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
(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, Existentialism
welcomes 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.
In short, Existentialism is an album that hip-hop needed. It will take
several listens to unpack the gold. Even the sharpest treasure seekers will
find themselves stranded within in the maze given to us by Crop Circles720.
Please set aside time to intake the breadth of content held in this record, a
record that would receive praise from the existentialists themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment