Old White Women

Lil' Ronny EP

Emerald City Ruins

originally published October 31, 2007

With the name Old White Women, one could be forgiven for failing to expect much. Maybe a few ironically shabby beats, a lot of nerdy, nasally self-deprecation and, with any luck, some goofy drug talk. Certainly not anything as passionately constructed and strikingly fresh as Lil' Ronny, the first EP from these two surrealist hip-hop oddballs. If anything holds Old White Women back, it'll be the handle, not the skills.

Then again, everything about Old White Women (who also moonlight as half of the Deaf Judges crew) is defiantly cryptic.

With his attitude, Louis "MC Audrey Hepburn" Weekley could only rep the ATH. But his flow is as cold, hard and Noo-Yawkish as Method Man's in his prime. A lot of his rhymes seem political, and he drops some junk science about UFOs, anthrax and smelling with his eyeballs. But he's more Pharoahe Monch than Talib Kweli; his big words and conspiracy theories are tools in his battle-rapping arsenal, and he raps like the hungriest kid in the lunchroom cipher. He doesn't make a lot of sense, but he sells every line.

Meanwhile, on the decks, Matt "DJ Elizabeth Taylor" Williams brings a choppy, poppy, Beatles-fixated aesthetic that echoes Danger Mouse's early mixtapes. He's all over the place. Sometimes, his string samples come in too loud and overwhelm the vocals. But his clever juxtapositions and his mild psychedelic mindset… they're pure Athens.

If the city's hip-hop scene (always in flux) has created a brand, this might as well be it. And only Athens would let that name fly.

Emerson Dameron

Deaf Judges are playing at the Caledonia Lounge on Saturday, Nov. 3 as part of Hip-Hop Homecoming Week.

Travis Williams & Crazy DJ Bazarro

Lean on Me mixtape

Independent Release

originally published October 31, 2007

Last time local rapper Travis Williams released a mixtape (Reparations: The Rape Tape Vol. 1; The Official Mix Tape), it sounded like he could use a beer or two, or maybe a neck massage. The fundamentals were notable, but the anger wasn't tempered with much. Lean on Me, a collaboration with New Yorker and podcaster Crazy DJ Bazarro, is a little looser and, therefore, much more likely to be tossed on the iPod for a party. Even Williams's vocal style seems to have chilled out a little, and Bazarro's beats add a groove that's more pop and relaxed than his moniker would imply.

"Get Down Like That," for example, rides a beat that's simple but smart, with vacationy strings that allow Williams to move quickly over the top. The whole CD is more nimble than its predecessor, which means one gets more nit-picky, not less, as Williams proves himself worthy of attention. "Boiling Point," for instance, is a fine song, but it would be improved much by a more varied vocal line and a stronger beat, although both convey what they're supposed to. Sometimes, Williams seems to be holding himself back rhythmically, as in "Be a Man," but his lyrics have stepped up, too, and that brief examination of what to do when your woman gets pregnant is thoughtful - and therefore far above average.

If you listen to one song, shoot for "U Know It's True," a complete production built on a good sample that isn't just a clever background, or "Get Stupid," a quicker, jumpier number. Growth is good. Keep it up.

Hillary Brown

Travis Williams is playing at the Caledonia Lounge on Saturday, Nov. 3 as part of Hip-Hop Homecoming Week.

Ishues

Civil Unrest

Independent Release

originally published October 31, 2007

Ishues has been a dominant force on the Athens hip-hop scene since the early 2000s, when he ran with the now defunct Herb and Skills collective. In hip-hop years, that doesn't quite make him eligible for Social Security, but he's paid some dues, winning numerous battles and bringing a thoughtful dignity wherever he's been.

While he's one of the city's most quick-witted lyricists, he rarely cracks wise per se - he's the rare rapper who's too earnest to be funny, but smart and confident enough to justify his relentless sincerity. On Civil Unrest, his second full-length (and first with a decisive focus), he speaks knowledgably on a broad range of subjects, from government corruption to corporate malfeasance to covering his daughter’s eyes when misogynistic rap videos pop on the tube. And for anyone with a sixth-grade hip-hop education, it’s easy enough to follow. Ishues doesn’t get his tongue tangled. He prizes content over style, but knows that his approach only works for rappers with the mic skills to make their content stick.

In accordance with Chris Rock’s dictum, he also knows that a conscious rapper needs some ignorant beats. Unlike most other brainy Native Tongues throwbacks, Ishues drops his gems over slick, modern, no-nonsense tracks, not much different from those favored by his hot-selling, crack-fixated contemporaries. He’s not rocking Jean-Claude Vannier samples, but he certainly isn’t stupid.

