Dwight Spitz

producers: count bass d, j. rawls

guests: edan, mf doom, cana, hezekiah, dionne farris, others.
year of release: 2002
website: dwightspitz.com
 
In the rush to acclaim that which presents itself as 'abstract' or 'next shit', it is sometimes easy to forget that hip hop 'just' being hip hop can be a joy in itself. "Dwight Spitz" is a case in point. As a sample on "Real Music vs Bu11$*!t" puts it, "real music's gonna last, all that other bullshit is here today and gone tomorrow". And I'm not even trying to hate on the pioneers, the boundary-stretchers, the experimentalists. I love that shit too. I'm just saying that there is still pleasure to be found in simplicity, directness, a solid cadence combined with speaker-busting bass, a kick that hits you in the chest and a crisp, tight snare.
Count Bass D thinks so too. But he is no trafficker of mere meat n' potatoes efficiency. At it's best "Dwight Spitz" is a shimmering summer mirage of an album, an aural analogue to those days when the daily grind holds even less appeal than usual. "Aural S(ECT)s" is a prime example of what I'd term D's 'mellow confusion'. The reverbed piano loop is hypnotic, lulling you into a head-nodding reverie only to be tripped up by disorientating audio interruptions and subaquatically treated vocal samples. "Antemeridian" and "Postmeridian" follow suit, echoing slick eighties R&B but throwing unexpected elements into the samplescape (which I won't ruin for you here). The previously mentioned "Real Music vs Bull$*!t" is typical of the many genuinely interesting and musically interludes scattered across the tracklisting.

tracklisting
1. Jussa Playa
2. Aural S(ECT)s
3. Gon' Get Yours
4. Antemeridian
5. Postmeridian
6. How We Met feat. Edan
7. Just Say No
8. Sanctuary
9. Subwoofer (Dumile)
10. Truth To Light
11. Real Music vs. Bu11$#!+
12. August 25, 2001
13. Hello Test Test feat. Cana & Hezekiah
14. Blackman Dreams feat. Lil D
15. Reign Or Shine feat. Rayna Shine
16. Quite Buttery feat. MF Doom
17. Blues For Percy Carey

18. Seven Years feat. Dionne Farris
19. Ohio Playas
20. Dwight Spitz
21. No Time For Fakin' (Part 2)
22. My First Piece feat. Oriana Lee & Hezekiah
23. Take Control
24. Coming Soon
The Count's vocals are spread sparingly throughout the album and indicate an artist who will speak as and when he feels like it, rather than stuff every corner with self-regarding verbosity. When he does speak it is worth listening to, funny, intelligent and slightly surreal as on "Subwoofer (Dumile)": "Dexedrine, Atavan, Ritalin/you must be kidding/there ain't no value in Valium". This idea, that if you have nothing much to say, don't say anything, is something many artists could learn from. It also means that this is an album in no hurry to categorise itself - is it an instrumental album with a couple of vocal cuts or a vocal album with some instrumentals? Who cares, it's dope. When D hands the mic over to a guest the results are just as effective, particularly a clean-sounding Edan on "How We Met" and an inventive full-flow MF Doom on the all-too-brief "Quite Buttery".
"Dwight Spitz" isn't a particularly confrontational album - at times it's so laid back you wonder whether it might need medical attention, a cup of tea, or a pillow. But as an amiable, relaxed and occasionally very soulful listen, it does the business.
review: joe stannard (kilamuk@yahoo.com)
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