CityBeat: Album Review: Room E – Penguin Child

February 3, 2012 by Quan Vu Leave a Comment

I forgot to post this up. I reviewed Room E’s new instrumental album, Penguin Child, for this week’s CityBeat. I know I’m bombarding you with a bunch of crap I’ve written elsewhere. But yo, when time is short, I gotta prioritize writing that pays and might somewhere be read by a cute Asian chick who will recognize me ordering a Ghetto Big Mac at Fancy McDonald’s and then hook me up with her less cute friend with more “personality.” ::crosses fingers::

Anyway, Penguin Child was cool. The review’s below in its entirety. Because it started getting ridiculous posting a 150-word snippet of a 300-word review. You can see it at CityBeat here. Be on the lookout for more Room E x Parker & The Numberman team-ups. Check out a promo video of Room E after the jump.

Once you discover that Room E is a skinny Asian dude who produces instrumental hip-hop, you might be tempted to think of that other skinny Asian dude who produces instrumental hip-hop: Nosaj Thing, who sits at the center of L.A.’s thriving beat scene. But the labels—musical and ethnic—are where the similarities end. While Nosaj Thing and his cohorts mine production glitches to conjure new shades of darkness, Room E embraces a lighthearted aesthetic on Penguin Child, his first full-length album.

Thanks to the L.A. beat scene, much of instrumental hip-hop has gone harsh, with lots of lo-fi fuzz and glitchy samples pushed past the limits of digital manipulation. Though Room E also employs samples and synthesizers, he takes a more traditional approach on Penguin Child, smoothing the edges to fit the various pieces organically into his compositions. He also incorporates live instruments like xylophones, pianos, accordions and drums.

With all this lush instrumentation, his soundscapes bubble over with joy and serenity. “Migrate” and “Bed & Breakfast” capture the rush of adventure and the discovery of new lands. “Earl Grey” is pure and sweet. The recurring Arctic theme (see tracks “Wooly Mammoth,” “Polar Bear,” “Igloo” and the title track) seems to center not on a snowy environment, but on its delicate beauty.

Room E has a bright future—he recently signed to Proper Songs, a small U.K.-based label that has plans to re-release Penguin Child. But it’s unclear whether he can avoid knee-jerk comparisons to other superficially similar artists. I wouldn’t usually bet on it, but this exuberant, promising album makes me believe it can happen.

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CityBeat: Album Review: Gonjasufi – MU.ZZ.LE

January 27, 2012 by Quan Vu Leave a Comment

Seth Combs went in on Gonjasufi’s MU.ZZ.LE album, which just dropped this week. You can read the review in this week’s CityBeat. I’m not sure about him conflating “comforting familiarity” with catchiness though. I mean, if Gonjasufi had indulged his weirdness more to pander to critics who loved A Sufi and a Killer, that would’ve been another sort of comforting familiarity, right? I wonder if the muzzle represents people that want to put him into an “artsy-fartsy weirdo” box.

Anyway, just some thoughts. Snippet below. Click here for the full review. Not sure if I’ll review it myself yet but I do have plans for something way more baller, eventually.

Now, we have a follow-up in MU.ZZ.LE, a 10-track mini-album that was produced by Sufi and local producer Psychopop. The distorted, trademark voice is still here, but the sonic experimentalism is dialed down a bit. He sounds like Mos Def at his most loose—indeed, “Venom” and “Blaksuit” sound like outtakes from the emcee’s 2004 release, The New Danger.

I can see fans of Sufi, who now lives in Las Vegas, embracing just about anything he puts out (the weed helps), but I can’t help but feel that Sufi has lost a bit of his edge. Songs like “The Blame” and “Nikels and Dimes” are downright catchy! I know, it’s weird that I’m bitching about a song being catchy, but you know what? Give me adventurousness and inaccessibility over retreads and comforting familiarity any day. I may not like it immediately, but I’ll at least commend the novelty.

