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As I've mentioned in the past, Rhode Island emcee Charlie "Chachi" Carvalho has been a friend of mine since college. I was there at the very start of his career, when he copped two cheap Gemini turntables and a microphone to throw parties in our dorm, and I've watched his development as an artist as he's received accolades from B.E.T. and Vibe magazine, and performed alongside the likes of Immortal Technique, Digable Planets and Jedi Mind Tricks. As tends to happen with college friendships as you get farther and farther away from your days on campus, though, I haven't been able to stay in touch with Charlie as much as I'd like to aside from the occasional email and facebook exchange.
Most of Charlie's songs are inspired by what's gone on his life, however, so each album he releases has served as a sort of status update for me on what's been going on in his life. His latest album, In Dust Real Evolution, finds Chachi going through some tough times: his father's losing battle against cancer, a divorce, and the loss of his job. Each of these events has been a significant blow, but the hardest hit has been the recent passing of his father (who sang the hook for Un Perde Cheu) and the enormous impact that's had on him. I only had a chance to meet Charlie's father once (he mediated an argument that Charlie and I had been having for the better part of a month, saving our friendship after we had both stopped talking to each other), but it was always clear that he was the most important figure in Charlie's life.
The most poignant moments on this album deal with that event and how Charlie's begun picking up the pieces in its aftermath, while Charlie finds himself evolving into a man much like his father, inheriting both the good (his musical talents) and the bad (his reliance on alcohol). Yet despite the rhymes about death, divorce and unemployment, the album isn't all doom and gloom. Throughout it all, Charlie's kept a positive outlook and it shows through his music. It all comes together on this extremely honest offering, which manages to be a thoroughly entertaining experience throughout. It's rare in this day and age of pop rap to hear an emcee bare his soul like this, making for an album that needs to be listened to from start to finish to fully appreciate it.
You can preview In Dust Real Evolution and buy the album over at cdbaby. I highly recommend it.
Here are two cuts from the album:
Chachi - Ocean State (right-click to d/l)
Chachi - Last Dollar (right-click to d/l)
3/9/2011 9:30:00 PM posted by Fresh