producer: the bedroom wizard

guests: lonnie b, ra-god da drunk'n monk, don caban, jon notty, mad skillz, buddaman, mad skillz, tha supagriends (danja mowf, lonnie b), unspoken heard, others.

Another producer album. Another chance to talk about the phenomenon (also read waxfactor's column article about it here): Quincy Jones did it, DJ Muggs did it, now The Bedroom Wizard does it. And as you can tell, this used to be a 'big name' phenomenon. Now even the bedroom rapper's beat providers (read: the bedroom producer) is getting the chance to shine. Yes, a lot has happened since the shiny paper magazines scratched their heads, trying to figure out what to think of these discs, that put the often silent kid behind the boards to the forefront.

Things start with "The Bedroom Wizard Intro". This is pretty unspectacular, as it's not more than Wizard coughing, talking a little, before a short lived beat moves in on us, only to fade out after a while again. Lonnie B, Ra-God Da Drunk'n Monk and Don Caban then go at it with "Represent". As this is some straight braggadocios spitting, the vibe of the beat is equally stepped up. A slicing piano is acting as ribs and backbone, while throughout the hook, the aggressiveness is also ampted up with shouting words. However, that's not necessarily nice, as it crashes, with too much loud things going on at the same time. Things sound better on the instrumental "Mid-Atlantic Beats", as Wiz' revisits the NYC of 1993. Things also work better on "Spit 50" with Jon Notty. The drum again goes the 'back in the day' route, while a low stand up bass is bubbling in the back, providing the carpet for Jon's braggin' left and right lyrics. After a little while, Wiz puts the xylophone to the front, which gives the track another well sorted element. The "Snapple Beat" interlude after that is again pleasing, while too short to fully cuddle with it.

But we forget about that, as soon as Mad Skillz is stepping to the mic to do "Skillz...". Now Mad is speaking what we were just about to say, when he goes "there's only one who's name is probably exactly what he's about". He continues to rip the mic with line after line of dope rhymes. And with a dope background, that's maybe going the DJ Spinna route a little too much though, this track is defenitely one for your personal collection. Again we are treated with another short interlude beat, this time the sunny "Deep Mobb Beats", that's fading out too fast and exchanged with a useless "Phone Call" skit. Like Photoshop, "Me And Mine" uses the 'layer' function, and adds all kinds of elements to the beat. Especially interesting is the almost hidden hi-hat sound. There's also a horn blow going from time to time, while Buddaman, Don Caban & Bilal-Himself spit into the mic. Again, "Gonna Do It Like This" is the short instrumental that is following at the end of each cut. However, the beat that Wiz' layed beneath "Messages" attracts more attention, especially at the end, where he shows how to utilize keyboards nicely.

Connecting with his North Carolina neighbors, The Supafriendz (Danja Mowf, Lonnie B) and Derrick (Myn Benda), team up to lend their vocals to "Off To See The Wizard", with the beat having a surprising jeep thump in there. Ra-God and Jon Notty return for "Wanna-Be", and on "Mid-Atlantic (Unsigned Mix)", the D.C. cats Unspoken Heard stumble into the studio. The result: an unnecessary 'o-o' flow at the beginning, but the rest of the track, as well as the jazz samples used for this dope beat, make us forget the opening mishap. The instrumental after this track is called "The Storm / Getdown 2000", and would have been by far dope enough for it being used as a regular track, just like all the other instrumentals on here too. There's more of Ra-God coming next, as he is doing the "Lovin U" track. He is straying away from the straight up battling that dominates this record, and does something that talks about his feelings for a female, and the hassle that comes with it. Still, don't miss to check out the drum kick programming on here, as this is quite hectic, and gives the track a certain intensity. Finally, "Dreemz 3" is using Sylvia Striplin's "You Can't Turn Me Away", a sample made famous by the Junior Mafia's "Get Money". But this track will get most attention because of Jon Notty's humorous rhymes, as he "dreams about touching a female emcee", and he talks about it throughout this cut.

The Bedroom Wizard does not reinvent hip hop. It's still not fair to limit him to comparisons, but describing him as mingling nicely between what Joe Quixx did on The B.U.M.S. album and reconnecting with an "Illmatic" type vibe, that's actually a compliment, much rather than a cheap statement. Not to say though, that it's as instant classic as those two were.