We don’t bring up hip-hip too much around here. Not sure if ya’ll (i.e. Billy Corgan) consider that a good or a bad thing. But one common thread throughout all the musical bases covered here is a good dose of hauntology. Where short-wave enthusiasts on labels like Ghost Box re-contextualize the past into un-filmed-film scores, L.A. producer Oh No creates hypothetical worlds and collaborations that bridge decades and countries. So I think it’s time to start budgeting some real estate for cerebral hip-hop here at TDT. Not to mention, listening to Dilla’s Donuts for the first time all the way through was easily one of the most psychedelic listening experiences I can recall. Anyways-
Hot on the trail of rap’s left-field/late-night hero and older brother Madlib (a.k.a. Otis Jackson), Oh No is constantly finding ways to challenge himself within the family business. Last year’s Dr. No’s Oxperiment focused it’s excavation almost entirely on Turkish and Lebanese psychedelic rock (which included the “Heavy”-hitter track that you know from all those Skate 2 commercials). His newest expedition makes a B-line down the Red Sea towards the fabled Ethiopia for the aptly titled Dr. No’s Ethiopium, coming out on Stones Throw this fall.
Regional funk, jazz, folk, soul, and psych are all surgically arraigned into ecstatic moments of diverse technique and style. His careful attention to sample texture, cut and spliced in origami fashion, produce banger after banger on this collection. Still a devoted hobbyist at heart, Oh No is securing a parallel reputation as one of underground hip-hop’s most innovative producers.
Dr. No’s Ethiopium is available for digital download on Stones Throw now, and will be available in CD and vinyl format this November.
For Fans Of: Madlib, J Dilla, Guilty Simpson, Edan, Blueprint
MP3 :::
Oh No – The Pain
Oh No – Melody Mix
