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| X | W E A R E P R O U D T O P R E S E N T Y O U | X |
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| X | | X |
| X | Iswhat?! - The Life We Chose | X |
| X | | X |
| X | | X |
| X | GENRE: Hip-Hop | X |
| X | LANGUAGE: English | X |
| X | LABEL: Hyena Records | X |
| X | CAT.NUMBER: n/a | X |
| X | SOURCE: CDDA | X |
| X | | X |
| X | TRACKS: 14 | X |
| X | PLAYTiME: 47:57 min | X |
| X | SiZE: 61,8 MB | X |
| X | QUALiTY: VBR Kbps / 44,1Khz | X |
| X | ENCODER: LAME 3.97 | X |
| X | | X |
| X | RiP DATE: Mar-18-2007 | X |
| X | STORE DATE: 000-00-2006 | X |
| X | | X |
| X | WWW: http://www.myspace.com/iswhatsince | X |
| X | | X |
| X | | X |
+---|- - . T R A C K L i S T . - -|---+
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01 iswhat?! - kashmir 04:30
02 iswhat?! - casket 04:09
03 iswhat?! - profiles (ft. hamid drake) 02:49
04 iswhat?! - mooch (ft. roy campbell jr.) 04:13
05 iswhat?! - ronin ballad 01:24
06 iswhat?! - the life we chose (ft. ming & fs) 03:51
07 iswhat?! - pilgramage (ft. claire daily) 03:34
08 iswhat?! - circus 04:42
09 iswhat?! - ill biz 03:52
10 iswhat?! - front 04:06
11 iswhat?! - k.n.o.c.k. (ft. piakhan) 03:15
12 iswhat?! - the voice within 02:45
13 iswhat?! - what happens 00:51
14 iswhat?! - writer's block 03:56
(ft. fatal prose & ill poetic)
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47:57 min
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+---|- - . R E L E A S E N O T E S . - -|---+
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| X | You can rest assured you wonÆt be getting the same old gangster | X |
| X | rap clichΘs when ISWHAT?! MC, Napoleon Maddox rhymes: "So you a | X |
| X | boxer with a broken nose? Hands up, this is the life we chose! | X |
| X | Hot fashion model with the itchiest clothes? Dress up, this is | X |
| X | the life we chose! A farmer on the turf where the worst weeds | X |
| X | grow? Dig up, this is the life we chose!" The Cincinnati-based | X |
| X | duo ISWHAT?!, whoÆve been hailed for creating some of the most | X |
| X | innovative sounds in hip-hop today, finally drop their | X |
| X | long-awaited second album, The Life We Chose. At the top of their | X |
| X | game having played upwards of 200 shows around the world over the | X |
| X | last two years, ISWHAT?! masterfully construct socially probing | X |
| X | poetry and rhyme that falls squarely in the lineage of such | X |
| X | greats as Gil Scott Heron, Saul Williams and Grandmaster Melle | X |
| X | Mel, while concocting tracks that are often based on "live" | X |
| X | instrumentation in the spirit of The Roots, Digable Planets and | X |
| X | Common. Their co-conspirators this time around include a | X |
| X | brilliantly eclectic cadre of friends and collaborators, such as | X |
| X | Hamid Drake, Ming & FS, Claire Daily, Roy Campbell, Jr., Animal | X |
| X | Crackers and Piakhan among others. When ISWHAT?! tenor | X |
| X | saxophonist Jack Walker breaks into the iconic riff from Led | X |
| X | ZeppelinÆs "Kashmir" on the album's opening cut, you'll know | X |
| X | there and then that a vital new voice in hip-hop has arrived. | X |
| X | | X |
| X | Although Iswhat?! are technically a hip-hop group, their style, | X |
| X | and really, their overall vibe and appeal are much more closely | X |
| X | rooted to the bop and free jazz tradition than they are to the | X |
| X | South Bronx. "A Mingus-type tune for Jurassic Monk blues," MC, | X |
| X | producer, and beatboxer Napoleon rhymes in "Profiles" over a line | X |
| X | from Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and featuring drums from Hamid | X |
| X | Drake. Napoleon uses his words as much for their rhythmic | X |
| X | qualities as he does for their meaning, employing a slam | X |
| X | poetry-esque technique in telling stories and criticizing the | X |
| X | government. There is somewhat of a political agenda on The Life | X |
| X | We Chose, but it's more social consciousness than conspiracy | X |
| X | theory. This of course means that Iswhat?! run the risk of | X |
| X | becoming overly theatrical, but Napoleon's rhymes are intelligent | X |
| X | and provocative enough, rarely blaming individuals (an exception | X |
| X | being George Bush in "Ill Biz") but focusing instead on | X |
| X | situations, to prevent that from happening. So while the two | X |
| X | minutes of a wailing mother over her murdered son on "Circus" may | X |
| X | be rather dramatic, it's hard to argue that it's not also | X |
| X | powerful and affecting. Where Iswhat?! really stand out, however, | X |
| X | is in their music. Most of the songs use Jac Walker's sax | X |
| X | (generally tenor), a bass, and some kind of beat, be it live, | X |
| X | electronic, or beatboxed by Napoleon, a skill he shows off | X |
| X | especially well on the two fantastic live cuts, "Kashmir" and | X |
| X | "Pilgrimage," the latter of which is, along with "Mooch," solely | X |
| X | instrumental. "Casket" is swinging and organic, and yet smoothly | X |
| X | blends in synthesized elements thanks to Ming + FS' production, | X |
| X | creating something spontaneous but polished at the same time. The | X |
| X | only spot on which they falter is in the techno-influenced | X |
| X | "Front," which, while not bad per se, contrasts dissonantly with | X |
| X | the rest of the songs on the album, because what really separates | X |
| X | Iswhat?! at their best from other hip-hop groups is their | X |
| X | dedication to jazz -- the horn solos, the loping bass -- and | X |
| X | their energy and professionalism. When these are all allowed to | X |
| X | really come through, Iswhat?! are as exciting and innovative as | X |
| X | anything else out there. | X |
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| X | THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT | X |
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| X | BUY IT! | X |
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