Yak Ballz - Scifentology II: Album Review
Yak Ballz, Scifentology II (FloSpot, 2008)
When Cage goes to the airport, Yak Ballz holds onto his suitcase, in case there's any issues with the police or - god forbid - homeland security. As far as I know this is his first album. It expands on some of the ideas from his acclaimed (bear with me) Scifentology mixtape.
BLIND FAITH
Like some of the more rock-ish stuff on the most recent Aesop Rock, but with production values more akin to classic hip-hop. The central guitar riff couldn't be any more basic, but damn it if it doesn't work. Yak Ballz sounds like a crazy homeless person, and also his benefactor Cage.
YBTV
More of a wacky prog feel. You get the idea that the instrumentation on this was done live (though I'm not sure if it actually was), which is cool. Yak shouts out the Captain Beefheart album Trout Mask Replica and shills for his motherfucking YouTube channel. I can dig the message though.
OUT OF RANGE
Kind of a mess. Whatever the main percussive element is is all muddled, and the recurring siren is all muffled. Note the difference between muddled and muffled. I enjoy the "emo" choruses on this album in general, but I'm not sure if this one in particular fits this track.
NUCLEAR SOCIETY
The guitar noise in this one kinda takes away from the rappin'. If they were so adamant about going with that sort of thing, I would've appreciated more of a build to a noisy climax, rather than an all noise all the time approach. Features a guest rap from Tame One, who can't help but sound out of place here.
WAR IN MY HEAD
Remember that Eminem song where he sampled Aerosmith's "Dream On?" This is just like that, except less polished. Yak Ballz appears to be experiencing some cognitive dissonance with regard to going to college and ending up a no-name nerd rapper, which I can certainly relate to. Or did I misread this one?
DIRT EMPIRE
An ill-adivsed foray into techno or some such, on an album full of ill-advised forays into all sorts of things. There's some interesting raps, if you can tune out the synths and what have you.
FUTURE DELUXE
The requisite weed carriers track. These guys are a bit "animated" for my liking, and not particularly good otherwise. Which is a shame, because this is one of the album's more interesting beats. It's got all sorts of space noises going off in the background.
A BILLION WAYS
Remember that joint from the last Cage album with the emo guy taking the chorus? Well, this is that, but with a different emo guy. He isn't as good, nor is this song. But I'll admit, I enjoy this sort of thing in theory. I'm not too proud to say it.
CHACHING (CLAP YOUR HANDS)
Clap your hands? I'm at a loss for how this was supposed to be a good idea. I bet not a single girl buys this album. I've been to those Def Jux shows before. I know what the deal is.
TAKING GOOD CARE
Starts out like it's gonna be another track for the bitches, but then it veers off into Slim Shady territory. Obviously the tendency is to want to hate, but this is kinda interesting in a "man, white people are nucking futs" sort of way.
UNDERRATED
And this one has grown on me quite a bit since I've heard it. It's another one of these emo-esque numbers, though in this case I'm not sure who's handling the chorus. It might be Yak Ballz himself, who really takes you inside his journey as an artist here. I'd get a bit verklempt listening to it, if I had a heart.
NEW COMMUNICATION
Wouldn't you know, Cage himself drops some guest raps on this. What's this supposed to be about, the fact that the music business is shady? Also, how come this track had to be so abrasive?
TRUST IS A TIMEBOMB
A song made for some lonely kid's MySpace profile. I mean, look at the title. I can really dig the techno flourishes though.
COMMENTS: I went a bit hard on this one, but I felt like this album called for it. It's so full of interesting, innovative ideas and music. I'd compare it to El-P's I'll Sleep When You're Dead, though of course it falls way short of that album. Still, I'd rather listen to this than any number of rap albums I've heard in the past year or so. If you're into the Def Jux sound, you're gonna want to check this out.
BEST TRACKS: "Blind Faith" "YBTV" "Trust Is A Timebomb"
BONUS VIDEO: "Trust is a Timebomb" live at the New York record release show for Scifentology II at Rebel NYC.
