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ALBUM REVIEW

Crop Circles720

Existentialism

Label: Echoes of Oratory Muzik

Distributed: Echoes of Oratory Muzik

By: Jon I. Gill/Gillie(ad)7

                                                                          Available on Bandcamp 

  http://eoomuzik.bandcamp.com/album/existentialism

(get the physical version, the digital version, stickers, and t-shirts here)

In the postmodern and poststructural shit pool full of underdeveloped instrumentals and even more prehistoric lyrics and concepts, it is refreshing to find gems crafted with golden pens and MPC punch pads descended from divinity. In other words, it has been a long time since I have heard an uncompromising album full of hard, dark beats and catacomb conscious flows packed in battle axed deliveries. Gents and ladies, I present to you La Puente, Ca. staples Crop Circles720’s (consisting of Clock Wise, Word Man, Arty Swell, Nat Key Cole, and Subtrax) newest full length, existentialism. 

In the scholarly sense, the term "existentialism" has been traditionally used by philosophers who created a school of thought bearing that name to discuss the unique situation of the human in the world, from the joys to despair. In contradistinction to Enlightenment, Hegelian, and other philosophical systems that focused on gaining meaning for the world from extra physical sources such as reason or "Absolute Spirit," the existentialist project ponders the phenomenon of the uniqueness of  humans “being in the world” (to steal from the thought of Heidegger) and their experience (and our ability to reflect on our experience), and uses the world itself, not intangible concepts (the products of speculation, such as God and reason) as the basis of how themes (meaning) comes into existence. As a school of philosophical thought having much correlation and direct historical connections with aesthetics, it is not only fitting but appropriate that Crop Circles720 utilize the word "existentialism" to summarize their conscious, out of the matrix approach to both hip-hop and life itself.

An introduction is necessary here. Even for the faithful cult followers of this cerebral movement of SoCal underground hip-hop which could easily put your favorite rapper's head on the tip of a broadsword. The Crop Circles720 placed the foundation of their sound on the earth with their initial 2003 full-length and vinyl 12 inch single releases of Organized Suicide, a collection of dusty samples and tough breaks with blunt and solemn anti-industry lyricism. The development of an audio arsenal rooted in the atmosphere of the Gravediggas and Killah Priest began its formation. The 2008 CC720 sophomore effort, Cursive Melodies, built a solid framework on the foundation of Organized Suicide, staying true to the hardcore boom bap sonic quality they are known for, while verbalizing in rhyme anagrams tales of reptilians and secret societies and facilitating the conceptual space to host “A Community of Thinkers” (to borrow the title of CC720’s in house label’s 2012 compilation). So, with this brief history of the architectural ideas supporting the building blocks of the CCs music, we can now move into the latest offering of the crew, Existentialism.

Laced in heavy thought and a brooding sense of the unknown, Existentialismwelcomes the listener into a sonic dimension in which human pain and despair is not avoided but confronted head on. Like Nietzsche, the situation in which we find ourselves is embraced and dealt with like the Gods that we are after the proverbial “Death of God,” a death which Nietzsche tells us in Thus Spoke Zarathustra has occurred by our own killing of the divine. From the outset of the album with 85er’s intro featuring a sample of a prisoner speaking of the immense power that he has in his cell to the end of this enlightening album, we are introduced to the simple yet immensely complex principle that through our minds, we can convert any reality that confronts us, making solace from chaos. Such resilience and commitment to the power of the mind to transform the empirical is seen in Arty Swell’s bars on the second track of the album, “Cypher 720,” where he boasts the lines, “And if these cats thought that we’d fall off maps/We roll like botanicals, plants and animals.” The track is a lively yet hard jam amidst Subtrax’s instrumental of abrupt strings and classic yet not overbearing boom bap kicks and snares, with Word Man, Clockwise, and Arty Swell MCing mental progression seamlessly. The album takes an immediate turn with “Academy Dropouts,” featuring SoCal veteran MC Snagneto. Over another Subtrax instrumental, minimal yet speaking volumes through the thickness of the piano sample and craftily chopped breakbeat, the CCs almost sound as if their bodies have been possessed by other life forms who see only dry reality when they view the universe. Word Man packs a dynamic punch with a breath-taking verse to open up the “cypher.” With bars such as “Master of my universe, guardian of my galaxy/So when you and I verse, we add on to this reality’s anatomy,” it becomes evident that the academy could only teach him what he already knew. So, he had to either drop out or endure the boredom of industry and independent hip-hop “professors” telling him nonsense. “Bigger Picture” displays the CCs ability to encode the disenchanting reality of how the many are controlled by the few over not only hard and fierce soundscapes, but also over semi light and cool ones. Clock Wise says some standout lines over this Nameless track such as, “One part human, one part of a program/In this cold slow dance, captivating low land/Where I caught on quick, and it isn’t hard to tell/That every step is a risk/Have to pull my own strings like the ones tied to my wrist,” he summarizes Sartre’s own concept of existentialism as not leading to complacency and despair over the hopeless and bleak human situation, but personal action toward creating meaning and joy for oneself with oneself.

