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KRS-One
The Mix Tape
label:
koch / In The Paint
released: 08.27.02
our score: 4.0 out of 5.0
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The Teacha's
latest release is as much another formal response to Nelly as
it is a teaser for his upcoming album, Kristyle. Released
by popular demand and marketed as a mini-LP, the fact that Mix
Tape has 13 tracks is a bit deceiving...only eight are songs.
Nonetheless, Mix Tape shows some promising things are to
come from KRS. One of the mainstays in hip-hop's journey, KRS
has never deserted the boom-bap beats that are the basis for East-coast
hip-hop (except for a slight deviation during his side project
with the Temple of Hip Hop).
The opening
track "Ova Here" is all about real hip-hop and not the
profit-inspired hip-pop that is being produced today. "The
real hip-hop is ova here" is essentially a message to listeners
that KRS is the definition of hip-hop, while Nelly and artists
like him are not. It is one of the best tracks KRS has put out
in a long time.
Mix Tape
also features "The Message 2002," another street-banger,
boom-bap track that is the epitome of all that is hip-hop (critics
note: I have also heard a darker mix of this on the Late Night
Hype on WMSE, as of posting time I am not sure which mix will
be on Kristyle.) Of course, what KRS-One album would be
complete without education? "Stop It" and "Problemz"
finish up what "Message" started, sealed with a commentary
from KRS.
If Kristyle
fulfills what The Mix Tape has prophecized, it should be
one of the best hip-hop albums of the year.
29-Oct-2002
11:00 PM
If you
liked The Mix Tape...
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| Tracklist:
1.
Ova Here
2. This Is About To Change
3. Splash
4. Kim-O/Steph-Lover Shout-Outs
5. Down The Charts
6. Priest Shout-Outs
7. The Message 2002
8. Kreditz
9. Stop It
10. Problemz
11. Deejay Red Alert Shout-Outs
12. Ova Here (remix)
13. Preserve The Kulture
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