Nothing But Heat

November 17, 2009

I recently spent a month in Los Angeles for work-related reasons. While Taylor and my other fellow Illinoisians were enjoying the gray skies and rain that is October in Illinois, I was out hiking in the mountains and seeing Craig Robinson at LAX. But before I left, I found out that a few things that are common knowledge about L.A., and will be told to you by people who haven’t even been there before. These include: the weather is nice pretty much all year round, you’ll probably see some celebrities, the air in the city is terrible and the traffic is worse.

There is one thing, however, that no one told me about and I wish they had: all the dudes selling their rap CDs for cheap around the city. I first witnessed this while on Hollywood Boulevard. They walk the street, headphones in hand, giving passers-by a taste and trying to hustle them out of a few bucks. I didn’t have any cash on me the first time around, but when I found out we were going to Venice Beach, I promptly hit up an ATM so I could be prepared. Sure enough, as soon as we hopped out of the van I heard the call of “New rap music!” echoing down the boardwalk and I ran off to see what treasures I could dig up.

Nothin But Heatt – Don’t Take It Per$onal

The name combined with the dollar sign in the CD title had me thinking this was going to be some really terrible gangster rap that was trying way too hard. I was more or less correct, but I didn’t realize that these guys might actually be insane. They’re big fans of double-dubbing their vocals, just like everyone else in rap music, except Nothin But Heatt have decided to take it a step further and pitch shift the overdubs. The result sounds like they are either rapping along with a chorus of psychotic elves or some demon from the netherverse. The beats sound like they could have been made with a keyboard from Toys “R” Us, which I think I mean in a good way. Overall, this is my favorite thing I picked up during my time out there.

MP3 Track 4
MP3 Track 5

QNA – Music in da Street

This one is the most polished of the CDs I got, and maybe the most boring. For the most part, the production is serviceable, the lyrics are forgettable and at 17 songs it’s almost impossible to get through the whole thing. The CD does have a few highlights, though. Track 3 comes off like a low-budget Swizz Beats production (in a good way) and has lines like “I ain’t Santa Claus/But I’m coming through your chimney.” I don’t even know what that means. Track 15 lacks any of the synthesizer horns or strings or bad piano that the other songs have and instead opts for a minimal synth line and a bouncing beat. When these guys branch out and do their thing they’re actually pretty good, but it seems like they’re content to emulate whatever is working for popular rap. I can’t say I blame them, but it sure does make things boring.

MP3 Track 3
MP3 Track 15

Collins Vance – The Struggle

I had high hopes for this one. The first song has some interesting production, and Vance has an okay flow. I was even willing to forgive his “singing.” But the rest of the CD is filled with the worst kind of southern hip-hop rip-off. I don’t quite understand why someone from Los Angeles wants to ignore the city’s culture and make bad versions of five-year-old Atlanta rap. I still wanted to post the second track though, because I guess it’s supposed to be his diss track where he takes shots at famous rappers. It’s great though because it’s just filled with things like “You might like Lil Wayne/But I’m five times better” and…that’s it. That’s the extent of his diss. I think it might be the laziest rap song I have ever heard.

MP3 Track 1
MP3 Track 2

I maybe should have mentioned that this stuff wasn’t supergreat. But for me, these CDs made better souvenirs than any T-shirt or shot glass or whathaveyou. I can buy a magnet that says “California” here in Illinois, but trolling the beach for music was a unique experience you probably won’t find in any guidebook. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend it.

Posted by Matt in Mix, Other