On the heels of Kanye West's eight Grammy nominations, and the success of the Second Semester mixtape, Mick Boogie has reissued their initial collaboration, with a brand new cover. While this year's follow-up mainly showcased unreleased tracks and artists on the G.O.O.D music label, First Semester paints a portrait of the path that lead West to his 2004 debut. Hearing Mos Def introduce West as the "future of hip hop" in the beginning shows just how far he has come in the past two years; the majority of the tracks display West's sped-up soul style, a trademark he all but abandoned on Late Registration. The real treat is the skill with which Boogie has mixed the tracks together, limiting each song to a verse or two, achieving a steady flow. He occasionally throws in the original version of a song sampled by West; hearing Luther Vandros' "A House is Not a Home" (from "Slow Jamz"), and Chaka Khan's "Thru the Fire" (From "Through the Wire") at regular speed faded into the sped-up sample is a nice touch. The highlight, though, is Lauryn Hill's "Mystery of Iniquity," (the basis for "All Falls Down") mixed into an alternate version of "All Falls Down" - here called "Self Conscious." It's bizarre hearing West, Twista and Dame Dash celebrating the Roc-a-Fella label on "We Are the Champions," given the fact that Dash and Jay-Z are no longer business partners. Also odd is hearing the occasional homophobic slur, given Kanye's recent anti-homophobic stance. I'm proud of West for standing up against homophobia, and letting go of his prior prejudices; hearing the slurs hear is the one thing I do not like on the record. Full of additional freestyles and remixes (including "Get By" with Mos Def), First Semester is primarily for the hardcore West fan. For those fans - myself included - it is a real treat.
3.5 STARS (out of 5)
::2 Related Links::
1 Review: Second Semester: Kanye Essentials 2 (mixtape) / Mick Boogie & Kanye West
2 Mick Boogie bio
2 comments:
Only 3.5 for Kanye, Will ?
I just received my Rolling Stone mag with him on the cover. He's lining himself up for trouble from people who think he's getting too big for his boots.
But then again, controversy never hurt anyone, did it ?
Only 3.5 because it's kind of a novelty. I would certainly give College Dropout a 4, and Late Registration a 4.5 (maybe a 5).
He's certainly trying to push the envelope. I think we'll just have to see where it goes. I'm hoping the music continues to evolve. Though I hear he's doing a song for Mission Impossible 3 - don't know how good an idea that is.
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