ArtOfficial - Vitamins & Minerals

This is one of the most dynamic albums I've ever heard in the last year. This is certainly close to what Kanye did with MBDTF and yet the live Hip Hop feel gives it such an organic melodic sensation. This is intelligent Hip Hop my friends, similar to that material we've been getting from The Roots and The Cunninlynguists. Some of what people are quick to call "Backpack" music but the focus is that these guys almost make me feel proud to be bumping their music in the car. Just take the percussion and overall feel of "Migraine", at track that sends your mind right to its inner happy place where nobody can hope to bother you, most of us of course care going to call this a day dream, but that's the alleviating feeling you get from a piece of mastery like this. If "Vitamins & Minerals" were a nice tapestry that I could place on my wall, I'd do it just to have some trippy image there for when the girls come over. This is the thinking man's music and while the world may not yet be ready for it, I'll join the crowd that simply says "Ahead of my time". Of course complaining about what ArtOfficial has done here would be the equivalent of complaining about the new house that my million dollar friend just lent to me in his will arguing that the home theater didn't have the nice wooden seats that I prefer. It can be done, but please AO, if your going to mix and mesh the effects of electronic and live music, then makes sure that the end result still sounds dope. There were some times, and I must emphasize the tiny impact of the word "some" in that there really wasn't an issue at all, just "some" minor times where I felt the electronic synthesizer in a particular song didn't need to be there. I must say though AO, you guys must have some outer ambitions above this, because the common man doesn't put out music like this. You won't see Rick Ross jumping on a jazzy fuzz like this which is all the more reason why it feels so much more unique; you won't catch Drake forfeiting his pop electro beats to dawn on the chorus of monster instrumentals like these. No, what we have hear my friends is progression, an album that will only be heard by a couple of thousands, yet something that those same thousands will recall three, four, ten years down the road. If the same listeners that thought Drake was the future of Hip Hop pulled a listen towards this, then they would understand exactly why Nas put out an album entitled "HIp Hop Is Dead" back in 2006. Congragulations AO, you've put out an album that will continue to inspire those who still have faith in the genre.

Killer rating Red. I think AO created a beast here. Top to bottom this album is fat and dynamic. I'm at a loss for words to really describe it. Congrats to AO. Let's hope the world hears this.

It's too bad that when something like this comes along it has to be labeled "intelligent" hip-hop or "ahead of its time". This is the gold standard for what hip-hop in general should be: Musical people, with something to say, trying to take the art form in a new or original direction. This kind of music should only make us demand more out of the tired pop-hoppers and fake ghetto bangers - instead of worrying about whether it will catch on with the typical mainstream rap fans.
I downloaded "The Payback" the other day, and I liked it so much I bought this one and "Fist Fights and Foot Races" from their band camp page - all three albums are incredible. Keep it coming fellas.