Reviews
Labtekwon
The Getto Dai Lai Lama
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I have no idea who the hell this guy is, but he is certainly interesting. His name is Omar Akbar, but he uses the rap tag Labtekwon. Apparently he has had a successful DVD EP out under the same title as this album for over a year and he put together a full-length album as a result. He mostly reminds me of is KRS-One and Tribe Called Quest, as it’s clear that they have had some influence on the music that Labtekwon makes. I’ve never heard of his label, Morphius Records. This album is pretty old school in sound, so it won't be for everyone. The fact that it puts a slight new-age spin on it helps, but it’s clear that the beats are a bit hollow and sound retro compared to some of the other hip hop that is being released right now. I don't think this hurts its chances with me though, because I happen to enjoy old school hip hop.
Chuck D thinks that Labtekwon is the Thelonious Monk of hip hop. I have no idea what that means, but if you do and you know, fill me in because I'm a little slow. The songs on this album are all remixed so they are different from the ones that appear on the DVD release of a year ago. My one complaint with this album is the length; it’s one hour and sixteen minutes. I mean, I like a good hip hop album but if it’s incredibly long and I haven't any end of it in sight when I'm half way through, that can wear on a person. It's just too bad for Labtekwon that I am used to listening to stuff between 30 to 40 minutes in length, and anything longer is just, like, crazy to me most days.
The first track is called "Peace God." I find that a hilarious title, as the song begins with gunshots. The song has an old school groove to it, which is the reason that I think it’s cool. It is a tad gangster though because Labtekwon is talking about shooting and cocking and loading; is he a freaking gun nut? I don't know, but I guess he is all for shooting first and asking questions later. The song is still pretty good because the vocals are okay at best and the beat is pretty sicke. As a hip hop track though, it gets a mediocre rating due to stereotypes of gunshots throughout the song and sirens from police and ambulances; that is just pure cheese.
If you want to hear old school listen to the seventh track, "Word Is Bond." It is a bit intense at time but the beat is as fucking old school as it gets. I feel like I'm trapped in a seventies space porno; it’s just too much for me to handle. The vocals on this track are pretty badass -- and probably the reason that I think it is killer -- but the chorus is also okay. It’s interesting because the beat never changes in the song, just the vocals that sing on the track, so that is probably why you can identify the different portions of the track. This is a unique track -- I think it is ok, but that is me. Most people will probably shake their head at it because its a bit much to take at times.
In general the album is pretty chill; if you got really baked before listening to it, you would probably enjoy it a lot more. The song that I think is my favourite is "Sex Machine," where I'm pretty sure they sample the James Brown track of the same name. That’s okay because you can barely tell, and if they did they barely took anything at all. This track is wicked; the horns section is friggin' awesome, it just adds so much to the song in terms of layers, but without it the verses are rather chill and groovy. This is a track that I definitely am into and I think that I would recommend it out of all the songs that are on the album.
The fifteenth track is called "Uhnnn Huhnnn," which is quite an interesting name for a hip hop track, but not one that I wouldn't expect to see. I'm not saying it’s a stereotype, I'm just saying it wouldn't be the first time that a syllable was used as the name of a track. The “uhnnn huhnnn” is very subtle and thrown almost into the background of the song. This is the track that you would use as the single and you would have a big pimpin' video in some bitchin' mansion with women in bikinis strutting around and dancing to choreography. You’d probably wanna roll down the street really slow too and check out people on the strip with the way the beat and music are fucking hitting it in this track. I just think this is a good track; not everyone will like it, but if it was played in the club people would fucking hump legs.
"Malcolm X Music" it is a pretty funky song and I like the beat that is mixed. The vocals are intense though; the title makes you understand that the topic matter is not something that you would hear them talking about on Sesame Street. I mean, that’s okay though, because people know that these issues still exist. Since the entire album doesn't bellyache on this subject I can tolerate it throughout one of the songs. I like the track overall because the beat is pretty neat as far the old school factor goes, plus there’s audible bongo. Also, in the vocals he says “fuck Eminem and all his clones” and I think that’s hilarious.
Tracks to Steal: "Peace God," "Uhnn Huhnnn," "Sex Machine," "Real Emcee," "Word Is Bond"
What did I think of my first Labtekwon experience?
Would I have benefited from seeing the DVD first?
Score: 7.5
Just didn't dig all the stuff on this album, it’s hit and miss.
- Brandon