Existentialism as an album hosts a severely polished presentation of the aesthetically dense atmosphere through thought provoking boom bap that CC720 have become known and revered for. But the curve ball on the album is “The Listener.” France’s Roger Molls provides a light and funky yet dark and pensive instrumental over which the CCs straddle the line between philosophical existentialism and more metaphysical philosophies such as Spinoza and Schleiermacher. The beginning chant, “Less love, more logic…/Less dumb, more cosmic/Less thugs, more topics…” is the demystification of the images we give lives of their own, while not realizing that these images are our own creation. Just as we created them, we can (and should) destroy them, according to the CCs. Clock Wise’s line, “The less love you have, the more efficient, you’ll see” is held in tension with his line, “The word itself holds people hostage by the names it claims/But I refuse to take the pain and throw my soul away.” Meaning of the world is lost in the same instant that it is gained. As soon as we step out of the matrix, we lose a false meaning and gain a more authentic theme which we author for ourselves. This is the foundation of a new society.

   The Battery (Peace586 & Jurny Big)

 One

 Label: Illect Records

 Released: September 27, 2011

 Distributed: Quality Junk  By Jon I. Gill

  Available on Bandcamp:

http://illect.bandcamp.com/album/one

Available on ITunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-ep/id465187166

Get the physical LIMITED editions of One

http://www.sphereofhiphopstore.com/product/the-battery-one-cd-combo

The Battery “Break” single video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYCA7w9M9r4

LPG (Jurny Big and Theory A.K.A. Dax) feat. Aceyalone  "Pen Player" (Live Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbp8MFlq7U4&feature=relmfu

Plain and simple. If you do not know who Jurny Big is, you are just the hip-hop connoisseur that I need to evolve into a more complex phase of their hip-hop human literary evolution. But fear not, for I am here to tell you about the supreme renowned yet unrenowned austere asshole MC of Christian hip-hop. An asshole that you should have known about much sooner were it not for stupid religious record labels having no clue how to market hip-hop of this ilk. Many of your favorite underground MCs are well aware of him. He probably would eat through a good number of them, and they know that too. If you don’t know who this figure is, maybe it’s about time that you do.

Make this introduction/reintroduction as short as possible I will. Jurny Big, the superior unsung West Coast Southern Cali lyricist could be called the more animated GZA of the dynamic collective Tunnel Rats, hosting members such as Shames Worthy, Propaganda, Triune, Zane One, and many others. Jurny in his prime was infamous in the Cali underground scene and feared in the pussyfooted playground of Christian hip-hop for uttering lines such as “Depending on which pen I use, you’ll end up black or blue, so choose”, or “The spots I be in the so called hardest Christian rappers get discarded/And it’s odd 'cus when I’m at they shows they claim they ain’t no joke/But two people map Project Blowed and they be in the back straight takin’ notes/Fool I rock both, my pendulum swings on each arena. I’m elevating Gospel rap from Nashville to West Covina.” Collaborating with and many times outshining everyone from Ahmad to Pigeon John (one of John’s first appearance was actually on a Tunnel Rat album by the TR subgroup LPG entitled Earthwormalongside Jurny), this wordsmith’s lyrical prowess has always enabled him to stand out on any track his pen shattered. If the records him and his crew released would have received more distribution outside of the Christian market, he would be one of the most known and reverenced MCs in the battle and conceptual forms of writing.

