Everyone’s favorite baldhead returns with his first LP since his ‘extended vacation’.
‘Now’ feat. Twan
The first of a bunch of 80’s beat reinterpretations, album producer Will Tell flips ‘The Pee Wee Herman’ for Dat’s tales of chasing broads.
‘This Is Your Life’
Over some dope horns Sadat details the history of his time with Brand Nubian and life on the road. “Now when Puba left the group, we regrouped/He said ‘Y’all should be good’ but the public just never understood”. Great track.
‘Jungle’ feat. Twanie Ranks
Ragga hooks are coming back? The main beat is good though. “I had to pay my daughters school fees/ And you know I had to have a little dollars for trees”. Classic.
‘Never’
Rocking that ‘Something For The Radio’ beat and an amusing vocal snippet. Good stuff.
‘Think Different’
Uses some zany pop tune for the hook. This is no ‘Slow Down’ though.
‘X-Plain’
Laid-back piano and a scratch hook allow X to kick it on a number of topics. “I’m not tryna to take over New York but I’mma eat my piece and feast!” This quickly makes up for that last song.
‘He Walks With Me’ (skit)
If nothing else, brings back the classic tradition of pitching up your voice to make it sound like there’s a dame speaking.
‘X Is The Word’
80’s beat remake #2 – this time it’s Mantronix ‘Needle To The Groove’ ‘Fresh Is The Word’. Not that I’m complaining – this works.
‘Walk Upright’
Another ragga hook…the superior verses help this get over though. “My cousins a doctor, the other one sells that white”.
‘Hey Baby’
More speeding up Sadat’s voice to sound like a gal – consider it ‘I Got A Man’ for ’08. Amusing nevertheless.
‘The Okeedoke’
Eerie Spanish guitar while The Great Dot X lays it down about his time in the bing and hustling. Dope shit.
‘Morning Food’ feat. Twanie Ranks
Could have lived without the third ragga chorus for the album – there should be a limit on these things of one per record. Verses make it worth the effort, if only to hear X call himself ‘Baby Grandpa’.
‘Live’
Warm weather music. Don’t mind this one.
‘Make It Happen’
The drums sound like the ones from Just-Ice’s ‘Goin’ Way Back’ over a brooding loop. Some more tales of chasing tail.
‘Heart To Heart’ feat. Thirstin Howl III & Twanie Ranks
Ragga Spanglish rap. This might work better after a lotta weed and beer.
‘It’s A Demo’
No prizes for guessing the beat on this one.
‘New York’
Ol’ Blue Eyes on the hook and more ill horns make for a quality tour around the Five Boroughs.
‘Sweat’
A behind-the-scenes account on the making of the album. This is why Sadat is still relevent – who else thinks of bugged concepts like this? Loving the music on this one too.
Verdict: Admittedly, this doesn’t sound that great on paper – three 80’s beat remakes and four tracks with ragga hooks would usually make for a disaster – but thanks to Sadat’s strong vocal performance it all works. Other than ‘Think Different’ you can let this play all the way through. ‘This Is Your Life’ and ‘Sweat’ are worth the price of purchase alone for long-time listeners, and Will Tell provides a valuable continuity to the overall sound, which is appreciated after the patchy feel of the rushed Black October. The God is back, fuckers.
Sadat X – ‘New York’
‘X Is The Word’
80’s beat remake #2 – this time it’s Mantronix ‘Needle To The Groove’. Not that I’m complaining – this works.
That’s weird. I would have used the beat of ‘Fresh Is The Word’ with a title like that.
^ And you’d be right. The fuck was I thinking?
The snippets sound surprisingly dope – I mean Sadat is always reliable, but I wasn’t sure about Will Tell – his previous work wasn’t really impressive…
YO, what about Sadat’s collabo albums with DJ Spinna and Money Boss Players ? Anyone ?
He mentioned these on his MySpace
God Is Back In Town
can’t wait to cop this.
Sadat never disappoints!
diamond ds new album >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> this piece of shit
This album brings back a lot of memories. The bassline of ‘Heart To Heart’ for example reminds me of the break in ‘Deeper’ by Boss. But I doubt I will remember anything from this album 15 years from now.
01. Now- The hook almost works, but it is not the strongest start to a project. Sadat is on point (as usual) from the beginning, so calm and collected with his verses.
02. This Is Your Life- Yessir. This was already declared a winner and it will hold up. A strong reflective/reminiscing track, Sadat is all over this type of content.
03. Jungle- This is not as bad as it sounds. The hook is troublesome. Again the verses are solid, but I�ll be honest, the solid replay of Sadat X to me has always been that voice paired with a track he doesn�t get lost in and those memorable/heartfelt lyrics.
04. Never- You can tell as soon as Sadat comes in on this that it�s going to work. I can�t really explain that, but it�s true. Track is solid, 2 minutes is all that�s needed here.
05. Think Different- AC already did this, but hey, I guess now there are more �rappin on commercials.� It�s the Yael Naim �New Soul� iPod commercial and probably isn�t necessary.
06. X-Plain- 2 thumps up, nothing else.
07. He Walks With Me- Why?
08. X Is The Word- If retro-80s is what you�re looking for, then sure, but I�d rather hear a classic 90s track.
09. Walk Upright- Sometimes strange things can stand out on a track. I really dig the little needle-drag/mosquito sound that�s mixed in. The hook works, but could be done without, it takes away from the simplistic track that I think suits Sadat well.
10. Hey Baby- Sounds like the Dino-5 go dating.
11. The Okeedoke- Up against the last track, it�s movie-esque and a winner. I also found the �where I can drive/ticket breakdown to be enlightening�
12. Morning Food- There is just too much going on here. Sadat brings it again, but he�s nearly lost in the mayhem of the track.
13. Live- The track is pretty, but this is mostly pointless. Sadat is capable of being happy and breaking down how we see ourselves in the world, but this one better left as a B-side.
14. Make It Happen- Too little, too late in the album.
15. Heart To Heart- Count me as actually enjoying a Thirs III verse here and there, but um, no. This should have been left behind.
16. It�s A Demo- Mixtape/promo fine, 3 tracks from the end, no.
17. New York- You know what, I love NYC as much as the next guy, but it�s a homage track that can only be done in this style so many times, before it becomes one of the tracks that isn�t really needed. Thing is, without the sample (or done another way) and I could get behind this.
18. Sweat- Worth the wait, I believe in Sadat because of stuff like this. He�s honest. I just don�t think that Diamond could give us this for the �Huge� project, because he can�t make me believe that much really went into it. I believe that he sat in the lab and tried to craft something with Will Tell and I appreciate that. Doesn�t mean I wouldn�t have rather seen a few tracks dropped and replaced by your standard issue Primo sample/scratched hook or a �wacky� Prince Paul track instead of a reworked iPod commercial.
the money boss players eps are bangin… tariq is the man… prod is top notch… hard to find tho
Could have lived without the third ragga chorus for the album – there should be a limit on these things of one per record
classic