All posts by Kanju

Articles

Beyond The 36 Chambers – Submerged & Secluded Hardcore Rap Classics

Beyond The 36 Chambers

Monocentralism. Univision & the disabling, obstruction or omission of pluralities.. Converge & scramble on whomever first surpasses the corporate margin or acceptable fame saturation/product definition.

The Wu Tang Clan story is pretty familiar now, & despite the worn canvas it’s still a very important & genuine yarn of profound creativity. Also, it almost did not happen & was met with dismissal & dubiety by soulless corporate shit-sacks that should of known better & should have been in another profession & position entirely (washing dishes perhaps?). Continue reading Beyond The 36 Chambers – Submerged & Secluded Hardcore Rap Classics →

Reviews

The BUMS – lyfe ‘n’ tyme CD

B.U.M.s

Of all the albums presented in this recent post/article, this is the group that I would of thought the most likely to succeed by the traditional definition (dare I say it – “commercially”). The B.U.M.s debut (& only) CD is an outrageously slick, gigantically accessible banger pitching two unknown Oakland MC’s (at least out of their immediate locality) directly at Hip-Hop stardom. Continue reading The BUMS – lyfe ‘n’ tyme CD →

Reviews

Tha Chamba – Makin illa noize CD & Don’t sleep MCD:

Makin Illa Noize

Tha Chamba

Yet another spectacular piece of urban obscurity from Chicago. An incredible feat of integrity obsessed grimness, hostility & gauntness running wild through condemned tenements. Pretty much the entire album is bleak, with a louring & sombre production coating every surface. The focal protagonist is Toxic, a devote zealot of an MC with an overriding enmity for forgery, falsehood, compromise & imposters. Continue reading Tha Chamba – Makin illa noize CD & Don’t sleep MCD: →

Reviews

MF911- Idol the Bloodsport CD

MF911

I think this collective are from Detroit but residing in New York (there is certainly some kind of NY/Detroit merger proceeding). Two MC’s & a duo in the beats department if I am not mistaken. It’s really the sonic finish/final product that scintillates here…some phenomenal production, harvested from predominantly Jazz sample source. Ergo hard-to-trace, busy intersections of double bass, vibes & pitched-down horn grafts. Continue reading MF911- Idol the Bloodsport CD →

Reviews

Lethal Assault Weapons – PT.1 CD

LAW

LAW was a ridiculously potent eleven-deep (or so) master rap collective from LA that you have probably never heard of? They did one truly historic album in 1995 that it seems went nowhere for reasons I am unsure of!? Their style was essentially Battle Rap/Hardcore Hip-Hop, but their mode of linguistic dispatching derived from an obsession with extremely violent, graphic & destructive lyricism & majorly murderous metaphors heavy on pugnacity & lethal depictions galore.

Continue reading Lethal Assault Weapons – PT.1 CD →

Reviews

Brokin English Klik – S/T CD

BIK

One shot – one kill! 1993, an MC duo of Phase & Mack 10, 12 tracks strutting the full spectrum of Hardcore, Gangsta, Hip-Hop & ultra-offensive flagrant type shit to perturb, repel or entertain? depending on your angle & strength of gut-lining. Some gorgeous hard beats, with a snare so sharp it could skewer on some tunes. Continue reading Brokin English Klik – S/T CD →

Books

No Such Thing As A Free Gift – The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy (Linsey McGoey)

No Such Thing As A Free Gift

An extremely important & timely exposé. Bill Gates is an absolute fucking monster! Beyond his repulsive corporate aggression, brand-bloat, ‘compulsory’-software imposition/unilateral product bondage & horrible diversity-quelling market monopolizing mania of Micro Soft miasma, a much more sick, sinister & damaging agenda is at foot. Continue reading No Such Thing As A Free Gift – The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy (Linsey McGoey) →

Reviews

Carla Bley – Tropic Appetites 12” LP

Carla Bley-tropic appetites

A wonderful piece of Avant-Garde class from 1974. Carla Bley was the Norse arch-bohemian Blanca lookin’ nut-case & composer bad-ass running with a crew of super cool NY envelope-pushers. This is also the first outing on her long-running record label Watt that she co-produced (& I assume founded?) with trumpeter Michael Mantler. Mantler is on this recording as well along with the great Dave Holland on bass, Howard Johnson on tuba & a whole gaggle of loons (seven in total) all enabling a herculean scope of detail & depth. Continue reading Carla Bley – Tropic Appetites 12” LP →

Books

Disaster Capitalism – Making a killing out of catastrophe (Antony Loenwenstein)

Disaster CapitalismSo two words to kick the door in with – VITAL & MANDATORY!!! Capitalism & calamity, profit & crisis – are becoming like conjoined twins. War-pollution-incarceration… inflict, sustain, clean-up/eradicate, reaping revenues at every stage. You notice how many of today’s greatest problems/threats/fiascos crawled out of yesterday’s solutions or technological advancements (ISIS/Terrorism, Climate Extermination, Food Insecurity etc’ etc’ etc). Continue reading Disaster Capitalism – Making a killing out of catastrophe (Antony Loenwenstein) →