Ten Wheel Motion
label: work ethik

producers: daneja one, knows, odeed

guests: daneja one
year of release: 2002
contact: boysears@aol.com
 
The westcoast underground came a long way. Just a couple of years ago (like five), the common misconception was that the west was mainly Death Row and Sick-Wit-It type of artists. Fast forward past the success of Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, Planet Asia and Rasco and look at the world now. The world is not so much separated into East and West. Maybe because the West has very few super heroes anymore and because the East picked up a lot of the West's aesthetics. But with a truckload of legends like Bored Stiff, Aceyalone, the Mystic Journeymen, etc. those with open ears know that a whole lot of the most creative hip hop is coming from the swamps of LA, the Bay and places to the north and south of these two cities.
But how does timSEARS (yes, you must spell his name like that) fit into the picture. Well, if you want to play 'seven degrees of separation', then you can go: timSEARS --> Very (partner in rhyme) --> Scarub (did an album with Very) --> Murs (fellow Living Legend) --> Slug (did an EP with Murs) --> Abstract Rude (hosted Slug on his "P.A.I.N.T." album). So with a couple of detours it only takes us five steps to position tim right smack in the middle of the legendary Project Blowed and with that right in the middle of the west's underground oven. But as said: detours, because timSEARS is much closer to the house that the west built, as there's more or less no degree of separation.

tracklisting
1. timtro
2. Tenten
3. Good
4. Looking For A Lady feat. Daneja One
5. Energy
6. If You Want To
7. I Got Rhymes
8. Few And Far Between

9. Free timSEARS
Teaming up with Daneja One on seven of the nine tracks, the record has a distinctive feel to it, with however much of that feel being unappreciated keyboardy sounds. What at times however still works, like on "Free timSEARS", where Daneja keeps the beat better with it being very melodious, that even enables a catchy hook (what's almost again achieved on "Looking For A Lady" and on the somewhat similar but doper "If You Want To"). Or "Good" where other keyboard sounds are used, that don't mock real instruments, but that create imagined sounds. A worse example is "timtro", where the reggaish vibe doesn't sound too good with the piano or on "Few And Far Between" where the musicality doesn't cut it. Therefore better is the bare track "Tenten", where a bass and simple chop horn completes the beat. There's then also the two tracks done by someone else, with the someone else being Knows on the rougher "Energy" and Odeed uses a previous heard sound on "I Got Rhymes".
As for the words, timSEARS goes through a number of topics that don't stray too far away form the traditional. Meaning you got the braggadocios verses on a "I Got Rhymes". He dreams of more success on "Good" where he also finds the time to diss Kobe Bryant. "Looking For A Lady", the sole track featuring guest verses, is exactly talking about that, as Daneja One steps forward from the boards to share tim's thoughts. tim however also got a natch for putting himself down, calling his record the must highly unanticipated (on "timtro"), and on "Tenten" he mentions that the crowd does not so much as boo him, but rather "they just stare like I ain't there". With him offering the antithesis though, when he goes for straight flowing on "Energy" or when he gets somewhat reflective and pondering on "Free timSEARS", where Very, WYG, Knows and Sahga provide the crowd chanting.
So timSEARS offers a couple of tracks we enjoy, and we certainly do that, but little more. Meaning that the songs keep us listening for the duration, but they don't keep us grasping to 'em through continuous and constantly returning to and repeating plays. They are cool, but not thrilling.
review: tadah
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