producers: deeskee, young joseph, administer, kelvin centigrade, math.

11. WD4D - Man Or Machine

The initial plan was to write some opening thesis, about Aztec and Mayan, as well as a Hindu aesthetic to some Westcoast sound, praising it, with anthropological arguments and what not. However, that plan has been scratched. And so this opening shall be as simple as this: There are releases coming from California, that sound distinctively so, while it's hard to describe why and how. And this kind of hip hop seems to be kept within the circles they are released in. It can't be that this quality simply gets ignored. And maybe that's why this scene is so tight knight, because if they wouldn't support each other, no one would.

But with the globalization of many aspects of our life progressing, chance is, that more people will be listening to what Cali has to offer. We get the records and we get a glimpse into a grouping of artists, that produce some of the best hip hop, from beneath the surface. Artists that are resetting the rules of the game, feeding us appetizers and summer flung meals, that live legendary and shift shape on the way to the celestial Orion. Or something like that.

"Shuru" is doing a duality in being Indian, at one side it being inspired by Native America, and at the other end, it being inspired by Indian, as in coming from India. It features the poetry of Taji, who opens this album as mystically as "Beneath The Surface" was opened. And this track shows you the very approach, with it being different, but not in the sense of a west's tradition. That is continued on "Inspired", produced by Deeskee. The poetry is expressing the appreciation for the always present whilst not obvious. The Young Joseph produced "2 Weapons" features Subtitle and is a 'be careful of what you wish for' track, as you might just get it, or here you'll accomplish it. Then again, it also talks about 'don't get pissed about things you can't possibly change'. This is a bi-approach and quite possibly it's actually a tri-approach. Raj then teams up with Neila on "Sunken Ships", and the lyrics continue to be poetic and philosophical. The beat here does the night ravel vibe eloquently, before this style is dropped for the rather harsh "Heavy Hitters". The drum is up front, the bass right behind it and Maleko, Space Ranger and Nebula are almost going a bragging and boasting way, not saying though, that this is simply aligning punchlines, if at all.

The Administer produced "Real Chai Spoken Here" remains instrumental with a guitar defining the pace. "Milky Way Memories" is getting more obscure in an abstract way, and so do the lyrics, as they urge you to look at things differently than convenient and how you are used to look at them. On "Dear Anger", we get the Al Green drum (as heard on Eric B. & Rakim's "Mahogany") and Deeskee is pulling a sweet guitar out, while a truckload of folks step to the mic, them being Maleko, Neila, Tommy V, LifeRexall, Deeskee, Joe Dub and JunDan.

Deeskee stays around to produce the beat for "Hurry Up And Slow Down", that features our favorite oddball Dose One. He's providing fill ins and some sort of sung chorus, spicing it up with some two to four line verses here and there. And so Raj and Dose bounce back and forth like the plot of the "Illuminatus Trilogy". The Anticon experience is also furthered with Math being responsible for the next beat. This track is "Boundless Pterodactyls" and features Kiilani, Tommy V, Space Ranger, Nebula and Maleko. The darkness gives this a gripping feel, that grasps you physically and mentally, like hypnotism. And next, WD4D gives us his "Man Or Machine", an instrumental track, if you don't consider the scratches to be talking to you.

After this, Deeskee is hooking up a butter sweet sample, that has us think of Stevie Wonder, but maybe just because we only know his version of "Alfie". Anyways, "Slipping Through The Cracks" is giving us Raj trading words with JunDan and this cut is simply one of the best on here. "Road Trippin'" changes vibes completely, giving us another herded track, with Maleko, Space Ranger, Tommy V, Nebula and Flash rhyming over this Young Joseph beat. Then there's the Deeskee produced "Capture Of The Moment", that is again one of the tightest tracks on here. DJ Pres is doing the scratching, and the mic is handed back and forth between Nebula, Maleka, Tony and Flash.

Raj then gives us one of his few solo track, that is a pat on the back, as well as a motivation giving "Artistic Output", be it through direct speech or the encouragement of someone else's success. On "Chris's Headaches", we get the second poem, this time recited by Chris Club, over the guitars played by Ian Kendrick. And this is followed by another one of those beautiful night vibe beats by Deeskee on "Cooler Heads Prevail", that features Joe Dub and Maleko. Further there's another crowded track with "Way Too Beautiful", where Syndrome 228, Gel 1, Regret 3, Neila, Tommy V, Maleko and DustOff are keeping each other company and one spits the incredible dope line "I'm teaching all you new dogs old tricks". The second to last track then belongs to Raj, to speak his final words on "Not To Be", before Deeskee ends the album with his instrumental "Khatam".

And yes, we are running through these tracks mighty too quickly, and yes, they'd deserve differently. But this album gives us 20 tracks that all deserve a paragraph, meaning, this review would even be longer than it already is. And so let's quickly repeat the words that have been between the line's till now: the rhymes on here are poetic, deep and refuse to be gibberish. They capture and talk about feelings, emotions, mental concepts and straight up pride representation. The beats, while done by several people, remain within touching distance, giving "Conscious Contemplation", the feel of an album, much more than a collection of songs. And the stomping grounds presence seems to give strength and spirit, with the history of each artist inspiring this to be a true reflection of self, of the present and of the surrounding. And as such, it's another one of those dope albums, that is Westcoast, but then again, ready for the world.