Prefuse 73, Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives (Warp) 9+
Word has it that there's a white guy in Atlanta out to destroy hip hop. Scott Herren, known on other projects as Delarosa and Asora, and Svath + Savalas, is certainly a threat to something -- most likely the Hollywood slick 'n' simple bling-bling. With Herren's innovations absorbed into the cultural mix, that shit is going to sound as outdated as El Debarge. Prefuse 73 (code name for jazz fusion pre-1973), stomps all over the sanctity of the rapper by taking the raps of Rec Center and Dose One, systematically destroying them and rebuilding them as staccato frankensteins, skittering about the track like free radicals. The instrumental stuff is treated in a similar way, with beats and samples fuse with static and snippets of the jazz fusion that Herren prefers. The scratching is done electronically rather than with turntables. Traditional MCs might protest, but hey, this is on the Warp label after all. You know, the one responsible for Radiohead abandoning their arena prog. The results are disorientating yet strangely compelling. The tracks are bleed and blend into one another, tied together by constantly evolving rhythms, with ghostly keyboards and vibraphones drifting throughout. A couple tracks offer some surprises. Out of nowhere, on "Last Light," you suddenly hear coherent soul crooning like a mix between Maxwell and Arto Lindsay. It's actually Sam Prekop from The Sea And Cake, of all people. "Blacklist," featuring MF Doom and Aesop Rock, brings you back down to earth for a few minutes with some old-skool style rapping. While the more traditional tracks offer welcome respite from the chaos, the return to the avant-hiptronica sounds sweeter than ever. In breaking down hip hop and building it back up into a shinier beast, Scott Herren has single-handedly played a vital role in rejuvenating hip hop.
