Too many cooks spoil the broth. Jay-Z's Black Album features 13 beats from 10 different producers, resulting in a schizophrenic compilation of assorted radio singles instead of a cohesive album.
It's hard to argue with Mos Def and Talib Kweli when they call themselves the best duo in hip-hop, but they still rely on outside collaboration for their beats. Rather than outsourcing their production like Nike, true hip-hop duos like Gang Starr or Pete Rock and CL Smooth keep it all in the family, featuring just one rapper and one producer.
New albums from dynamic duos Atmosphere, Blackalicious, and DangerDoom are three of the best underground hip-hop releases of the year, and none of them feature beat mercenaries like Kanye West or 9thWonder. It's a lot easier to buy beats by the pound, but these songs prove that team play always wins.
A-Side Atmosphere - "Say Hey There"
Last week, Slug complained to Chris Faraone at the Weekly Dig that people only care when he raps about dysfunctional relationships. Slug certainly doesn't deserve his reputation as the hip-hop Death Cab, yet nonetheless, most of his best verses since 1997's Overcast have been rhymified diary entries.
On You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having, producer Ant brings a few bangers for Slug to stretch outside his emo-rap niche, but just to spite him I'll ignore those and focus on his phenomenal melancholy love tryst "Say Hey There."
Blackalicious - "Side to Side"
On The Craft, Gift of Gab cements his legacy as a lyrical gymnast in the same league as Rakim and Eminem. He's surgical-like with his rhymes, incisive and exact, but still manages to bounce around like Tiger. On "Side to Side," producer Chief Xcel brings a beat more buoyant than nubile boobies, while Gab, Lateef, and Pigeon John trade dense, swaggering verses.
B-Side DangerDoom - "Crosshairs"
MF Doom and Danger Mouse are serial monogamists, always hooking up with a different producer or MC, but never messing around on the side while in a musical relationship.
Danger Mouse orchestrated the infamous Jay-Z/Beatles collaboration on The Grey Album, as well as producing albums for Jemini (Ghetto Pop Life), Cee-lo (Gnarls Barkley), and the Gorillaz (Demon Days). MF Doom's collaboration with Madlib, Madvillainy, was more popular with critics than consumers, but his new album with Danger Mouse is a stroke of marketing (and musical) genius. The album features guest appearances from Adult Swim cartoon characters Master Shake and Space Ghost, in addition to Cee-lo, Talib Kweli, and Ghostface.
It's a comedy concept album that actually works thanks to MF Doom's no-joke lyrical talent and crazy production from Danger Mouse, including a funktified oboe sample on "Crosshairs."
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!