Labels: Lex
Review by: Hari Ashurst
The best collaborative hip-hop draws you into an undeclared battle between producer and rapper. The producer weaves a beat and challenges the emcee to drop their rhymes and keep up with the rhythmic, dynamic and melodic territories that any good producer will explore over the course of a track. Coming together in the collaborative spirit of all this is Danger Mouse (producer) and Jemini (Vocalist). And if there has to be a winner of this battle, then Danger Mouse takes the award. This album really peaks where Danger Mouse employs stellar electronic blips and echoes to chase the soulful beats he drops just about everywhere. But the sparsely distributed electronic noises that grow more prominent with every repeat listen serve as mere ornaments for the track consuming melodic samples he lays thick across every track. He even adds atmospheric choir vocals into the mix for the title track highlight of the album “Ghetto Pop Life”. Danger Mouse manages to juxtapose playful party arrangements with some astounding leftfield hip-hop. The fact that he does this with such success is why this record can and will transcend the mainstream/underground hip-hop divide.
Meanwhile, Jemini toys with occasionally terrific wordplay, which he weaves around Danger Mouse’s glorious production. There is hardly any posturing to be found, the lyrical highlights are few, but the delivery is strong. He changes up his playfully delivered raps with some surprisingly superb vocals, which have a distinctly old-school feel harking back to A Tribe Called Quest’s half-sung raps and De La Soul’s pop hook experimentation. He even manages to outclass performances from more established guests on the record, including The Liks and The Pharcyde.
The record is most consistent within the first half. It races out of the blocks and peaks with sixth track “The Only One’, a sublimely danceable effort with catchy, pop hook reminiscent of “Since I Left You’ by The Avalanches. This is a good thing -by the way. Unfortunately “Ghetto Pop Life’ dips to a disappointing finish, with weaker tracks such as “Bush Boys’, an embarrassing track, which lays down some clichéd politics over a weak eastern influenced hook and off kilter beats. This production formula has been overdone in the last few years; it’s also been done better than it is here (Timbaland anyone?). But these lapses are only small distraction from the real highlights on “Ghetto Pop Life’.
On the whole this album is a strong debut, it surprises, entrances and parties in all of the right places and keeps up Lex’s incredible batting record so far. It also boasts the best looking packaging of 2003.