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Soundtrack For Days

label: audio8

mix cd includes: pugzlee atomz, manifest destiny, puertochinko, infinito, angel won, nico b, noble, other.

year of release: 2003

website: recordplayas.com

There are twenty-four hours in a day. And for each one of those hours, the trio of DJ Mind, DJ Noble and Jesus(!) - The Record Playas - provide a trackmark on their production album.

The initial "Intro", and the second track, "Record Playa", give a good idea of what is going to follow on this O.S.T for days - understated drum patterns and simplistic (yet effective) looped samples. Then there are the rappers. On these two tracks, Nico B & Adad, and Pugzlee Atomz feature respectively, and therein lies the other defining feature of the Playas' soundtrack - a wealth of Chi-Town underground MCs anxious to make their mark.

tracklisting

1. Intro feat. Nico B, Adad

2. Record Playa feat. Pugzlee Atomz

3. All We Want feat. Mos High

4. Enviromental Products feat. Erebus

5. I Want To Know feat. Lagisticat

6. Che Strikes Back feat. Rhyme Fest Noble, Jesus

7. Empty Shelves feat. Ismael

8. Generation Lost feat. Seel

9. Manifest The Solution feat. Manifest Destiny

10. Dime Piece feat. Noble, Angel Won, Puertochinko

11. Stressed feat. Avarice

12. My Midway Session feat. Ndvisual

13. What Do You Want Instead feat. Kinetic Wizdumb

14. No Clw feat. Clew Rock

15. Smoke Jack feat. Nico B, Noble

16. Proper Deomnstration feat. Bamski The Bigot

17. Oh Pacman feat. Thigahmahijiggee

18. Money 2 Burn feat. The Knomadz

19. Onslaught feat. Renaissance aka Matches Malone

20. Language Artz feat. Stran Jah, Nico B, Marty Mar

21. Project Ben 2 feat. Benjamin Gay aka Supacoldons, Warren Nixon aka Red

22. Don't Tell Nobody feat. Infinito 2017

23. Betta Thangs feat. Angel Won, Nico B

24. Outro feat. Noble

Some of the unknown (to me at any rate) MCs fare better than others; Manifest Destiny competently discusses racial and social politics on "Manifest The Solution", and are aided by a track which features a more complex drum pattern than most of the other tracks, and a Premier-esque chorus of sampled lyrics. Erebus proceeds in a more relaxed fashion over a jazz piano melody on "Enviromental Products", but with a similarly good result.

But besides the tracks I have already mentioned, and a few other tuneful stand-outs like "Stressed" (featuring Avarice) and "All We Want" (featuring Mos High and possibly my favourite track on the album), the soundtrack the Playas provide us with is one which drags on a little.

Taking each track individually, the Playas' production is rarely below-par, and even the less inspired lyricists can string some interesting verses together, and so the main downfall of the soundtrack is its length. Twenty-four tracks of anything is a great deal to wade through, but twenty-four tracks of simple-formula kicks, snares and loops can't help but lose the listener at times. Had the Playas cut the album down by about a third, my impressions of it would be much more favourable. As it happens though, by the time track twenty rolls around, you've almost stopped listening, and so even the great sample used on "Don't Tell Nobody" (featuring Infinito 2017) is likely to pass you by.

While I can appreciate the Playas' intent in providing a "Soundtrack For Days" of twenty-four tracks, it is this adherence to theme that ultimately lets them down. For those with great patience (or little else to do), repeated listens to this O.S.T will uncover solid production, well-used scratching and samples and, most importantly, a thriving underground Hip Hop scene in Chicago. For those who simply want an album that grabs them, "Soundtrack…" is probably not what they're looking for.

The Windy City clearly has a great deal of talent lurking beneath the breeze. Before their next outing, however, the Playas need to learn how to harness this talent, and at the same time show a little restraint.

review: cornerstone

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