(side note... Bring That Beat Back is one of the illest 206 hip hop spots. Do the math homie!)
Late Night Marauder
Northwest cat
Dawhud put out this debut album in 2008, but it could have easily been
from 20 years previous. Written, performed, and produced by the man
himself, this 27-track record, for those reasons alone, is quite an
accomplishment. But this Basement Sessions is more than just a
collection of songs, this is a cohesive document from start to finish,
that plays out like a well-scripted screenplay. It's in effect a
concept album, that seamlessly combines Dawhud's personal experiences in
the world of hip hop with the more universal sounds and concepts
immediately identifiable to those of us tuned in to what hip hop was at
it's arguable apex.
To say it's a
unique project doesn't quite describe how I feel about this record.. It
is an album unlike any other, but when a term like "unique" is thrown
around one might think of Divine Styler's "Spiral Walls" or Boom Bip,
or something else self-indulgent and perhaps difficult to listen to.
Not so here. Although in its hour-length duration Basement Sessions
rarely visits anything remotely similar to today's mainstream hip hop,
it is far from difficult or alien listening; and although it's Dawhud's
personal story, it manages to be masterfully very un-self-indulgent.
The reason being is that with Basement, Dawhud has peeled back
the layers of hip hop down to it's core elements, to something
universal, and keeps the language basic, pure, and easily understandable
(and quite likable) to anyone familiar with the art form. Combining
the story of his musical upbringing with an appropriate musical
backdrop, and using the novel/film Fight Club as a fitting metaphor to
weave the albums' many songs, skits, and spoken word fragments into a
cohesive, flowing monologue, this is his story of a man lucky enough to
come of age at the same time hip hop did, and therefore speaks to a huge
cohort of listeners who can immediately feel where he's coming from.
Basement is a colorful patchwork of breaks, funk and jazz loops,
classic hip hop samples, and storytelling; with the inclusions of the
afore-mentioned skits and historical audio documents to illuminate the
story further.
He says it plain
early on: he's not out for money, he's out for respect. It's a
reoccurring theme, and it's an attitude that can be applied to his
feelings about the commercialization of hip hop in general. But with Basement Sessions
he razes all the extraneous garbage that has infested hip hop culture
in recent years to the ground - no dilution here, no watering down of
the pure essence of hip hop. The 4 Elements are present, and that's
really all that matters. Dawhud paints a picture of himself that
throughout the record comes into focus: That of a young man frustrated
with the bullshit in life and in the garbage found in hip hop, and
throughout the narrative this man strives to better himself and through
him, the art.
Other reviewers
have heard echoes of the second golden age of hip hop when describing
this record, but to me I hear more evocation of the first: I hear
Premier's beats in the forefront, Ced Gee and Kool Keith's cadences,
KRS's message, Eric B's loop-digging. Like I hesitate to use the term
"unique", I also don't want to say this is "old school", as that implies
something tired-out and nostalgic. But as much as the music and
lyricism evoke and pay homage to the golden age of hip hop, there is
nothing tired about this record. This is fresh and vital music, as
youthful as the man depicted in the story. It's vibrant with energy,
and that energy flows through the space between the drum breaks, the
lyrics, and the loops. This is true school, that's what it is, and so
it never gets old. There are no tricks here, no gloss, no lasers. No
choruses of "Make money money," no glorification of drug use, no
violence, no misogyny, no hating. At the same time, this isn't some
vapid party soundtrack, either. This is a testament to personal
achievement, through hard work, constant refinement, and long, sleepless
nights. This is taking it back to one mic and two turntables - and the
holy Akai. This is strictly beats and rhymes. Dawhud does it almost
completely alone, and as a personal testament it should be that way. He
is more than capable at handling all the chores here.
Dawhud has other
releases out there which I will present shortly, but this is the place
to start. Download it, then put it on a tape, if you can find one, then
put it in your walkman or boom box, if you can dig it out of storage.
Turn it on, then listen; remember the past, and use that memory to
build a better tomorrow.
