By Dj Pelau (Swagger Lifestyle DJ) 

djpelau@swaggerlifestyle.com

BIG GULPS!

K-Os, Yes! (Last Gang)

Toronto, Canada’s K-Os shouldn’t be a stranger to you if you follow good, thought-provoking hip-hop, though to a lot of his peers, he’s stranger than your average lyricist. Exactly. After all, he’s not average by any means. On the opener, like the many of his signature tracks of past LPs that define him, K-Os sings and spits rhymes over “Zambony,” an 808 kick drum-driven, illusive beat glided and guided by angelic melodies from voices that seem to be live-spirits looking down upon his soul. His tracks always seem to have a very high level of orchestration, enhanced with some classic hip-hop stained from the late 80’s or mid-90’s. Versatility is definitely K-Os’ strong-point, appearing like an authentic soulful punk-rocker on “Burning Bridges” or constantly bringing back the boom-bap of hip-hop scorching through as a heated b-boy on “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman”. He’s just one of the few artists out here that you can’t pin into one category, sometimes even seeming extra elusive. Artists that embody ‘escapism’ in their DNA usually are some of the most misunderstood, yet undoubtedly appear to have the most talent. And enter that equation into the hip-hop world, you’re going to unfortunately be staring down an isolated road. Just ask P.M. Dawn. But luckily that was in the 20^th century, so hopefully with more open-minded listeners, K-Os’ transcending tracks without borders, such as on “Eye Know Something” and “4 3 2 1”, both fantastic songs incorporating heavy elements of hip-hop fused with electro-pop, dubstep and spaceship soul, he’ll have more fans on board. Speaking of space and boarding, hop on his lead single, “the Aviator” which takes you full flight into the stratosphere above where most rappers dare to venture, especially those who’re too concerned with earthly perfection. K-Os is just a man, but always setting his limits beyond where his feet can touch the ground.

VARIOUS, Black Man’s Cry: The Influence & Inspiration of Fela Kuti (Now-Again)

You must know there’s ‘Fela Fever’ in the air when compilations, LPs, box-sets and even hip-hop royalty like Jay Z seem to be all getting behind connecting the masses to the movement of Fela Kuti, who together with his Africa 70 back in the 1960’s and 1970’s cross-bred the cultural music from his native Nigeria, took elements of American jazz, the soul of James Brown, big-band funk and popularized the invention of Afro-Beat. On this LP, as the title suggests, there’s a great assembly of artists and groups from all over the world who back around this crucial and influential period, as well as some artists of today, produced these songs that took a considerable amount of shape, patterning Fela’s Afro-Beat sound. Kicking it off, brilliance is evident on the Colombian ensemble, Cumbia Moderna De Soledad on “Shacalao” who revive and reunite their native cumbia with its roots of Yoruban rhythms from Nigeria. From fellow Nigerian bands such as 6^th Infantry Brigade of the Nigerian Army on “Black and Proud,” to Trinidadian steelbands such as Mosco Tiles Fonclaire Steel Orchestra on the title track, to the more up-to-date ensembles of today such as Daktaris on “Up Side Down” and Karl Hector & The Malcouns on “Toure Samar”, you’ll be definitely getting your Afro-Beat fix through this stellar release.

ALAN LOMAX, Alan Lomax In Haiti (Harte)

Harte Recordings, together with the estate of Alan Lomax – the greatest musicologist of the 20^th century – and in collaboration with The Library Of Congress, chronicle his 1936 Haitian recording expedition with a 10-CD box-set, which includes over 50 hours of field recordings. The box-set is a unique artifact, presenting for the first time this important document of Haiti’s rich cultural heritage captured in the field. Thematically organized into ten volumes, each showcasing a specific style of music that Lomax encountered, the timing on this couldn’t have been better. And no, this wasn’t rushed as a release after Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake, this box-set has been available since the end of 2009.

‘Merengue’ songs introduce the box-set’s first volume, while sounds of Voodoo worship represent another, or native Mardis Gras music is collected on yet another, and even ‘Romances’ -  a now-extinct style of music brought to Haiti from France during its period of colonization – fill the final volume.