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Nature of the Beast (Markmywords & DJ Sinn) – Homeland Security

January 26, 2012 by Quan Vu Leave a Comment

DOWNLOAD: Nature of the Beast (Markmywords & DJ Sinn) – Homeland Security

Not gonna get that deep but I kinda had to throw this up, even if I’m a couple years late.

I remember trying to listen to this all the way through a few times in the past and passing on it. Recently though, I randomly threw it on my mp3 player for no real reason that I can remember. And I’ve accidentally found that it sounds really great in Shuffle mode when mixed with all my other music. I’ve been having all these head-turning, Oh word? Let me check what I’m listening to moments lately. The majority of the time, I discover I’m listening to something from this album. It’s happened often enough in the past few weeks that I needed to post something about it. Fortunately, the album is available for free download from the Nature of the Beast site.

Haven’t really thought about it too much but, for what it’s worth, I have similar reactions to albums from Tech N9ne or Twista. I can’t listen to either artist for very long but I think they’re extremely potent in small doses. The same could be true for Markmywords, or at least for this album. Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Brother Nature – A Very Brother Nature Christmas EP

January 3, 2012 by Quan Vu Leave a Comment

I realize it’s way past Christmas and this is now very late. I was trying to wait until the calamity over the last Brother Nature post blew over so I could listen with a less tainted ear. But that doesn’t look like it’s happening soon so I’ll just post this up now.

The irony is that I like this EP. Often, post-Native Tongues music gets too mired in technical prowess when much of the classic Tongues shit owes a lot to humor, charm, and a sense of looseness (Prince Paul FTW!). Those are points that this EP hits. This is a fun listen. It opens with mention of “mistletoe on her camel-toe” before going into “I Saw Momma Kissing Santa Clause” in which Real J. insinuates his mom might be a ho bag for possibly sleeping with Santa Clause … and then Bam appears in the role of Santa to confirm Real’s fears. On “All I Want For Christmas,” the duo invokes the Alvin and the Chipmunks classic by spitting in not-quite-chipmunk-soul-but-still-squeaky-high-pitched voices. And on “Gameboy & Bike,” they sing poorly to a strumming guitar about beating up Santa Clause on some Riley Freeman shit. All of this is rapped over soothing, “holiday” music, the juxtaposition of which adds to the humor. Read more of this post

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SoundDiego: Album Review: Real J. Wallace – The Jah Father of Soul Cal

December 22, 2011 by Quan Vu 5 Comments


I reviewed Real J. Wallace’s mixtape over at SoundDiego. He says it’s the length of the 94 highway and I tested it like an asshole. I think dude owes me gas money. I ended up driving into terrifying hick territory where I was almost certain someone was gonna shoot my Oriental face off.

Anyway, a snippet below and the full review here:

The music is, of course, soulful and funky. There’s a reason these breaks were sampled in the first place, and that’s because they were great songs to begin with. Real J’s rhymes feature a familiar mix of technical prowess, spirituality, black-culture references (notably, “the big piece of chicken” from a Chris Rock bit), everyman resolve and crass sexuality, just in case you thought he was getting too serious (to wit, there’s a song with several puns on different terms for oral sex). It’s lyrically satisfying, though there’s a jarring disconnect between his soft-spoken voice and his occasional vulgarity. Clearly, one of those has to go, and hopefully, it’s not the vulgarity.

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CityBeat: Album Review: Pedalay The Boss – Issue #1

December 21, 2011 by Quan Vu 1 Comment

Pedalay The Boss
Pedalay The Boss “Voices”
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Pedalay The Boss “Support”
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Pedalay The Boss “Noise”
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I enjoyed Pedalay’s album, though I only finally heard it months after its release. I had worried that his parting ways with Scatterbrain would spell ruin–a testament to Scatterbrain’s production. But instead, Pedalay became a better rapper for it and his other producers hold their own for the most part.

