Short Takes

When I first put Amadou and Mariam's latest disc, Welcome to Mali, on my computer my iTunes program went ahead and classified as an "unclassified" genre. That's probably a good thing because whatever genre you may try to stick this into it doesn't quite fit because it really fits in them all. Bits of reggae, hip hop, funk, soul, rock, pop, all show their heads at times during Welcome to Mali showing off a surprising willingness to experiment with their sound after 30-years of music making. It all leads to one of the better, more interesting albums of the year, a record that embraces the listener with all sorts of sounds while challenging itself. I'm not the biggest listener of world music but something about Amadou and Mariam manages to grab me, and though I'm technically out of my comfort zone amongst the foreign language and strange instruments I never feel like I'm out of place listening to their music. It's thoroughly inviting to the ear, so much so that anyone from any walk of life could put this on and be invigorated by the music enough to get up and dance. As big and eye opening as Dimanche a Bamako was this new album has the potential to reach more ears and draw more listeners into their ever expanding cabal of fans.
Amadou and Mariam - "Sabali"
Amadou and Mariam - "Djuru"
Amadou and Mariam - "Je Te Kiffe"

Right from the start Clipse makes sure you know that this mixtape is just a prelude to what's coming next. In other words, you like this wait till you hear what we got for you on Till the Casket Drops! And you will like this believe it. In a year that has been terribly disappointing for hip hop, this could be the finest release any rapper has given us this year (if it weren't for Lil' Wayne) and it's only a fucking mixtape! You know Malice and Pusha T were taking it easy on this one, using the B-list beats and throwing out the best rhymes they could without wasting too much. The only drawback to this mixtape is that it is basically an advertisement for Till the Casket Drops and they make you know it again and again and again until you're a little sick of them saying the title of their next record. As annoying as that gets everything else here is top notch material. The beats are incredible, which bodes really well for the record, and the rhymes are sick, pertinent, timely, and have a sense of urgency that has been missing from most rappers all year long. It's as if these words need to come out of Malice and Pusha T, they are forcing their way out and there's nothing they can do about it. All of that leads to a sound of passion and desperation that make this fantastic. I don't know about you guys but as soon as this was over I was itching to hear Till the Casket Drops right then, too bad we gotta wait a few weeks for that.
Clipse - "Addiction"
Clipse - "S.L.U."