Blogarhythms

Over the years I’ve been a huge supporter of Brooklyn’s Nuclear Family both here on Blogarhythms and elsewhere. I’ve blogged about their projects dozens of times. Their music has provided the backbone of my radio playlists numerous times. I keep all of their albums — save the crew’s debut The New Singles, which I seem to have misplaced — on my MP3 player. And my closet is full of gear from Scumlife, group-member Tone Tank’s clothing company.

Earlier this week I got word that core member Krayo (one-half of spin-off group Iller Than Theirs) dropped a limited edition 7” vinyl single, “The Blackout” backed with “Cherry Lime Rickey,” for dolo. That’s the sort of news that automatically puts a smile on my grill. But I was even more amped when I discovered both sides were produced by Doc Strange, whose credits include Cool Calm Pete’s “Modern Rhymes,” quite possibly my favorite tune from the Blogarhythms dandy and Nuk Fam homie. As if that didn’t make the single enough of a draw, Krayo also put both tracks up for free download, continuing the crew’s tradition of giving back to their fans & supporters.

The a-side “The Blackout,” a paen to liqour-fueled debauchery, sports a bluesy organ & piano roll loop a-la “Get Out of My Life Woman” and an undulating bassline over plodding drums which make the track feel as drunk and stumble-bum as Kray sounds on the mic. “Cherry Lime Rickey” is just as mellow, but in a late-night Cool-Jazz sort of way, with Kray kicking autobiographical rhymes in between paranoiac everymanisms, working-class fantasizing and shout-outs to some of his favorite foods over a popping bassline, warm keyboards and a plaintive horn. I’d post a sample track but you can just go download both joints for free, so eff all that.

Krayo “The Blackout” b/w “Cherry Lime Rickey”

Part of Nuk Fam’s appeal to me is that they come off like regular dudes. The kind of guys who fell in love with Hip-Hop as kids, grew up, got jobs and decided to make Rap songs about their lives, concerns, problems, hopes & dreams because they actually like rapping. There’s little room for posturing in that equation, and I like that. It’s a quality I recognize in Grip Grand, a producer and emcee from California’s Bay Area, too. His album Brokelore is a diverse collection of tunes — featuring a guest appearance from Percee P on the pimpish Fast-Rap tune “Paper Cup” — anchored by Grand’s humble egotism and appreciation for Hip-Hop in it’s multiplicity of forms.

The aforementioned “Paper Cup” is one of the finest moments on the disc. But Grand still has his charms when when he’s on his own and slowing shit down, like on “Remember the Time,” a dedication to his dead homies (and family members) delivered over a wholesale jack of Brokeland (Grand’s nick-name for his hometown Oakland) Soul legend Darondo’s “Didn’t I.” In fact, he sounds his best over the midtempo bumps lime “Hip-Hop Classic,” where his lackadaisical slow-flow, drawling delivery and self-effacing lyricism are buoyed by Fat Boys beatbox samples stutter-step drum programming, playful piano & xylophone samples, mellotron and synths.

Grip Grand “Hip-Hop Classic”

The fact that Grip Grand also makes a joke about how “if Jesus walks” he’s not “trying to make spirituals,” an observation similar to one I made frequently back when Kanye’s Christ-anthem was all over radio, on “Win the War” might make him all the more relatable to me. It still makes me crack a smile four years later, even if I am hearing it while hoofing it around town with my headphones on myself. It also makes me think one of two things is possible; either we share a common struggle, or making jokes about Jesus doesn’t pay.