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Originally Posted by Howard the Duck
just to add my cents on FF, as it's too late in the day here for me to go in depth
whilst i do like the freeform and abstraction, i much prefer releases by A Tribe Called Quest
my favourite song is the one where they dissect f u c k y o u (can't remember its name)
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"F U C K Y O U **** Bush **** Quayle and the whole Republican crew"
- 5 o clock Follies!
Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.
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Well written. It's important to remember this album came out in 1991. Those short interludes were the way back then. I've never been a big fan of them either, but its nothing to knock them for because its how albums were designed back then. They got their intro, they go back to back with Aceyalone and Mikah 9's My Fantasy and 7th Seal. Whether you caught all of it or not, the average listener definitely needs to come down for a second because Mikah just slayed the track at top speed while unraveling a lesson/story. Especially considering the time and age, that was very unprecedented. Anyway, the breaks are there because people needed a breather to catch their minds up on what they just heard. After the first interlude, you get J Sumbi, PEACE, and Aceyalone again, then a break, some minor collaborative tracks, and then more big guns with Myka 9 and J Sumbi hitting their last major tracks, interlude, then Self Jup, PEACE, and Acey get their last says in, and the outro. It makes sense. In that day, you wouldn't just want to slam My Fantasy, 7th Seal, Sunshine Men, Physical Form, 120 Seconds, We Will Not Tolerate, 5 o clock Follies, Legal Alien, Jupiter's Journey, For No Reason, and Here I Am back to back to back. Most of those tracks are absolutely full of energy if not messages to the listener, etc., so it's important to break it up with the interludes to show the chill side, fun side, playful side while giving the listener a chance to recoop.
It's hard to personally relate, but they give great insight on what its like to live in the 90s. Sunshine Men and 5 o clock Follies do that best in my opinion. It's recent history on audio form, isn't it. And who can't relate to that F U C K Y O U, F Bush, F Quayle, and the whole Republican crew. Ha, when I heard that, George W was in office and it took me a second to go 'oh, derp, they had george Sr. f'ing **** up until '92 that's right!'
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goofle11
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 some [sic] 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.
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Well written, more or less. A couple points of conversation/contention:
I feel like the genre or sub-genre they helped pioneer is not necessarily abstract hip-hop. Maybe nowadays we can call it that. But they were amongst the pioneers of Conscious hip-hop. They were the type to probably get along with Poor Righteous Teachers, for example. In a time where gangsta rap was about to take off and conscious people were trying to stay relevant, it was a nice addition that kept some people interested. If only conscious hip-hop had taken off and gangsta rap had faltered. What can ya do?
In all my listening to Freestyle Fellowship, I must say contrary to popular opinion and yours Goofle, I like this album more than Innercity Griots. In fact I like their 2011 album more than I like Innercity Griots as well. IG comes in third out of 4 or 5 albums for me. To Whom It May Concern is pretty much a masterpiece. I don't find fault in it, besides the explainable interludes. I think Mikah/Myka really blew it out of the water and if he wasn't on the album, it wouldn't really be much of anything special. As a team, Myka and Acey are damn near unstoppable. Self Jup, PEACE, and J Sumbi are cool. I've been warming up to Sumbi more and more. His track Sunshine Men is my 3rd favorite on the album, actually.
Last discussion point is to your response to question 17. Besides KRS-One, BDP, PRT, this really wasn't being done much. Conscious, political raps. What's MORE-so is the rhyme multis. We're talking about '91 here, LA. The flow on these cats, especially Myka 9, was completely revolutionary. You got one bit very right, though, and that this album inspired SOME others to step up their game lyrically, flow wise, etc.
I didn't want to break it down question by question but here's some more of my thoughts:
13) Can you recommend similar albums to this?
Hit up the Poor Righteous Teachers catalogue. Advance down the other avenues Myka 9 has traveled. Check out Haiku D'etat with Aceyalone and Abstract Rude. Check out Project Blowed. Check out Magic Heart Genies. Check out these dudes solo works. I know Mikah 9/Myka 9 and Aceyalone have a handful of solo albums. Try 2Mex. Hit up Pharaoh Monche, especially back in Organized Konfusion. Go back and make sure you know KRS-One for real, not just the name. Some can be outdated a bit, but do it once, right?
Here's what last.fm thinks:
http://www.last.fm/music/Freestyle+Fellowship/+similar
It's saying try Hieroglyphics. One of my favorites. I guess they relate as a group of non-gangsta rappers coming out of a ghetto, but there are differences as well. Anyway. Yeah, do Hiero, do Del, Deltron, Casual, A-Plus, Pep Love, Phesto Dee, Tajai, Bukue One. Do some People Under the Stairs.
14) What does this album's artwork say about it? Is it well paired with the music?
It shows the collective. It shows them united. And Myka has a ball of light pulsing out of his hand. Yeah, I think it's paired well with the music.
Linear Mode