Civil Unrest isn’t a classic for the ages; it’s very much of its time. But as the first real Ishues testament, it’s an essential document. If happiness is knowing what you want and how to get it, Ishues is having a good year.

Emerson Dameron

Ishues is playing at the Caledonia Lounge on Saturday, Nov. 3 as part of Hip-Hop Homecoming Week.

C-Fre$h

Self-Made mixtape

Independent Release

originally published October 31, 2007

Too much of a good thing can't be bad, right? Athens rapper C-Fre$h, though, proves otherwise with his Self-Made mixtape, released earlier this summer. It's an overlong mixtape that smothers C-Fre$h's clear talent and skill (the guy's charismatically vibrant on stage) with track after similar track, most lines phrased too much alike. Maybe it's time for Athens rappers to take some notes from the indie-pop scene here in town; sure, bands like Titans of Filth and The Lolligags make great two- or three-minute pop songs, but would anyone want to hear 25 of them back to back? There's not enough stylistic variety to support that approach, and so those bands wisely choose to release EPs with only a handful of songs. It's better to be left wanting more than to feel worn down.

But the argument that, hey, that's how mixtapes are? Sure, that flies if you don't have a problem blindly following a pattern, joining the herd. But too many rappers claim to be original; too few can back up that claim, and here C-Fre$h chose to do things the way they've been done before. Luckily, though, C-Fre$h has the potential to expand upon his talents in the future - he's got a good sense for collaboration, pairing with local producers (Mantooth, The Industry) and guest stars (Elite tha Showstoppa, Mr. C, Pride Parade/Freeball guitarist Allen Owens) that complement rather than overshadow his rhymes. And there's an innate joy in C-Fre$h's delivery. Even when he's spitting about his "wild child life," for instance, C-Fre$h conveys the sense that he's inhabiting each and every syllable. He should trust his instincts towards creativity and turn away from the predictable.

C-Fre$h certainly isn't the first rapper to put out an oppressive, overindulgent mixtape. (And goddamn it, he won't be the last.) Expansive, 70-plus-minute-long mixtapes convey nothing so much as a lack of confidence - instead of choosing what best represents his skills, C-Fre$h is throwing everything out there like some sort of last gasp effort, hoping something shines through. Self-Made is good, but there's too much, and it's too same-y. With some time and some judicious choices, he'll improve. For now, see him live; the cat delivers some killer performances.

Chris Hassiotis

C-Fre$h is playing at Little Kings on Thursday, Nov. 1 as part of Hip-Hop Homecoming Week.

Radiohead

In Rainbows

Independent Release

originally published October 31, 2007

I've made 11 trips through In Rainbows since my first confused listening, and I'm still plagued by doubt. A proper review might warrant several more weeks of absorption and pondering, in lotus position, because Radiohead deserves no less, right? But after immersing myself in these 10 new tracks, I can only trust my ears over my heart and admit that they simply don't stand up to the rest of the band's extraordinary body of work.

Radiohead has the talent to do anything. And I respect this direction - or lack thereof, perhaps. But I'm taken aback by how safe this seventh album is, even as I acknowledge the band's well-earned relief of the enormous (and largely self-imposed) pressure on its shoulders. For the first time since its earliest days, Radiohead has unburdened itself of virtually all its experimental inclinations, something always encoded in its DNA. So I fear they've surrendered their Radioheadness - that inimitable sense of restless forging ahead - that gave even the least remarkable tracks a deep magic and made the band entirely singular. In Rainbows could be 10 awesome b-sides never fully fleshed out, or a full-band companion of frontman Thom Yorke's solo album The Eraser.

Opener "15 Step" touches on Kid A's chopped drums and thumps. But a minute in they're led by timid fluid guitar, and the mid-tempo feel overwhelms the majority of the record. Experimental textures and dynamics are relegated to supporting roles. Things are kept between the lines and all posted speed limits are obeyed. Within the comfort zone, they're confined to the scenic route rather than the breathtaking twists and turns a Radiohead album has always traversed.

The group's often accused of being obtuse, deliberately unapproachable. This emphasis on wide-eyed warmth and relative simplicity is understandable, but the songs suffer. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" applies the brake and features a brief ambient wash backdrop and some genuine menace as the band swells. It's a great track and that's the hell of it: These are all great tracks, but none measures up to "Everything in its Right Place" or "I Might Be Wrong." Not even the almost-amazing closer "Videotape" lingers like it should. The Eraser grew on me like moss as time passed, so I'm hoping I'll say the same about this one by the time '08 rolls around. For now, though, we're all let down and hanging around.

Michael Wehunt