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January 18, 2006

Aceyalone and RJD2 - "Magnificent City"

This pairing, Aceyalone and RJD2, promises to be one of the most coveted releases of the season, if it actually appears in this season.. the latest release date is February 7th. Here's a cool review from allhiphop (although it may have used the word "perhaps" a few too many times):

Aceyalone wants to hear about Freestyle Fellowship about as much as Kool G Rap wants to pontificate about DJ Polo. Times have changed but the problem has been that Acey-alone has given audiences nothing nearly as pleasing as his early group albums. On his last solo, Love & Hate [featuring the oddly titled, "City of S**t"] there was a burst of excitement in his two collaborations with Def Jux producer, RJD2. Perhaps this led to Los Angeles and Philadelphia's unified vision of a Magnificent City...

Storytelling drives Magnificent City to concept-album status. Like a Robert Altman film, perhaps it is these stories woven together that completes the picture. "Soloman Jones" uses a Tone-Loc rhyme pattern, but a mild delivery to present a tale of a post-Wild West bar-fight. "Cornbread, Eddy, and Me" takes references from several 70's films, and allows Aceyalone to put himself in a protagonist's shoes. Though abstract, the energy makes the message clear...

...Both Freestyle Fellowship and Project Blowed have been about collaborative chemistry. Perhaps with RJD2, Aceyalone was able to build with a silent partner in making his boldest, most cohesive solo work to date. This energetic and emotional effort is essential to the Los Angeles underground spirit at a time when Pharcyde and L.A. Symphony are struggling to be remembered. Whether sarcastic or not, Magnificent City positions itself as one of the better story-driven albums of late, and an early independent heat-seeker in '06.

Posted by jsmooth995 at January 18, 2006 1:29 PM

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