DJ Swamp, Never Is Now (Lakeshore) 9
While talented turntablists like Mixmaster Mike (Invisible Scratch Piklz) and Kid Koala have proven that they are capable musicians, few have stepped up to the challenging task of composing, aside from DJ Shadow and The Automator . . . and DJ Swamp. Cleveland native Swamp has already achieved international attention as the 1996 DMC national champion, and as Beck's touring DJ. It's a pleasant surprise to find on Never Is Now the DJ can also rap, in a style that's a cross between Ice-T and Eminem. Most importantly, DJ Swamp knows how to write songs, or at least scratch-heavy hip-hop tracks that smartly integrate segments of melody and interesting found sounds. Thematically Never Is Now is closer to death-metal than hip-hop, like a sinister demon spawn of Kool Keith's Dr. Dooom persona and The Gravediggaz. "Demons In The Suburbs," "My Peaceful Hell," "He's A Killer" coolly deal with evil without sounding like the many lesser-talented, hysterical bad boy wannabe's. "Worship The Robots" changes pace with a sci-fi Steven Hawking-like processed vocal that's just as good as any old-school electro found on Beck's Midnight Vultures or The Beastie Boys' Hello Nasty. Of course, competition turntable pyrotechnics are also included in instrumental scratch-fury cuts like "Feed The Hand That Bites You." The album's high points occur in the beginning and end, with "Ring Of Fire," a spooky organ-laced battle-cry to competing DJs, and the cinematic gangster-funk epic of "Malakai," telling a tall true-crime tale driven by a relentless bass line. Never Is Now is the most twisted, sick fun since Kool Keith's (with The Automator & DJ Shadow) 1996 Dr. Octagonecologyst.