My three favorite songs are above. What surprised me about this album was stuff like “Support,” which finally saw Pedalay get a little personal, a welcome change. But I still like “Voices” and “Noise” because they sound evil and I like to indulge in evil at times, like right now.

Check out a snippet below and read the full review at CityBeat:

Remember when beefing rappers made diss songs? Diss songs used to be the norm, so much so that they inspired b-movie “documentaries” like Beef. Today, beef plays out ungracefully on social media, with punch lines replaced by hashtags, snarky status updates and YouTube threats.

That’s why Pedalay The Boss’ latest album, Issue #1, sounds so refreshing. Pedalay, a Southeast San Diego rapper, is nerdy enough to spit abstract imagery and title his album like it’s a comic-book series. But he also talks about real-life shit, and his recent estrangement from rapper / producer Scatterbrain has provided fuel for his creativity.

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Access Sez So: Album Review: Stuntdouble & Tenshun – The Ballad of Shawn T. Nelson EP

December 4, 2011 by SDRaps.com Guest 5 Comments

Wes has been locked in his basement listening to this 7-inch and writing the great American novel a review. Now, he’s back with a vengeance.

Just a few a months ago, one of my favorite San Diego releases of the year dropped with a bang! And while it’s just a 7-inch EP with a mere four tracks, it’s a little release that had big things to say!

After their last album, Don’t Have to be Drunk To Tell the Truth, was released back in 2007, Stuntdouble and DJ/Producer Tenshun continued to perform locally, maintaining their presence around San Diego’s underground scene. Tenshun, as a solo act, has worked steadily on pushing out releases independently and through several other indie labels as a following of fans of his drum heavy production continues to grow. Stuntdouble remains equally busy juggling back and forth between school, work and family life, recording songs between releases, sometimes with other producers. Unfortunately, as the years passed, the material and the hours put into said sessions had become all but an afterthought for the emcee, and sadly those tracks may never see the light of day. Over the years, I would see both artists here at Access, and I’d always be eager to hear anything new and if they would at least hint at another release together. Finally, after a few delays over the summer in which the plates to press the brand new EP on vinyl were denied due to sampling issues, their long talked about return is here!

Stuntdouble didn’t set out to make an EP about how “fine” his city is with some half-assed anthems your friends can chant the words to at house parties. “Welcome to San Diego. Now go home.” These words are printed directly on the label of the record itself and this pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the EP. The Ballad of Shawn T. Nelson is a release filled with political connotations and the social commentary fans have come to expect from the fire-bearded and equally hot-tempered emcee. It’s aimed specifically at life in San Diego, from the perspective of the average citizen, and not some pamphlet-pushing tour guide who can’t wait to lure visitors on a tour bus to “America’s Finest City,” as it is so affectionately dubbed by the media. As an outsider myself, living in various neighborhoods amongst this city’s inhabitants for the last ten years, “America’s Finest City” is a term that definitely feels outdated. Read more of this post

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SoundDiego: Album Review: Gonjasufi – The Ninth Inning EP

December 2, 2011 by Quan Vu 1 Comment


Gonjasufi – The Ninth Inning EP by Hydroshare.tv
THE LOWS (REMIX) produced by Meaty Ogre by OLDENGLISH1904

I wrote a track-by-track review Gonjasufi’s latest Fader-sponsored EP, The Ninth Inning, over at SoundDiego. In short, it’s a very weird 10 minutes of music. But I’m glad that he doesn’t rely on his weirdness as a crutch, doesn’t let himself become a gimmick. He still says real-ass shit even if it’s sometimes coded like “Be rich, eat fish, and die.”

