Raheem Jamal (of Electric, Project Move) - Boombox - 2007, MP3, 320 kbps torrent

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Raheem Jamal (of Electric, Project Move) - Boombox

Жанр: Underground Rap/Hip-Hop
Страна: USA
Год издания: 2007
Аудиокодек: MP3
Тип рипа: tracks
Битрейт аудио: 320 kbps
Продолжительность: 44:55
Label: Brick Records

Produced by Raydar Ellis

Треклист:

01. When? (2:38)
02. Boombox (3:09)
03. High Energy (2:29)
04. Right Now feat. Raydar Ellis (2:56)
05. Not The One (4:10)
06. Women, Weed & Washingtons (3:49)
07. Goodvibe feat. Project Move (3:41) YouTube: lGdjpZfbO14
08. Gravity (3:33)
09. Never Be Afraid (4:12)
10. The Thang (2:53)
11. Live It Up (3:18)
12. We Got feat. Project Move (3:07)
13. Act Right (2:41)
14. When? Part 2 (2:19)
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Speaking of which, the show makes me appreciate an artist like Raheem Jamal. In 2007, he’s bringing back that old-style hip-hop aesthetic, coupling dope beats with fresh rhymes, and making you genuinely proud you’re still a hip-hop head. Let me tell you a few things about Raheem Jamal and his album Boombox so you’ll know what’s really good:

1. Raheem Jamal is not from the “dirty south” region of the United States, nor from New York state. He’s not from Texas; he’s not from California; he’s not from Seattle, Washington. Raheem Jamal didn’t come from Marlyland, where he was hanging out with independent hip-hop artist ScholarMan; he wasn’t in New Jersey kickin’ it with Redman and Tame One. He’s not from Chicago, Illinois, or Cincinnati, Ohio. Nope, not Miami either. Run out of guesses? Raheem Jamal was born and raised in Roxbury, Massachusetts, just like the legendary Edo G. How about that?

2. Raheem Jamal has been a member of Project Move, a Bostonian group known for their 2006 release Love Gone Wrong/The Butterfly Theory, and also a member of Electric Company.

3. Raheem Jamal’s style of rap is “high energy” (not merely because that’s one of his song titles). He glides over his rhythms in a way that makes his raps seem effortless, melodic. He can keep you firmly planted in the new school (see album opener “When?”) or take you back to the old school (check out “Right Now”, which would be right at home in the period between 1988 and 1991). Vocally, Raheem’s flow reminds me of this year’s underground sensations Blu & Exile (listen to their debut Below the Heavens!); the delivery is frenetic yet obviously well groomed and constructed. Put his verses on repeat because—except for one or two clunkers in “Women, Weed, & Washingtons” and a flimsy hook in “Not the One”—you’ll like ‘em.

“Gravity” is a strong cut that floats in spite of the heavy mood of its theme, and you know what might’ve been kind of cool? Samples from John Mayer’s “Gravity” sprinkled through the tune. Just an idea. I also like “Never Be Afraid”, a bold move toward working things out in the romance department—the cool part is that, in the end, the relationship doesn’t work for Raheem, leaving us with the message that you’ve got to keep striving for happiness anyway. That message is helped along by a clever vocal sample.

4. Raheem Jamal seems to like Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Besides the fact that I read this in one of his interviews, you can get his love for the film in his name—remember the “Radio Raheem” character in Do the Right Thing? He strolled the neighborhood with his trusty boombox, which servied as his main method of communication. Radio Raheem was a man of few words. When the owner of the pizza shop (Sal) smashed the homeboy’s stereo after Raheem refused to turn it off, all hell broke loose. It’s no coincidence, then, that emcee Raheem Jamal refers to himself as “Radio Raheem Jamal” in the title song “Boombox”. That’s all Spike Lee, baby. Recognize.

5. When Boombox succeeds, which it does ofen, it does so by maximizing the classic rapper/producer combination. This is the hip-hop version of Rocky Balboa and his trainer Mickey Goldmill—Rakim had Eric B., Big Daddy Kane had Mr. Cee, Guru had DJ Premier, everybody in the Wu-Tang Clan had the RZA, and on and on it goes. For his album, Raheem Jamal has Raydar Ellis—yes, the very same Raydar Ellis who released the enjoyable Late Pass in 2006.

Raydar Ellis, by the way, is one of our better producer-slash-rapper artists. Boombox shows Ellis’s continued expansion in the production department, which you can hear throughout the LP: the epic Star Wars-like piano and strings that complement Raheem’s Armageddon-ish imagery in “When?”; the exquisite guitar loops in “Boombox” and “Not the One”; the almost big band sound of “Women, Weed, & Washingtons”, along with its bluesy bass line; the ‘70s-styled groove of “Gravity” and the densely packed funkiness of “Live It Up” (peep that wild wicka-wicka-wickow Theme from Shaft-sounding soul in the backdrop). Lots of hot action behind the boards here, which ups the quality from “good” to “damn good”. Raheem’s lyrics are tighter than freshly braided cornrows, but having the right accompaniment is crucial.

6. Here’s a complaint you sometimes hear about hip-hop albums: “There’s too many guests.” That one shouldn’t apply to Boombox, however, for two reasons. One, there aren’t that many tracks with guests at all. You’ve got the percussion-busy short set “Right Now”, with Raydar Ellis, and two cuts with Project Move (“Goodvibe” and “We Got”). Two, the guest tracks are strong, with “We Got” turning out one of the best tunes on the LP.

7. Raheem Jamal is an artist. Not just a musical artist; he’s also a painter! I’m not sure why the press kit didn’t mention this fact, because his artwork is rather good, but I found some samples at Legends of Style. Check it out, and then get the album.
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