Review Summary: In 'The Mission', J Dilla proclaims 'who said producers ain't supposed to rap?' To that I have no answer, but I am adamant in saying that they were probably right.
Jaylib is the collaboration of perhaps the two most prolific and acclaimed hip hop producers of the 21st century- California-based Otis Jackson Jr (Madlib) and Detroit-based James Yancey, aka J Dilla or Jay Dee. Champion Sound brings great production mixed with not-so-great rapping, along with a new-found confidence in the air that is not apparent on either artist's solo recordings.
And we shouldn't be underwhelmed by Jaylib's production. The production of the album is, as to be expected, excellent, with both Dilla and Madlib complimenting each other with their respective styles (crackling jazz horns for Madlib and clean, precise bass and drums for Dilla), and it soon becomes clear that both producers are not competing but collaborating.
Yet the album is let down by the rapping of both producers. It is accepted that both Madlib and Dilla are not the greatest MCs in hip-hop, but their performances here for the most part consist of a messy, disjointed (and sometimes just plain dull) flow, all of which is not helped by the bland lyrical content of the album. Jaylib spend most of the album simply talking of their rapping and producing talents, occasionally pulling in featuring artists to underline how great they are. Take the album's single for example, 'McNasty Filth' featuring Frank N Dank, which consists of the three artists mentioning that the 'flow is sick' and that they are all 'in this mother***er', statements which become more and more generic and meaningless after they are endlessly repeated in the song and songs to follow. Tracks with great beats are ultimately let down because of the empty lyrics, such as Nowadayz (in which Madlib talks about 'counting stacks' and chatting about his woman in an almost misogynistic manner). Even Talib Kweli becomes predictable and cliched, telling everybody to 'gather round' and enjoy the beat, something that would be easier to do if Jaylib focused on other matters than actually talking about enjoying the beat itself- which eventually becomes arrogant and overconfident.
Some other tracks focus on equally-explicit matters, such as simple sexual desire in Dilla-produced 'Strip Club' which has Madlib and his friend Quasimoto simply talking about the girls and both being VIPs. It would be interesting to draw a reflective deeper meaning out of this, but it is hard to at all. Instead the lyrics turn into a boring, semi-comedic drone about getting cheap sex- subject matter that not even Lord Quas can make humorous.
It would be so much more interesting for Jaylib to explore more interesting concepts than merely their musical capability and things like sexual desire. Although they may not be accomplished lyricists this content is still not up to their standards. And although their personas are not misogynistic and egotistical in reality, it comes across in this album, although if that is for irony and satire of mainstream rap I cannot be sure. It seems quite apparent in this album that satire is not its intent.
Unfortunately the album is compromised by the poor rapping and lyrics from both Madlib and Dilla.
If you do not have the instrumentals from the deluxe edition, it would be wise to either not absorb the lyrics of the album, or to take it all with a large pinch of salt. It seems that the lyrics were just rushed off at last minute to 'fill up' the best-left-alone instrumentals. Yet this should not overshadow the beats from Jaylib. We can be sure that production, not rapping, are where Jaylib are most comfortable- and where, at least for the moment, they should probably stay. In 'The Mission', J Dilla proclaims 'who said producers ain't supposed to rap?' To that I have no answer, but I am adamant in saying that they were probably right.
Top Tracks
The Heist
Strip Club
Raw ***
The Mission
The Official
McNasty Filth
Nowadayz
