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Hip-Hop Through the Looking Glass

There's action all up and down the hip-hop food chain this month, from new singles trying to make a splash, to a mixtape market in transition, to some long-awaited albums and surprisingly good posthumous releases hitting the street.

On the singles scene, burgeoning songstress Natasha partnered with mixtape heroes Clipse for "So Sick", a dense gem of a tune. Over a claustrophobic, minimal beat, Natasha taunts haters with a beguiling hook and a melody that's alternately paranoid and soaring. To her credit, she's not completely shown up by Pusha and Malice, which is no small accomplishment—we expect big things to come.

Checking in from further south, Academy Award Winners (as they never tire of reminding us) Three 6 Mafia have shortened the wait for their upcoming album with a new single, "Doe Boy Fresh," featuring Houston's heavyweight Chamillionaire. It's a slightly workmanlike hustler tune with some hefty bounce, but the blah-factor is largely redeemed by a baffling and brilliant video. Apparently, someone has found a portal into mind of Three 6 Mafia—Being John Malkovich-style— and the boys are charging admission. While the video features your standard curbside posturing, it also constantly cuts away to a series of average Joes and Janes peering and leering at the scene through a shady portal. Incisive critique of the voyeuristic, vicarious pleasures of rap videos, or a heavy-handed swipe at social commentary? You be the judge, because we're still pondering the implications of what would happen if Three 6 stepped into their own portal.

Speaking of windows into drama, hip-hop's own massive mixtape market has been experiencing a major shake-up. Mixtapes have long allowed MCs to stretch their wings away from label control, while also serving as a quasi-legal and highly effective marketing device. But this alternative system of distribution got a nasty shock early this year when a SWAT team burst into an Atlanta recording studio to arrest mixtape DJs Drama and Don Cannon, and confiscate their stock of CDs. As with most scandals in hip-hop, conspiracy theories piled up fast and deep. While not much light has been shed on exactly what happened and why, the repercussions of these arrests continue to be felt throughout this vibrant sector of the hip-hop world.

One surprising consequence of the Drama arrest has been DJs and artists giving away their mixtapes for free. Amidst a mini-boom of these not-quite-100%-legal products, one mixtape in particular stands out: And Justus For All, a collaboration between Little Brother and DJ Mick Boogie. Little Brother are a wildly prolific and polemical group from North Carolina, that includes MCs Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte, and (until recently) their producer 9th Wonder. Justus is noteworthy not just for the competitive price tag—it's one of the more solid tapes so far this year. As on their earlier albums, Little Brother don't shy away from tackling powder-keg subjects, but they soften their jabs with wry humor, always laughing at themselves first. Pooh and Phonte's formidable lyrical talents shine over a range of jazzy beats from Khrysis, 9th Wonder, and even Rjd2. Fellow travelers Talib Kweli and Mos Def also pop up on guest spots.

Free, digital mixtapes have also become vehicles for DJs to gather fresh sounds from far-flung latitudes. Case in point is Montreal's Ghislain Poirier, who delivered a smack upside the headphones with Grimeyland, a mix of African hip-hop boasting serious talent from Johannesburg to Dakar. After mixing it live on the BBC, Poirier made Grimeyland available for free to great viral acclaim. While clocking in at under a half hour, the mix manages to unleash more canned heat than a half a dozen bloated American releases put together.

While mixtapes may be a source of steady work (if not income), there's not an MC out there who isn't repping or hoping for his forthcoming LP. One rapper who's made some serious down-payments of dues in this department is Kanye West's protégé Consequence, who finally saw his first album released, nearly 11 years after he first guested on A Tribe Called Quest's Beats, Rhymes and Life. As the title of Don't Quit Your Day Job suggests, Consequence strikes an uneasy balance with success, having seen it all before. He's learned more than cynicism in his time, however; even when he raps about perseverance, he finds a way to show off his gift for witty rhymes. Appropriately for someone who got his start back in New York's heyday, many of these productions have a throwback, East-Coast feel, leaning heavily on samples of live guitar, strings, and bass. The record is thankfully light on Kanye's sped-up soul diva samples, though the West does make an appearance, as does John Legend.

Another group buoyed by mixtape hustle are the good-natured French goofballs of TTC, whose third album, 3615, finally hits stores Stateside this month. After a solid debut record, the group built a simmering buzz on member Cuizinier's campy yet addictive mixtapes. While the words "French" and "rap" may produce shudders in many Americans, these Parisians do things a bit differently, channeling the amped-up energy and digital aesthetic of US club-hop into their own alternative universe of candy-colored polo shirts and dancefloor-focused euro-crunk.

Not infrequently in hip-hop, the run of guest spot appearances and even albums seems to continue past the grave. Bad Boy has commemorated the 10 year anniversary of Biggie's death with an album of his Greatest Hits, for those who somehow overlooked these classics, or simply want them all in one place. All respect to B.I.G., but this month's standout posthumous release has to be Ruff Draft, a collection of early tracks from J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) out on Stones Throw. Far from a gathering of leftovers from this consistently mind-blowing producer—who passed away last year from a rare blood disease—Ruff Draft is an exceptional album. Previously only available on vinyl, it showcases Dilla at the top of his game, dropping raucous jams and hypnotic, vulnerable compositions. This mini-masterpiece is a welcome exception to the posthumous slump rule, and a bittersweet reminder of Dilla's fiercely original talent.

- Toby Warner
03.08.07