PLAY IT LOUD

Anticipating this like nothing else; was listening to this and Soulja Slim's "Souljas On My Feet" and his (surprisingly few) tracks on the recent fiend album (esp "What is U Sayin"!) thinking about how perfectly precise KLC is as a producer, like compared to all the other beats on the album, how his care is so unusual, as if 'craft' is his overriding concern; just listen on "Souljas..." to the way he'll start with that swinging N.O. bounce, drop in a short minor-key noir piano lick, then layer on the bongos and touch it up with some foot stomps at the chorus and the rest of the track is mixing those elements in and out, building up the tension, giving a dark monochromatic feel, a blank canvas for Slim to paint his ruthlessness on. In a weird way he's like the south's DJ Quik to me, a dude who's gonna go the extra mile to make sure his tracks stand out, but doing it w/in a hardcore rap template, not by making any overt pop moves. For a guy who worked with rap stars but never made it really big as one himself, his music has always been more than distinctive.

This song ("Play that shit loud!") is more just a straight up 'banger,' and although it doesn't have KLC weirdnesses (stomping feet, hooting owls on "Holla At Me," whoa) its still some finely crafted bass-blasting synth-whining NO-funk with glitchy snares and percussion that sounds like a dude playing marimbas on heineken bottles. I'm still working on articulating exactly why I like KLC so much but for now lets just leave it at the guy is fucking great and maybe second only to Mannie when it comes to this era of southern rap behind the boards; its crazy to hear all these years since "Bout it Bout it" that KLC still brings it so consistently without ever crossing over in a big way. He's gotta be one of the most influential dudes to produce, never mind for introducing Soulja Slim and Mystikal to Master P, but for being one of beats by the pound's defining voices.