Reviews C.S.S.M.E. Funkmaster Flex - The Mixtape Volume III: 60 Minutes of Funk
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| Funkmaster Flex - The Mixtape Volume III: 60 Minutes of Funk |
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| Monday, 23 August 2004 13:22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Editor's note: ThaHipHop.Com has obtained permission from freelance journalist Oliver Wang to publish this review, whose first publication is concurrent with the release date below. I am honored and excited to have this review on the site and hope you will enjoy reading it. As with any other article on ThaHipHop.Com, this material cannot be duplicated or shared by any other site without expressed permission of the author. To know more about Oliver Wang, click here.
Co-optation always follows innovation. Such is the rule of the music industry where no good idea goes un-exploited for financial gain. Case in point: Funkmaster Flex's 60 Minutes of Funk series. When Flex began it two years ago, he was just beginning to create the phenomenon now known as the corporate mixtape. Mixtapes have been a vital part of *underground* hip hop culture for years, essentially a gray market way for DJs to make a rep for themselves by gathering as many hot tracks as possible and putting it on one tape. Along the way, DJs try to impress the listener either through their masterful mixing, sonic scratching or fiery freestyles - anything to distinguish their tape from the hundreds of others lining the booths of Canal St. Some mixtapes try to be smooth and subtle, blending from one track to the other seamlessly - essentially, making for one monster-long song. Others, like Funkmaster Flex, are cut-n'-scratch DJs, forcing segues through clever cutting and scratch routines. Either way, the principle is: the more songs, the better. The nature of mixtapes are pseudo-illegal, after all, you're taking other peoples' music, repackaging it, and then selling it for personal profit - an obvious violation of copyright laws. Traditionally, record labels haven't raised a fuss because for them, mixtapes are free marketing and publicity for their songs. While it's true that some DJs make their living off of selling tens of thousands of mixtapes, your average bedroom DJ isn't going to put Sony out of business because he or she is selling the latest MC Whatever song on their poorly dubbed tape. However, in recent times, it's become popular for labels to actually sponsor mixtape album projects of their own - taking a once pseudo-illegal practice and co-opting it as their own. Sure, they're legal now, but now they become promotional vehicles for the labels, less so for the artist. On Funkmaster Flex's tapes - he never lets you forget that it's all about him, him, him. Every mic break finds Flex shouting out himself and his peers in an endless display of self-promotion. This wouldn't be unforgivable if it wasn't for the fact that his tapes have always been marred by poor mixing and sloppy segues. Flex claims to be the best DJ in NY (a laughable claim considering Gotham's other talents) but you can't hear it in his mixing. Funkmaster Flex isn't special in this regards - he basically is just following NYC mixtape tradition, but honored practice or not, it can get a little grating after a while...after all, mixtapes (in theory) are supposed to be about the music before the DJ. However, Flex does throw some considerable weight around the music industry (and I'm not referring to his waistline) given his long history in NYC hip hop radio. Especially with Loud backing him up, Flex is able to tap any number of A-list MCs for exclusive contributions as well as highlight whichever artists are currently enjoying their 15 minutes of fame. For the listener, it's an unparalleled opportunity to hear freestyles or new songs from their favorite artists - even if they are butchered by Flex's constant mix motions. For example, the hot list of current MCs grace Volume 3, including DMX, Charli Baltimore & Cam'Ron, Big Punisher, Missy Elliot, Noreaga, Mos Def and Erykah Badu - just to name a couple. Flex is coming with 40 songs so he's got tracks to spare. On top of that, Loud commissions artists to provide new songs exclusively for the mixtape which provides a further bag of goodies. Standout tracks include: Put Your Hammer Down by the Wu Tang Clan which is absolutely vintage Wu. The beat nails you in the head everytime and the Wu members work the track masterfully. Buckshot, who had a great pair of songs from Volume 2 (Follow Me, I Ain't No Joke) returns with Show Down which features Q-Tip on the chorus so you know this one's going to rock. Speaking of Q-Tip, his soon-to-be-disbanded A Tribe Called Quest shows up along with JD from the Slum Village on That Shit which is a tad minimalistic, but should be a decent teaser for what to expect on their upcoming The Love Movement LP. Also on the teaser tip, Xzibit, who has an album on Loud soon-to-drop joins up with his peers the Alkaholiks on the fierce and funky Prime Time. Ultimately, these exclusives and freestyles are what rescue Flex's albums from joining the flock of other lackluster mixtapes. I wouldn't recommend Flex as your introduction into the world of mixtapes, but if you're looking for a 60-minute album that hits you with a new song every minute and a half - hey, you can't beat Flex for sheer volume. It's like summer parties: they're fun while they last, but you ultimately won't remember them come fall.
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 23 December 2005 11:41 ) |
