Guilty Simpson/Madlib-OJ Simpson

Posted by Justin Hoyt

There's very little question that the gulliest rap music coming out today is coming from Detroit. A city whose identity has long been fore-fronted as the capital of the financial downturn and whose crime and poverty seem to overshadow what has long been known to many as one of the countries greatest musical hotbeds.

Out of the rubble we are brought Guilty Simpson. The veteran MC is a master of more one-liners and shit talk than you're likely to hear in front of any corner store or backyard cookout this Summer. Simpson, who reminds me at times of the legend Kool G Rap (a major influence of Simpson's), is chock full of sport references and nostalgic tales of life in his city. His debut Ode to the Ghetto, was a solid effort chronicling his life in the slums of Detroit.

What he and collaborator Madlib (our review of Medicine Show No. 3... Beat Konducta in Africa can be found here)concoct on OJ Simpson however transcends the foundation he built for himself on Ode to the Ghetto. The sophomore album is a truly cohesive album centered around Madlib's always percussion focused sound and Simpson's formative, grimey flow. Championed by the late, legendary J Dilla, Simpson's greatest attribute takes a few times through the album to hear. At first listen Simpson's cadence seems unpolished, and you feel like any bar could slip off the rails and falter over Madlib's notoriously choppy patterns. Instead he follows the choppiness, mirroring in a sense the same appeal we have toward Madlib's beats. To a novice ear both seem unrefined but after further listens you realize every snare,  high-hat, and word is right where it was intended. Simpson might never outshine many of his contemporary counterparts bar-for-bar, but he can do what many of them can't, make a complete song and a faultless album.

Hailing from LA, Madlib continues on OJ Simpson to prove why he is possibly the best producer in any genre. The drums sway through the headphones (the best way to listen to this, and any of Madlib's music) creating a psychedelic experience along with the random snippets of stand-up comedy, skits, and shouts all intertwined over Madlib's gritty version of funk. The interludes of this album are absolutely crucial to its totality and evoke an array of emotions from laughter, sadness, introspection, and the rarely found fear (not just anybody can give you the creeps through the speakers). It's a incredibly cerebral album, one worth getting blunted and listening to from front to back in the headphones in a secluded spot. But, it also contains the type of bangers, like "Scratch Warning", that beg to be turned up full blast in the car with the windows down and released into the streets.

The album is due out everywhere May 18, but is currently available over at Stones Throw.

"Cali Hills"-An ode to J Dilla: