Before we get started, I just want to give a quick shoutout to everyone who came through the site over the past couple of days, and everyone who linked to the site. I know not everyone agreed with what I had to say, but I appreciate you all taking the time to at least consider the point I was trying to make. Now getting back to the music...
A couple of weeks ago, Rafi over at OhWord asked me if I'd be interested in writing for his site, with the idea being for me to focus on the type of unsigned artists that I've been profiling on 33 Jones. I immediately agreed - it's a great site, and it would give me a chance to get some of the musicians who have contributed here exposure to a larger audience. I have to admit, however, that I wasn't sure how to approach the act of writing for someone else's site, so it ended up taking me a lot longer than I initially anticipated to put the first post together for ohword. I finally sent it off earlier tonight, and I'm assuming that the offer's still good, so hopefully you'll all be able to read it over there sometime in the next few days.
For my debut, I decided to focus on my man Bless 1, who just released a new LP, Starving Artist. I won't rehash everything I wrote up for ohword, but suffice it to say this is a truly dope album. The beats, produced by Digital Invaders members Powell and Suff Daddy, along with one track produced by Bless himself, should convince you that "bedroom producers" are capable of putting out work that's on the same level as major label releases.
Lyrically, Bless brings his A-game for this LP. He's told me in the past that he's more interested in being a producer than a rapper, but with the release of Starving Artist, it would seem that he's had a change of heart (at least for the time being). That's a good thing, because some of the lyrics that he drops on this album border on the poetic. It would be a shame if he ever gave it up. To prove my point, here's one of the verses from the track Angular Slang:
Emphatically I recite these biographical peeks into my psyche
Seeking victory like the goddess Nike
Choking the American dream until my hands are permanent green
Stained with the governments ink
Country debating slicing my likeness in rock formations
Born in a nation where hesitation is penalized
Realized that my gift is to craft narratives
Unspeakable joy once the speech is deployed
Navigator of envoys where women are coy
If your paperÆs obese and youÆre whipping the newest toy
An unsigned Titan cladded with war armor
Clashing with the gods while theyÆre slumbering in pajamas
Now my nameÆs synonymous with trauma
I died, went to heaven, and came back as karma
Promised myself that IÆd finally record an album
And give it to the world before that forsaken time comes
After talking to Bless this afternoon, it seems I gave too much credit to Suff. All of the beats on the album (except for Starving Artist, which was produced by Bless 1) were produced by Powell. Suff added the scratching to Angular Slang.
Sorry about the mixup there. Suff does have some amazing beats in his catalog, they just aren't on this album!
9/13/2007 2:44:35 PM posted by fresh
I downloaded it this morning. There's some really, really good music on here. Nice work Bless!
9/13/2007 9:16:59 PM posted by Will I Am
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