The album I received from Goofle was Aceyalone's debut 'All Balls Don't Bounce'
I've always been a fan of hip-hop, not necessarily of the old school variety though, as I feel a lot of artists such as Run DMC, Beastie Boys, etc recieve too much credit for their work.
However, I had not previously heard of Aceyalone prior to listening to this release, so was eager to give it a spin.
It did not disappoint.
Right from the opening track All Balls, this album was consistently strong in terms of lyrical content with a great use of metaphors as well as covering a variety of concepts from the all to familiar racism to showcasing great storytelling technique in tracks such as Makeba.
A lot of artists from the time, fell into the trap of creating some sort of fake gangster persona, but Aceyalone stays clear from this, and apart from the use of the 'n word' on the track Mr Outsider, there is hardly a profanity to be found in this record, which is a refreshing change and also a testament to Aceyalone's vocabulary as well as individuality.
He delivers his rhymes with an almost effortless ease and switches almost seamlessly from a laid-back chilled vibe on tracks like 'Anywhere You Go' to a more progressive aggressive sound on tracks such as 'Greatest Show on Earth'.
What this album is rich in is variety, with each track sounding different to the one that came before, yet all fit extremely well together and nothing on the record feels out of place.
Other than the lyrical content, which is inspired, there are also catchy hooks provided by tracks such as Annalillia and a clever use of sound dynamics.
There is nothing too complicated about the instrumentation with most tracks using either a prominent drum machine or xylophone, but there is no need for complexity there, as everything flows superbly well, and the vocals are never out of sync with the instrumentals.
As I earlier touched on, and perhaps this albums greatest attribute is that every track is individual yet it all comes together so well, there are a great use of samplings and voice effects to boot, including a Beavis & Butthead appearance at the end of the track Knownots, which I appreciated
All in all, this album is truly great and I will continue to listen to it over time, I recommend if you don't already own this album and are a fan of the genre or really just good music in general, give it a listen.
A big thanks to Goofle11 for putting me over to this record. I really enjoyed it.