Topic: Music for America reviews "SMELL SMOKE?"
- Feb 8, 2007 11:48pm by MILES - [url]http://www.MilesBonny.com/[/url] Location: KCK
[url]http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/113568[/url]
[img:711f8ced66]http://xs312.xs.to/xs312/07062/MilesBonny.jpg[/img:711f8ced66]
Kansas City? Oh yeah. The hip-hop scene there may not be as big as other areas, but the strength in artistry shines bright with the artists who are involved.
b]Miles Bonny[/b]is one half of the group [b:711f8ced66]Soundsgood[/b:711f8ced66], but while Joe Good is in the middle of coming out with his debut solo project, Miles has just released his debut project that reveals a few new levels of his musical persona. [i:711f8ced66]Smell Smoke?[/i:711f8ced66] (Innate Sounds) is still rich with hip-hop tradition, but there's also some levels of jazz and funk on here. Like The Mudkids, Miles Bonny makes reference to the city he calls home, but once he does he begins his travels into the smoky and stoned unknown. I'll go out of my way and say if Egon and the guys at [b:711f8ced66]Stones Throw[/b:711f8ced66] were open to take a listen to him, they may find someone they'd like to work with for the long haul.
The album mixes funky hip-hop instrumentals with tracks filled with rhymes, along with songs with some singing on it (something Miles Bonny said he has wanted to share for quite some time). When he does sing, he makes [b:711f8ced66]Dwele[/b:711f8ced66] sound like [b:711f8ced66]Mrs. Miller[/b:711f8ced66]. When he dons the hip-hop hat, it's all about creating songs to nod the head to. When it comes to committing himself to some soulful and funky jazz, it feels as if one is entering another world, away from the stress and towards complete comfort. The album can be loose and at times abstract, and I hear through the grapevine that this release is just a taste of what's to come. [i:711f8ced66]Smell Smoke?[/i:711f8ced66] will make you say "only the good people deserve to hear this", and maybe that's true. If Miles Bonny keeps on making his music for the good people, the bad people are going to want to tap into the formula to see what the buzz is about.