After a lengthy hiatus from the game (2003 was the release of Jurny’s solo album The Biggest of Them All on the now defunct Uprok Records as well as the release year of LPG’s The Gadfly), Jurny is back, but not with a vengeance. The fire of “…buggin’ out and taking out everyone around me” is still there. However, followers of the MC will notice in his latest project with original Tunnel Rat producer Peace586 (you may remember him from Freedom of Soul in the early 90s) that this combustible energy is now stored and distributed in more merciful doses toward the aim of building something more than just the competitive smash your shit open rhymes that Jurny is known for. What stores energy and rations it out in such a way? Ladies and gents, I present Jurny Big and Peace586 as The Battery, and their six-song EP entitled One.

The album opens with The Battery: Peace586 and Jurny Big Peace stirring up an atmospheric and dark instrumental as he introduces himself and Jurny as mainstays who have twenty years experience making substantial underground hip-hop music. The record continues with “The First 48,” where the Gospel asshole fights to creep out as Jurny enters the arena, firing some pretty well constructed punchlines that would rip through some of your favorite MCs as Peace provides a nasty and semi ambient up tempo boom-bap vibe, showcasing his signature gritty textures, unusual chord combinations, and tight snare/kick arrangements. Bars like “Dudes take worryin’ ‘bout this club thing too far/Need to get back to killin’ them bars that’s up to par/They touch screens and it’s over for ‘em when they score cheese/Now they in a thug scene and end up in a cell like 4g” are excellent, and I won’t even quote the best just so you go to hear this spectacle firsthand.  “Break” shows us a different, evolved side of Jurny, where he surveys much of his rap career from a bird’s eye view. Over an enchanting and groovy yet edgy Peace beat, Jurny declares in three verses and amidst DJ Aslan scratches that his repertoire embodies not only combat rhyming but a grown man’s take on his own past and how it has both influenced and transformed into his stance as a father and mature writer. He says, “But I got a family now and silly as it seems/The only battle now’s with my son’s skinny jeans.” If die hard fans are somewhat surprised by the direction that Jurny heads in the latter portions of this short EP, this track should answer the question.

Vincent Reynosa,” a symbolic ode to Jurny’s grandfather, is reminiscent of Saul William’s “Ohm,” with Peace’s drums coming in and out of the sonic equation. Some of the most devastating lines appear in this portion of the album. This song is Jurny’s introspective look at himself as well as a prophetic rebuke of the current state of affairs in hip-hop, and this remedial low to no talent arena of Christian hip-hop in particular. The theme of hip-hop not holding his central focus due to “grown man issues” emerges yet again. But in lines like “My plate too full to let this rap game get on it/ But when it does jump on kid, yeah, it’s beyond tectonic.” Wordplay reminiscent of Jurny’s performance in tracks such as “Wackness Like” and the classic “Chance to Meet You” shows up in the verbiage as well as his response to the Christian naysayers of battle rap who ask him and Peace “Why there ain’t much ministry in what you spill/This bragging gon’ kill the youth for real.” His response is, “Well, well, to be honest, it does less harm than the garbage that you let fall/You target Christian kids ‘cus they ain’t hard to please at all/In fact, I know I have some fans if only by default/They heard I’m on a Gospel label so they called/This some Cain killed Abel raps/But don’t kid yourselves, you ain’t able/You ain’t able like Peace is/To prevent you from getting blown to pieces/Yeah, Jesus is my savior, yeah I said it/But whether I did or not does not dictate where I am headed/For that simple fact, so many dreaded….my reenlistment.” Nuff said. Almost.

Be on the lookout for the latest release from Vakill of Molemen Records, Armor of God. Below is a trailer in which he drops a quick freestyle in anticipation of the album. The album features appearances from JUICE, Crooked I, and Nino Bless, as well as production from Molemen and Jake One. It is set to drop early spring 2011.