RECORDINGS : Quick Spins

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

EARDRUM

Talib Kweli

Before hip-hop became diverse -- be it crunk, gangsta, hyphy or any number of regional flavors -- it was one singular style: a beat box, looped samples, turntable scratching, and rapping, always with a distinct New York accent.

Nowadays, even New Yorkers like 50 Cent and Jay-Z have largely moved away from the sonic collage that hip-hop once was, opting for more traditional music production. But Talib Kweli's new release, "Eardrum," offers the rarest of feasts for the hip-hop purist: a full album of sophisticated sampling, cunning wordplay and passionate songcraft, Brooklyn style.

Often tagged as a "conscious rapper" (meaning thoughtful rather than commercial), Kweli defies that label's implications by using his voice as a drum as well as a word processor. His swinging rhyme patterns and impeccable taste for beats have scored him surprise hits in the past, such as 2002's Kanye West-produced, gospel-tinged "Get By." Only God knows whether Kweli will enjoy those blessings this time around, but he's got help from some powerful mortals.

Kanye returns on "In the Mood," an ingenious track featuring Roy Ayers. Will.i.am supplies the first single, the sinewy, slippery "Hot Thing." Kweli enjoys a one-night stand with Norah Jones on "Soon the New Day," and retreats with Justin Timberlake in "The Nature." On "NY Weather Report," DJ Jazzy Jeff cuts the word "storm" so precisely that it becomes two syllables, as Kweli extols the resilience of his home town.

So it's ironic that one of the album's best moments comes when Kweli reaches out to Texas's UGK on "Country Cousins," bouncing with a Southern cadence and proclaiming, finally, "We're all connected by the slang we're bustin'."

-- Dan Charnas

DOWNLOAD THESE: "NY Weather Report," "Country Cousins," "In the Mood"

LIFELINE

Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals

"There's always someone younger, someone with more hunger," Ben Harper warns on his new album's rallying first song, urging us not to let it take the "Fight Outta You." Is the Gen-X singer-songwriter feeling weary after a career that spans more than a decade? Maybe. On the fragile, poignant ballad "Younger Than Today," he yearns gently for a hopeful past. In any case, "Fight Outta You" is a crummy album opener. Harper ditches his comforting, soulful voice and instead growls through most of the tune like an amateur at open-mike night.

The rest of "Lifeline" is better. Recorded in a week with his faithful followers, the Innocent Criminals, Harper created 11 tracks without Pro Tools or other modern recording cheats. The result is honest and organic on winners like the romantic "In the Colors," even if the CD's songwriting is inconsistent. Harper and his Criminals play their hearts out on the electric, piano-pounding "Needed You Tonight" -- but all you can think about is how brutally unoriginal it sounds. Seriously, will the Black Crowes get a royalty check?

Patient listeners will find payoff deeper in this bluesy excursion. Gospel-tinged, reach-for-the-sky jaunt "Say You Will" is predictable but fun. "Put It on Me" cuts a groove with a taste of Harper's trusty slide guitar. The final track, "Lifeline," presents Harper, 37, at his most naked: alone with an acoustic guitar. He nailed the song in one take, his pillow-soft voice wavering in a blend of artistry and human imperfection. This isn't Harper's most compelling outing, but it won't lose him any fans.

Ben Harper and t he Innocent Criminals are scheduled to perform at the Warner Theatre on Sept. 17.

-- Michael Deeds

DOWNLOAD THESE:"In the Colors," "Put It on Me," "Younger Than Today"

HUSTLENOMICS

Yung Joc

Atlanta rapper Yung Joc knows what kids want. The 24-year-old Bad Boy artist proved to be a serious teen tastemaker with his 2006 debut, "New Joc City," which spawned a dance and several kicky singles popular with youngsters. With his latest effort, "Hustlenomics," Joc is once again pandering to young fans, but rather than providing new dance tracks, he's giving them a version of the drug-focused rap their older siblings listen to.

On the lead single, "Coffee Shop," Joc brags about serving up something other than java over a beat from producer Don Vito that sounds disturbingly similar to the tinkling music blasted by ice cream trucks. "I'm a G" has Joc both listing his gangster credentials and giving a rudimentary spelling lesson with a thuggish, truncated version of the alphabet song.

Although Joc is one of the least introspective rappers around -- hey, if you want deep analysis, you check out Jung, not Yung -- he has a few moments where he displays something resembling substance. On "Play Your Cards," producers Cool & Dre mimic the synth foundation of T.I.'s "What You Know" with little success, but Joc manages to channel the flow of his fellow Atlanta MC without simply copying his style. Yung Joc also shines on the group effort "Cut Throat," featuring the Game and Jim Jones.

Those glimmers of promise signal that it may be time for Joc to stop corrupting children and start making more adult-oriented rap albums.

-- Sarah Godfrey

DOWNLOAD THESE:"Play Your Cards," "Cut Throat"

CAN I KEEP THIS PEN?

Northern State

Suburban, white and female, this hip-hop trio from Long Island deserves a lot more respect than it sometimes gets. Its old-school beats, progressive politics and crisscrossing rhymes might not have much in the way of street cred, but that doesn't make the group's sisterly camaraderie and wisecracking give-and-take any less infectious.

The three MCs sing and rock out more here than on their previous records, fusing electro-punk with retro rap, and generally to good effect. With its pulsating synths and singalong chorus, the tough-girl power-pop of "Better Already" updates vintage Go-Go's. The ping-ponging dance-rocker "Good Distance," meanwhile, is cauterized by pop-metal bursts of distorted guitar. The ambient ballad "Run off the Road" might be a tad somnolent for some, but its trippy soul groove could almost give the loungey likes of Air and Stereolab a run for their money.

Nevertheless, Northern State's cheeky, hyper-referential rhymes remain its strong suit. "MTV, much to my chagrin/Is about as exciting as an ottoman," quips Hesta Prynn to the skittering breakbeats and buzzing synths of the album-opening "Mic Tester."

"Sucka . . ." skewers a wannabe thug: "Put down that 40-ounce beer/You were shopping at Abercrombie just this year/So give up the gangsta [expletive] you talkin'/And take those snap-on grills right on back to Weehawken." Later, in three-part harmony, the group takes some real heavyweights to task: "This one's goin' out to the Democrats/2004 y'all came real whack/. . . But now that we got some real candidates/Can we please come correct in 2008?"

-- Bill Friskics-Warren

DOWNLOAD THESE: "Sucka . . .," "Mother May I?"