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Showbiz & AG – Mug Shot Music: Preloaded album review

“Show and A! Before we give you the album, Mug Shot Music, we gonna give you the free album. Like my man Show would say, the free album before the album, and the title is called Pre-loaded…”

[On Mug Shot Music: Preloaded, rapper AG (Andre the Giant) and producer Showbiz (the guy that produced KRS-One’s “Sound of da Police”) team up for the second time since 1998. The two released a few albums together in the mid-90s but then focused on solo projects and collaborations with the rest of the Diggin’ in the Crates Crew (Lord Finesse, Diamond D, Fat Joe, Buckwild, O.C. and Big L).]

The opening song, “DJ Premier’s Road Test” introduces the album with standard self-promotional fanfare, but then AG dives into biting social commentary. On “That Nigga Crazy,” the voice of author Amos Wilson cuts in, “in order for this system to maintain itself…it is a political necessity… for black people to be out of their minds…” In between the mantra, “That nigga crazy”, the verses elaborate on the violence built into the system. “Sometimes I imagine what if he taught us to eat the wrong food / broke our unity / since then we been screwed / and you wonder why I’m rude? / Got my sister all nude while you watch my family feud…” With white-hot precision AG addresses misogyny, the drug war, racism, and education, among other hefty topics.

While the vibe is definitely 90’s hip-hop, a lot of songs flirt with contemporary elements. “Wolves” is vivid and satisfying and has wolf howls – but the hipsters already trended wolves to death. “Here and Now,” “Experience,” and “Suspended Animation” play with space and ambience and then ground themselves with rock-solid beats and emphatic rhymes. (The term “Suspended Animation” refers to an iffy medical practice of slowing down bodily functions with cold or chemicals. Sort of like hibernation.)

Most loops are jazzy big band – sometimes bold, sometimes scrambled. A lot of the instrumentation sounds like it’s lifted from melodramatic classic films. There are dramatic slashes of strings, ominous horn lines. It isn’t always serious drama though .“Here and Now” has these tinny riffs that sound like Scooby Doo just solved another mystery. There is ample variety, songs ranging from the sunny “Berri Love” (Feat OC) to the sinister “God is 4 Us”.

A couple songs don’t hit quite right.“South Bronx Shit” is an unremarkable reppin’ your neighborhood anthem. The chorus is supposed to be camp, but the pinched tone is too annoying. “My Imagination” has very pretty instrumentals. Then A.G. sits back and ponders, “imagine… my imagination… imagine… my imagination…” A couple songs back he tells the listener how high he is. This is the first time it shows.

Mug Shot Music: Preloaded is a tight prelude to Showbiz and AG’s impending album. In “Here and Now” AG puts it out there, “…so ghetto / so hood / so good / we great / and if you dont think we the truth son, I just can’t relate.” Not going to argue.

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DILATED PEOPLES & BEAT JUNKIES DJ/PRODUCER, DJ BABU, PREPS THE RELEASE OF HIS LONG AWAITED STUDIO LP DUCK SEASON 3 | DJ BABU’S DUCK SEASON 3 FEATURES TRACKS WITH BISHOP LAMONT, MF DOOM, DILATED PEOPLES, SEAN PRICE, TERMANOLOGY, M.O.P., LITTLE BROTHER, KARDINAL OFFISHAL, STRONG ARM STEADY, GUILTY SIMPSON, PERCEE P, A.G

DILATED PEOPLES & BEAT JUNKIES DJ/PRODUCER, DJ BABU, PREPS THE RELEASE OF HIS LONG AWAITED STUDIO LP DUCK SEASON 3 | DJ BABU’S DUCK SEASON 3 FEATURES TRACKS WITH BISHOP LAMONT, MF DOOM, DILATED PEOPLES, SEAN PRICE, TERMANOLOGY, M.O.P., LITTLE BROTHER, KARDINAL OFFISHAL, STRONG ARM STEADY, GUILTY SIMPSON, PERCEE P, A.G

A world-famous DJ with active memberships in Dilated Peoples and Beat Junkies among his most notable accomplishments, DJ Babu has made a noteworthy evolution. The Los Angeles-based turntablist also stands as one of underground rap’s fastest-rising producers.

Waiting almost five years after the release of the previous Duck Season installments, DJ BABU has been carefully crafting the final saga in his highly acclaimed hip-hop trilogy. What started out for Babu as a DJ compilation, the Duck Season series has come full circle to become a production showcase for the legendary turntablist; not to mention, his finest work to date.

“It started out as a mixtape that featured some of my favorite tracks,” explains DJ Babu. “Now it has fully evolved into a platform of my own production. The album is still presented in the classic Beat Junkie mixtape style, but that’s just a clever way for me to disguise my LP.” Indeed, working with Dilated Peoples aided DJ Babu in his evolution as a producer. Throughout the trio’s four albums, DJ Babu was steadily gaining knowledge and insight on how to craft meaningful and memorable soundbeds. Now, he has combined his far-reaching creative abilities into one project, the rock-solid Duck Season 3.

This evolution from DJ to producer is on full display throughout DJ Babu’s sonically superior Duck Season 3. The fast-moving collection showcases all of Babu’s quickly expanding talents, from mixing, juggling, blending and scratching — as well as producing. Entirely produced by Babu, the line-up on Duck Season 3 reads like a hip-hop’s who’s who. While Babu includes many familiar faces like M.O.P., MF DOOM, Dilated Peoples and Sean Price, he also plants his ear to the streets, recruiting some of today’s hottest new talent like Bishop Lamont and Termanology.

A West Coast veteran in his own right, Babu has achieved a sound that can’t be labeled by region or style. This album could be equally appreciated in the Bronx, Compton or anywhere in between. Duck Season 3 is a treat for all the true B-Boy’s out there and a testament to the fact that hip-hop’s golden era is alive and well and as Babu concludes the vine between the golden era and today is still deeply rooted “allot of the DJs that I looked up to became great producers, from Dr. Dre to DJ Premier to Pete Rock. In a lot of ways, I’m trying to carry that same torch, where hip-hop is still rooted within DJing and records.”

Tracklisting and credits for DJ Babu’s Duck Season 3:

1. DS3 Intro f/ Dilated Peoples
2. Dearly Departed f/ M.O.P.
3. Fan Mail f/ Little Brother, Joe Scudda, & D-Brock
4. The Unexpected f/ MF DOOM & Sean Price
5. Frozen f/ Guilty Simpson
6. East West Connection f/ A.G.
7. My Opinion f/ Bishop Lamont
8. 2 Feet f/ Kardinal Offishall & Rakaa Iriscience
9. Black & Brown Army f/ Chace Infinite & Sick Jacken
10. Graveyardshiftin f/ Cali Agents & Roc Marciano
11. For Whatever It’s Worth f/ Evidence
12. It’s A New Day f/ M.E.D.
13. O.G. f/ Strong Arm Steady
14. Guns Gon’ Blow f/ Termanology
15. That Ain’t Gangsta f/ Likwit Junkies
16. Meant To Be f/ Roc C. & Oh No
17. SBX2LAX2OX f/ Wildchild & Percee P
18. Ahead Of My Time f/ Niko

(ALL SONGS PRODUCED, MIXED and ARRANGED by DJ BABU)