Lost Masters Volume 3

The legendary experimental, abstract MC from the early 90s golden age group Ultramagnetic MCs is back with a release of a compilation of lost tracks and unreleased material. It probably should have stayed that way. Synth and bass heavy, with ambience aplenty and sparse, electronic 808s. Very few tracks have traditional rhytmicism of hip-hop. Keith's absurd metaphors, tangential verses, and stream of consciousness flow are often appealing, yet ultimately seem gimmicky. best tracks: 1, 5, 6, 15. FCCs plenty

track 1:
spacey, sinister downtempo synth beat, 808 drums, off-kilter, off-beat flow, abstract metaphors, aggressive tone
FCCs: fuck, ass, shit, bitch

track 2: bass heavy downtempo sparse electronic beat, weighty lyrical content deals with the commercialization of hip-hop, anti-commercial sentiment

track 3: very pared-down beat with repeated short vocal sample, synthy bass and continuous kick drum, no snare. plodding, arhythmic, spoken word flow

track 4: downtempo party song about girls, latin flavors, alcohol. chorus features a woman making very sexual sounds, less abstract, chaotic lyrics, more cohesive topic.

track 5: crazy midtempo joint, beat comprised of lazer and spaceship sounds with a heavy bass and spare drums, verses are absolutely unintelligible and ridiculous
FCCs: shit, dick, pussy, fuck, motherfucker

track 6: sparse African congas accompany a simple two note synth riff, no ostensible relation to the title, creative and lyrical
FCCs: shit, nigga, piss, motherfucker, fuck

track 7: simple one note flute rhythm is accompanied by repetitive on-beat kick drums, uses "english muffin" in a punchline so its dope

track 8: grimey distorted bass underlies midtempo bouncy drums, lyrics concern the darker side of the female, conveyed in an impressionistic litany of complaints.
FCCs: shit, ass, cum, motherfucker, nigga

track 9: chorus is "nice like a motherfucker, fuck that, I'm no sucker." more or less sums up the entire track. features a female MC on the second verse, who steals the show.
FCCs: bullshit, fuck, motherfucker, nigga, ass, shit

track 10: first song with some element of melodic beat, uses a haunting, dissonant, reverby piano riff over downtempo drums and steady high hats. conspiracy theory rap

track 11: keith challenges commercial mainstream rappers to "go to space," which supplies the theme for this concept track. btw, second lyrical reference to Dr. Phil. Banging midtempo drums under grimey bass and spacey ambient noises

track 12: spare syncopated snares under bright synth chords, silly sung hook, first truly lighthearted track on the album

track 13: the beat is the first non-experimental, non-synthy, organic sounding boom-bap hip-hop track. abstract, strange lyrics examination the links between women and cell phones.

track 14: dissonant synths, constant ride cymbal and snare combo, sparse bass, midtempo. some of the more out-there lyrics of the album, raps entire verse in electronic deep voice

track 15: upbeat track (one of the very few), r&b hook, sparse horns and guitar riff, less abstract flow, much more rhythmic and on-beat than other tracks

track 16: song begins with very explicit female sex noises which continue mutedly and intermittently as the verse begins, probably not great for airplay. ironically, the content of the song has very little connection to this.
FCCs: fuck

Jonah Rexer