For several years now, the name of Quebecer Nicholas Craven has been clearly visible on many rap albums. underground American. Famous MCs such as Ransom, Roc Marciano and Evidence have rapped about his beats. Recent albums Latin Quarters pt. 1 and 2 of the legendary Akhenaten, from the IAM group, are entirely produced by Craven. In Quebec, he worked with Mike Shabb, Chung and D-Track, among others.
Posted at 12:30 p.m.
When American Boldy James came to Montreal last May as part of the tour NBA Leather, the director from the Outaouais region contacted him. They made a first song, Death & Taxesthen, a few weeks later, Craven traveled to Detroit to make an entire album.
Fair Exchange No Robbery, launched on Friday, is made up of 10 coins. Regulars of the music of Craven and James will not be destabilized: sampling (sampling) researched, minimalist percussion, flow quiet, cunning texts.
The styles of the two artists blend very well. Together, they have created an album that can play in the background during a relaxed evening or be listened to attentively in order to discover its subtleties. Craven’s compositions rely heavily on the integration of vocals, but the excellent sound editing makes it easy to distinguish every word of James. The latter has a certain talent for telling stories from the street, but his method is more colorful than direct. ” We been gettin’ $200 a griz, fuck a record sale/All the flicks that the feds took we was fresh hell “, he raps on O Tre Ninewith Gue Wop, only guest on Fair Exchange No Robbery.
Without saying that more collaborators would have given a better album, we would have taken more variety. The songs follow one another without any really standing out. Some are superior — Stuck in Traffic, Monterey Jack, Power Nap —, but it lacks a few elements to solidify the work — the conversation between James and a friend in prison is not enough. The albums The Alchemist crafted with Boldy James possess these qualities. However, it is unfair to ask Nicholas Craven to be on par with one of the masters of hip-hop production. Maybe someday.
Rap
Fair Exchange No Robbery
Nicholas Craven & Boldy James
Nicholas Craven Productions