Like Seattle producer Jake One did on White Van Music, released earlier this year, Rhymesayers DJ and producer BK One and his buddy Benzilla gathered up a selection of artists to rhyme over their beats on Radio do Canibal. But unlike just about anything heard within the Hip-Hop world as of late, this album is entirely influenced by the Brazilian records BK collected while travelling through the biggest South American country.
The result is a collection of production that features the very strings, horns, and drums you’d probably expect given their inspiration. Fortunately, BK doesn’t try to turn his album into a Khaled-like clusterfuck, as the majority of the songs feature only a single artist. The result is a record low number of awkward collaborations, as the lone one is I Self Divine’s attempt to find something to say after Raekwon gives him a tour through the hood. Besides that it’s smooth sailing, as Black Thought reminisces about life in the Illadelph, Blueprint wishes his album will come out already, and Brother Ali and Slug get the party started as by taking turns shit talking about your girlfriend. P.O.S. also drops what I think is rap’s first swine flu reference, on the life-on-the-road anthem ‘A Day’s Work,’ while Murs advocates hooking up with 18-to-21 year-old girls (and none others) on ‘Eighteen to Twenty-One’. And on the album’s climax, ‘American Nightmare,’ Brother Ali and Scarface lament the unfeasible situations facing the ‘troubled youth,’ on a track that’s message is both touching and frustrating.
Overall, Radio do Canibal is an interesting mix of vocals laid over a Brazilian Hip-Hop landscape. The LP is scattered with skits in which Brazilian musicians talk about their roles in introducing new funk and Hip-Hop to their native country and the influence it had. Clearly our country’s music has had a huge role in the development of theirs. And now that’s true vice versa.
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