Review Summary: This album is proof to me that trying out underground music can lead to the most rewarding music experiences.
April 21st, 2012 was National Record Store Day. I found myself wandering around my local record store in search of a priceless gem, but alas after showing up a few hours late, everything was picked over. Pretty upset with my own stupidity, I began to make the walk of shame out the door when a rack of cassette tapes caught my eye. Up at the top of the rack was a cassette labeled "Slim Bubba Jazzy Sizzle Ice Daddy's 'Wood Glue'". At the expense of a few wadded bills in my hoody, I drove away from the record store with a souvenir of why I should stop procrastinating. I popped the cassette in a short while after it sat in my kitchen, and what I heard I will never forget.
"Wood Glue" holds some of the greatest beats in Hip Hop, and perhaps some of the most diverse instrumentation I have heard in a long time. "Jerusalem" begins with a tympani solo, and progresses into a clarinet lead melody. Meanwhile, the rhymes over this track are flawless and steaming with passion. The syncopated time signature in the track "Cold Hold" is really an interesting parallel to what is so typical in modern day hip hop. The downbeats on this song sound like a hammer being driven into a piece of wood; this really adds a scary/gritty element to this song. "Alcohol & Piece of Mind Pt. II" has is mainly A Capella, except for a water drip-drop every few lines. Overall, the instruments really play their part in conveying the general mood on these tracks.
The lyrics and subject matter on these tracks are simply amazing. While I do not know for a fact what the ethnicity of the rapper is, the lyrics on "Jerusalem" and "Vagabond" can be taken to conclude that he is of Arab descent. On Vagabond, he defends his heritage with, "I know I might come from Israel, but let's keep this real, my skin does not conclude you're infidel." In fact, most of the album is comprised of trying to break stereotypes. In "Alcohol & Piece of Mind Pt. II", he tells an elongated story on how his nanny growing up would hit the bottle, but even then she took better care of him then his abusive father.
The whole album just feels so authentic, speaks with so much soul, and begs that the listener looks past the rugged label of everyday life. But isn't that what the whole idea of this album is about? I walked into the record store, searching for something that glittered like gold, but instead walked away with a tape in a crude box from a man I had never heard about. Months later, this is the greatest thing I have popped into my cassette player arguably ever. Slim Bubba Jazzy Sizzle Ice Daddy in my heart has overcome his stupid name, his lack of a label, and has become the biggest hope in my heart. I hope one day you all will get a chance to hear what I have heard, whether it is "Wood Glue," or it is your communities equivalent. Much love, and Cheers
