Things sure have changed since
Material (then a trio consisting of bassist/producer
Bill Laswell, drummer
Fred Maher, and keyboardist
Michael Beinhorn) released its first EP of mildly abrasive experimental art-funk in 1979. These days,
Beinhorn and
Maher are out of the picture, and
Material is just a name that
Laswell gives to one of his many collaborative projects. This time out,
Material is
Laswell and a motley crew of rappers and DJs. The disc's package is emblazoned with the defiant slogan "Rapping is still an art," which tends to raise one's expectations somewhat. Those expectations are more or less borne out, too. As is his wont,
Laswell provides instrumental settings that are dark, rhythmically complex, and bone-shakingly bass-heavy; on top of his foundational beats there are expert turntable manipulations from the likes of DXT (known to old-school aficionados as Grandmaster D.ST) and
phonosycographDISK, rapping by
Ramm Ell Zee,
Scotty Hard,
Killah Priest,
Flavor Flav, and others, and even a cameo appearance by wispy-voiced art-pop singer
Lori Carson (whose "All That Future," a collaboration with funky keyboard legend
Bernie Worrell, turns out to be one of the album's highlights).
Flavor Flav is his typical off-the-wall self on "Burnin'," while
Killah Priest gets arrhythmically serious on the six-minute recitation "Temple of the Mental." Alicia Blue provides the aptly titled "Flow," and
Kool Keith weighs in with "Conspiracies," a lyrical theme that keeps returning throughout the album. The only weak point here comes, unfortunately, at the very end, with
Ramm Ell Zee's obnoxious and stupid "Hisstory." That aside, this is highly recommended overall. ~ Rick Anderson