Topic: Anti-Crew's Dat's Wassup Reviewed on MusicforAmerica
- Mar 20, 2007 09:55pm by DJEternal Location: KCMO and Chicago, IL
By da bookman (John Book) on March 19, 2007 - 10:19pm.
Anti-Crew are back, not with a proper full length album, but with a "mix tape"-type function. In other words, you could call Dat's Wassup!!! a teaser for what they have planned later in the year. What I liked about these guys before is how their lyrics and music together sounds right. What I can't stand are people who just slap any kind of verbal junk over hot and steamy beats, or sloppy beats over well written words and it just sounds like a hot mess. These guys, representing the Kansas City hip-hop scene, know how to do things right and I'm glad these guys haven't given up for the sake of being crunkier.
Their sound is much tighter this time around, not that it was sloppy before (because it wasn't), but if anyone had any doubts that they weren't ready to take their careers to the next level, this CD will remove them. "Keep Talkin'", which teams them up with Mac Lethal, has the feel of the music from the early 1990's. You never really hear "down home" when it comes to hip-hop (and those that are called "down home" are anything but), but you feel as if you've entered a comfort zone with these guys, and they can do no wrong, as Anti-Crew's DJ Eternal demonstrates:
So you say I don't look like a rapper
My pants don't sag, and you ain't never seen me wear my hat backwards
Anyone can dress and play actor
Until your shit is mastered, looks don't matter
I see you posted up in your fresh new gear
Trying to look fly like the next dude here
But I don't got to try 'cause I already am
Center-stage, fly as fuck with a mic in my hand
You rhymin' in your ride while I rule in the booth
I'm pressing CD's, you bought gold for your tooth
You walkin' and you talk like you got something to prove
But you ain't gained shit, man, you got nothing to lose
What I like about their writing style is how they can talk the talk, but never overstep their boundaries. If it's not what they're about, they're not going to talk about it. If it's a fantasy tale, they'll let you know. What they'll also let you know is how it is in KC, as they do in "KC Shuffle" with Joe Good, Approach, Brother Of Moses, Lucid, Qan, Reach, and Ubiquitous. It's all about the battle of words and wit, but they manage to keep their egos in check for the spirit of the song, which lets listeners know the KC hip-hop scene is not to be fucked with.
This mix tape could have easily been released as a proper Anti-Crew album. If this is just something to throw out to the fans in the meantime, the world may not be ready for what they're currently putting together. It's dangerous.
***See the original article here
[url]http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/113938[/url]
