debaserr

I'm hoping Loveless doesn't win. I can only hear that every few years.

__________________
Last.FM

Paedantic Basterd

I was going to nominate Bark Psychosis' Hex. But I forgot.

Goofle

I nominated the Freestyle Fellowship album, as it was the first album on RYM with the tag Abstract Hip Hop. It may not be the "first" in reality, but I feel it certainly pioneered the genre.

__________________

Paedantic Basterd

And the winner is FREESTYLE FELLOWSHIP - TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.

debaserr

Hit me up if you are having trouble finding it.

__________________
Last.FM

Goofle

1) What are this albums' strengths?

The MC's are very good. Myka 9 and Aceyalone are two of my personal favourites, and Self-Jupiter holds his own no doubt. They work well together and have multiple styles, which keeps the album fresh,

2) What are its weaknessess?

Probably the production. It is by no means bad, but sometime the beats are a little weak, and the vocal mix sometimes grates on the ears.

3) How does it compare to the artist's other work?

I personally prefer Inner City Griots as I feel they ironed out the cracks that this album has and created a perfect Hip Hop album.

4) Favourite songs?

I really like the mellow feel of Sunshine Man and I also like 7th Seal a lot.

5) What feelings did this album evoke?

I suppose it makes me think about the evolution of one of my favourite genres. A kind of nostalgia that isn't rooted in experience, more in spirit.

6) How does this album fit into your regular rotation?

I had listened to this thing four times until today, which is quite a lot of times compared to most albums I have listened to. I don't instantly go for it, but if I catch the group title when scrolling through my files I always consider listening to it.

7) What stood out to you about this album's themes, musically/lyrically?

The production has a very tribal feel, with lot's of minimal bass/drum, or at least that is what I pick up on. And is generally quite mellow, allowing for the MC to come to the fore. They are generally socially conscious and talk about "Real sh*t" as people say.

8) If you've had any noteworthy experiences with this album, what have they been?

None.

9) What do you know about this album's creation? Any interesting facts or anecdotes?

None.

10) How does this album represent the chosen theme?

I think it represents the theme because I feel as though the album was one of the first to truly embrace abstract themes within Hop Hop, and do it well. They ran alongside the likes of Tribe, De La, The Pharcyde etc, but they didn't only promote positivity, they also spoke with a higher wisdom.

11) How does this album compare to other albums nominated for this theme?

Step In The Arena is a great Hip Hop alum, but I am not sure what it "pioneered" to be honest. I assume "Jazz Rap"? It's probably a better album to be honest.

The others are also great from what I know.

12) How does this album compare to others in its genre?

As I stated, I probably prefer the next album my this collective, and lots more that followed it, but it has a special place in history in my eyes for breaking new ground in terms of lyrical themes.

13) Can you recommend similar albums to this?

Madvillainy, Funcrusher Plus and Abandoned Language

14) What does this album's artwork say about it? Is it well paired with the music?

Nothing much really. Just some dudes making Hip Hop.

15) How does this album compare to the artist's remaining work?

Hasn't this already been asked?

16) How did this album help establish a genre?

I feel as though Abstract Hip Hop is not exactly a genre within itself, but the themes used in this album certainly made other artists step their game up in my opinion.

17) What was its influence following this establishment?

It's hard to say. I am sure people were making music like this around the same time, and you can never say for certain that people are directly influenced by something, but it was certainly followed by many like minded works.

__________________

Howard the Duck

just heard it once

need a relisten before i give my thoughts

pretty much free flow stream of consciousness stuff

__________________


Malaise is THE dominant human predilection.

Zer0

Sorry, completely lost track of this.

I did give To Whom It May Concern a couple of listens however. I'm not the biggest fan of hip-hop in general but I decided to approach this with an open mind and with added curiosity. I certainly wasn't disappointed and on the second listen I found myself getting into it a little bit more. What really gets my attention are the backing tracks they use which add a slightly strange and unhinged base for their socially-aware rapping. I've already heard Absense by Dalek which is an album I enjoy occasionally and although these albums have very different moods and sounds, it's the fact that they experiment a bit and think outside the box that makes them stand apart from regular hip-hop.

What scores negative points however is that there are to many short interlude pieces, some of which seem to have no real purpose. But when they do get down to business on tracks such as '7th Seal', 'Physical Form' and 'Jupiter's Journey' you can't really fault them much. Although I admire this album I still find it hard to relate to on a personal level, which is probably a cultural thing more so. But this album is definitely a keeper and will get more spins in the future.

Out of the other albums the only one I've heard is Loveless. Shoegaze was very much in full swing when Loveless was released so I'm not sure you could really say that it pioneered the genre. It's difficult to determine what album or release really kick-started it. In fact you could even argue that Loveless was the beginning of the end of the original shoegazing movement as it set the bar so high that nobody could match it. Never-the-less it is one of the most influential albums of the last 25 years.

__________________

Paedantic Basterd

Oh **** I forgot to do this last weekend. Ah, sorry folks.

Paedantic Basterd

Sorry I forgot. The poll's up for voting now!

I think we needed a leap-week anyways, since we were starting to slide off schedule.