I’ve also included the “The Lows (Remix)” with Saviorself of Old English, who was this close to Fader fame. Read a blurb about “Eatfish” below and check the rest of the review here:

Yay, break beats! It sounds like there are some soft xylophones, which is a nice counterpoint to the crisp drums. Gonajsufi is relegated to singing the hook and sprinkling his wailing through Blu’s verses, but this still sounds more like a Gonjasufi song despite Blu having the lion’s share of the mic time. When you pay attention to the lyrics, you realize this is basically a motivational song, though the message is given in the weirdest of terms: “Be rich, eat fish and die,” goes the chorus. You actually have to rely on Blu’s verses to get the main point of it, which is weird in itself since it’s usually the chorus that sums up the verses. Anyway, the point is: Whatever you want to be, it’s possible if you just work your ass off.

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SD CityBeat: Album Review: Black Mikey – The Cold Summer EP

November 30, 2011 by Quan Vu Leave a Comment


Black Mikey “Screw Face”
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I wrote an album review of Black Mikey’s Cold Summer EP. In short, it’s half good, half meh. But “Screw Face” is amazing, one of the best songs in his catalog. Here’s a blurb about the good parts of the EP below. You can read the entire review here.

Mikey is much more successful when he’s focusing his energy elsewhere. “Rap Star” and “Motivated” reveal some of what’s driving his music, including escaping poverty, the traps of the ’hood and, deeper still, saving his own soul.

“Screw Face” is one of the best songs he’s ever made. In it, he takes on the title role, a manifestation of the devil on your shoulder steering you into evil and violence. At times, vocals that are slowed down and “screwed” (named after the technique’s originator, DJ Screw) pop in behind Mikey, creating a demonic effect that helps make this a horror-movie-esque cautionary tale.

You can get Cold Summer on iTunes here. Mikey has another album called Premeditated Music that I haven’t gotten to hear yet due to lack of access. Then there’s also the joint B.B. Kingz album with Bazerkowitz that sounds dope on first listen. I’m kinda annoyed actually that I chose to review this album for CityBeat when Premeditated Music might be much better (if only I had a copy) and B.B. Kingz is definitely that illness. I’m not sure how much space they’ll give me to ramble on about Black Mikey. I’d much rather use my limited space to ramble on about the best music, if possible.

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SD CityBeat: Album Review: Crhymes – The Evolution of Crhymes

November 7, 2011 by Quan Vu 9 Comments

I should’ve posted this up last week but I wasn’t feeling too hot. Kim Kardashian’s divorce can really leave you in shambles like that. But yeah, I reviewed Crhymes’s latest album, The Evolution of Crhymes, in this week’s issue of CityBeat. To tell you the truth though, I’m not entirely digging the final review. The biggest issue is that I have a limited word count that I must adhere to. In my self-editing, I had to ask myself if I wanted to: A. talk about Crhymes’s voice and why I didn’t like it; OR B. defend gangsta rap from the possible implications of this album’s title/concept. I chose the latter. But excluding the former and then adding further edits from my editor really seemed to take the teeth out of it.

The other issue that I really can’t go without saying is that Crhymes is a good dude and an advocate for the San Diego scene. He runs DagoSD.com radio, I think he helped get that CityBeat article about the shootings in Southeast published, he votes for godawful Lil Uno videos on MTV just to support SD artists. He’s a very earnest, eager person. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that him being a stand-up dude wasn’t in the back of my mind when listening to the album.

In a nutshell: the album is better than I’d thought it would be. Crhymes has heart but I don’t like his voice very much. Evolve provides soul sample-based, comfort food beats. But don’t for a second think this makes it high art as opposed to the g-funk/Ecay Uno-driven production on One Breath Closer. Read a grab below and then check the first link above for the full article:

As the program director at Internet radio station DagoSD.com, Latino rapper Crhymes is eager to connect with other artists to promote them and broaden his reach. On his new album, The Evolution of Crhymes, he works with one of his newer connections, beatmaker Evolve One. It’s an important partnership—while Crhymes’ earlier work focused on gangster-friendly West Coast G-funk, Evolve introduces soul-sample loops and, with it, what some might consider a more artistic experience. Whether or not you interpret this as Crhymes’ evolution, as the title suggests, depends on your preference for the two seemingly opposite hip-hop styles.

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