on life's vagaries by Doom's partner, MF Grimm.

Also worth hearing is the debut single by LA Symphony, "Broken Tape Decks" backed with "What You Say?" (Squint, www.squinterland.com). "Broken Tape Decks" is an oddity with several verses seemingly leading nowhere; in comparison, "What You Say" rocks a rowdy, fraternal chorus that has garnered mad college radio airplay.

No Correct Techniques installment would be complete without a nod to Stones Throw Records and its ongoing Madlib Invazion. This time, however, DJ Design of Foreign Legion and his latest single, "Sparkdala" backed with "Energy" and "No Games" (Stones Throw, www.stonesthrow.com) is the topic at hand. Madlib and his alter ego, Quasimoto, rap on "Sparkdala," "Energy" features Wildchild from the Lootpack, and "No Games," the most impressive of the three, stars Medaphoar. All three tracks – sporting instrumental holdovers from Design's debut LP of last year, Gather Round – are reflections of the West Coast's affinity for classic breaks and jaunty, upbeat rhythmic patterns. And that's how it is.

Send all products and gewgaws in care of the author to San Francisco Bay Guardian, 520 Hampshire St., San Francisco, CA 94110. Comments, tips, and disses should be directed to mitigate26@hotmail.com.

more noise | return to top | sfbg.com