Don’t talk to me about rap and rock hybrids – I just don’t wanna know. So let’s move on…
Debut album ‘X-pressions’ and 2002’s ‘Built From Scratch’ proved beyond a reasonable doubt that turntabilists Roc Raida, Mista Sinista, Rob Swift were an innovative enough force. And although you got your fair share of Linkin Park fans grabbing a copy from the shelves, it has to be said that all three albums move way beyond the indelicate melding of rock and rap, instead occupying a curiously satisfying scratch niche. It may be scratch made for non-scratch clientele – but it packs a better punch than most preposterous hybrids. Not that any of this should come as a surprise as the band have been around in one form or another for well over a decade, starting off as The X-Men in 1989 before signing as The X-ecutioners with the indie hip-hop label Aspmodel in 1997 and going on to release the first ever album by a DJ Group. Heirs to the old-school DJ greats like Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa the group found unexpected success with Linkin’ Park on the hard-rock influenced ‘It’s Goin Down’, and new album ‘Revolutions’ sees the band taking that crossover success to the max
Rap and rock guests including Ghostface Killah and Black Thought on ‘Live From the PJ’s’, dead prez on ‘Sucka Think’ and Slug (of Atmosphere) on “(Even) More Human Than Human’ – all give good head and Anikke provides some vicious commercial clout with the razorsharp ‘Like This’ – just going to show that good shit can still happen.
share this:
