Essential. Despite the frequency with which that term is thrown about by blogger types when they’re trying to add some gravitas to their next amazing discovery, I’m not sure I’ve ever used it a review before. Well I have now, because I think The Mint Condition, the new record from The Extremities, is essential listening for Canadian music fans – especially hip hop ethusiasts.
Now, a quick search for The Extremities on the hill will quickly reveal I’m a longtime fan of the duo comprised of Fresh Kils and DJ Uncle Fester, but there’s no bias at work here. The Mint Condition is a fantastic record, and one of the best hip hop records I’ve heard this year. Quite frankly, it has everything I’d ask for in a hip hop album, so I really can’t do anything but give it plenty of props.
As you might expect from a duo who has made their name as a production/instrumental group, the production on The Mint Condition is excellent. Inspired by the jazzy production style found in much of 90′s NYC hip hop, the Mint Condition features lush, horn-heavy soundscapes with plenty of mellow-yet-heavy drums and enough scratches to keep traditional hip hop fans happy. Add to that a great group of MCs guesting on a number of tracks, and the fact that they kept things at a concise ten tracks, which means absolutely zero filler, and you’ve got zero reason to complain about this one.
The other thing I love about this album is the amount of variety Fes & Kils have managed to fit into the album, despite it being a tight ten songs. There’s good old fashioned storytelling rap on both the excellent robbery & recovery tune Dial Tones (featuring Lushlife, Ghettosocks & Ambition) as well as the hip hop coming of age-themed track Around The Corner (f. Ambition & Relic). There’s the fantastic, straight ahead hip hop of New Season (which pairs Brooklyn’s Ohmega Watts with the legendary Moka Only), and there’s also a catchy six man posse cut featuring Ghettosocks, Timbuktu, Rich Kidd, and El Da Sensei of Artifacts fame. Those hip hop tracks are mixed in with some fantastic, downtempo jazz instrumental tracks, including The Mint Condition pts 1 & 2 which were co-produced by Ali Shaheed Muhammad of a Tribe Called Quest and the amazing Lost Souls. The album even finishes up with a great soul/R&B track featuring Kaleb Simmons – really is something for everyone here.
So, if you’ve made it this far, I’d hope it’s obvious that I want you to check out The Mint Condition for yourself, but go further than that, help spread the word. Everyone complains about what an uphill climb hip hop musicians face in Canada to get their music heard, so this is the kind of record we can all champion I think. It’s great music, masterminded by two talented and passionate individuals – it deserves to reach plenty of eardrums. In fact, I’d like to see it on the Polaris long list next year, so let’s all try and make that happen shall we?
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MP3:: The Extremities – Lost Souls
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MP3:: The Extremities – Right Now f. Kit Knows & Smashbrovaz
Web:: get.extremitiesmusic.com
The Extremities – Around the Corner f. Ambiton & Relic
[...] Extremities last record, Mint Condition, was really, really great, and now they’ve got a great video for one of the tracks off the album. Around the Corner, [...]