Track List:
01- Cheese Intro
02 - Intromission feat. Helen
03 - Bring It Back
04 - From Hell feat. EMC
05 - Writaz
06 - Majah Knock feat. Saafir
07 - Everyday
08 - U Don't Know
09 - Ready Now
10 - Dangerous
11 - Deceived
12 - WorkItOut
13 - Upper Playground
14 - Neva Stop
15 - Murder Sound
16 - beautiful Ground
17 - U Make Me High feat. Helen
18 - FReal Version feat. Helen, Abstract Rude, Del, Ammbush, Mika 9, Motion Man and EMC
Bukue One the tour manager, skater, producer, record label boss and now emcee has released his debut album after 10 years experience in the game. Why, you might ask, would someone take so long to release an album, when the current trend is to hand-up the mic and concentrate on managing your artists? Well the answer is simple; Bukue is a true Hip-Hop artist with respect for Hip-Hop as a culture. He isn't out to brag about guns, money and drug dealing; he wants to get people having fun with his "party" music, placing creativity over cashing in.
This couldn't be more evident right from the off. The album opens with the "Cheese Intro," a recording of one of Bukue's live performances delivering an accapella freestyle to a hyped crowd basically setting the tone for the album assuring the listener what he is all about - Hip-Hop in its purest form. The album soon gets going with the title track "Intromission," a relaxing combination of piano and light drums with Bukue setting the mood for the rest of the album - forget your problems, relax and take it easy.
From then on Bukue embarks on a journey creating classic sounding cuts that spread the message of having fun from through music and reminiscing how Hip-Hop used to be. Whether it is catchy hooks of "Bring it Back" ("Do you remember back when Hip-Hop was fun, cold chillin' at parties without the fear of guns?"), "Everyday" ("resurrect the vibe formerly known as fun") or just the lack of offensive lyrics, from start to finish this album delivers the same message.
To achieve the classic Hip-Hop sounds Bukue has enlisted the help of a few up-and-coming beat makers from Germany namely Krutsch and Flaps. "In Germany, people are making music to make true Hip-Hop, not to get rich," says Bukue. An interesting premise and while for the most part this rings true, some of the beats are a little dull and get repetitive taking away from the general replay value of the album. With that said, there is enough variety and mix of styles to save the album, its got heavy bass West Coast tracks ("Majah Knock"), dancehall ("Ready Now") and melodic loops and instrumentation with any number of drum types ("U Don't Know").
As far as guest appearances, its clear Bukue has a lot of friends and colleagues in the underground from his various endeavours. He has managed to assemble a who's who of underground Hip-Hop to help out on the album, although it does help if you are the manager of most of them. For the most part Bukue goes it alone on most tracks, just like it used to be before guest appearances determined how well an album would sell.
Being from the Bay Area, I don't think Bukue could have gotten away without doing a West Coast track like "Majah Knock" featuring Saafir, however, this has track has to be one of the low points for the album for me, not that it is a bad track, it just doesn't fit well with the vibe of the rest of the album and feels totally out of place. Also, it seems as though Bukue has a little trouble matching the beat.
The album is rounded out by the 9 1/2 minute "FReal Version Ride" featuring Helen, Abstract Rude, Del the Funkee Homosapien, Ammbush, Mika 9, Motion Man and EMC, Bukue One's equivalent of the "Touch It (Remix)" showcasing some of the best talent from the underground, which although it is good to see the unity and variety of styles and verses, like "Majah Knock" I got the feeling this one didn't match the rest of the album.
Lyrically, Bukue isn't bringing anything new to the table, there always was and will be songs about bringing Hip-Hop back to how it used to be, but adding his unique believable fun loving character and positivity is enough to make the album stand out from the rest.
"Intromission" as a complete package is above average and lyrically Bukue One is on par, there is just an underlying feeling to the album that doesn't encourage a huge amount of replay value, but it is well worth a listen if not just for a break from the generic mainstream rap that is flooding the scene at the moment. Don't get me wrong, there is enough quality beats and lyrics on here, it’s just there are no real classic tracks. Combine this with the occasionally ropey flow and borderline repetitive beats you have an above average album, that doesn't really stand-out as a great album.
If you are into real Hip-Hop, party rap or just looking for something new and different from the mainstream radio, or you just want reminding what Hip-Hop used to be this album is definitely worthy of your attention. With the current state of Hip-Hop and the music industry in general it is good to see an artist who still sees Hip-Hop as a culture and not as a money-maker.
Hot Tracks: "Intromission," "Bring It Back", "U Don't Know"
Artist: Bukue One