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Antipop Consortium, "Ghostlawns"
Let me be honest here. I grew up in Queens, so I like my rap to sound a certain way. While I can appreciate the insanity of groups like Outkast and southern production geniuses like Timbaland and the Neptunes, I'd rather be listening to Cam'Ron, Nas, Jay-Z, Cormega, or the Wu-Tang Clan.Warp
Now what I can't stand is that trendy niche cleverly branded as "rap for backpackers" (think El-P, Cannibal Ox, Talib Kweli). Give me tracks about cash, ho's, and guns— I'm a happy clam. Show me something with a Definitive Jux label on it or a rapper who sounds like he wrote with a thesaurus next to his notepad and I'm out. So then Antipop Consortium, even with the Warp endorsement, has always been a blip on that side of the screen I don't fuck with. Personally, I think this is one of those acts that brings the label down. Needless to say, the original version of "Ghostlawns," the latest single from their recent 'Arrhythmia' CD, didn't move me. I mean sure, their flow is pretty tight, but if you're rapping about granola and tofu... does it really matter? The flipside redeemed this 12" somewhat, with more coherant remixes of "Ghostlawns" done by Mike Ladd and the legendary LFO. Ladd's remix actually gives the music a good kick in the ass with a steady electro beat you can both follow and rock out to. What makes this mix even better is it extends the track for a few extra minutes with the sampled female vocals and computer voice from the original, making it far more DJ friendly than the original. LFO (now Mark Bell, sans co-founder Gez "G-Man" Varley) seems to have his ear closer to the sound of Dirty South on the cheekily titled "Rik Waller remix" (Rik Waller was a contestant on the UK version of FOX's "American Idol"). And yet, there are elements of dub and the traditional Warp experimentation to be found among the chicken and grits grooves. Backpackers already own this (shit, they probably copped the promo 12" the moment they saw it), but unless you're a fan of Antipop Consortium, I wouldn't bother with this record.
 
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