More than just skin deep.

BIG TONE – THE ART OF INK
Tres, 2009

Rated: 4 out of 5

This is the debut solo album from Detroit producer/emcee, Big Tone.  Over 12 self-produced tracks, he lays down an enjoyable collection of rhymes on a bed of rich, soulful backdrops.  Tone introduces the album as a tribute to the uses of ink, both in tattooing, and rhyme writing.  While the tattoo metaphor doesn’t get much play after the first track, he certainly shines a lens on the rap game, and those creating rhymes.

As an emcee, Big Tone has a pretty accessible flow, and a strong voice.  His phrasing clearly shows an influence from fellow Detroiter, Elzhi of Slum Village, with similar intonation and at times, rhyme structure.  He brings an original element to the table though, and thankfully avoids the trap of trying to fit too many syllables into a bar, into which Elzhi sometimes falls.  The overall feel of the tracks varies, sometimes celebratory, and sometimes very laid back and self-satisfied.  There are certainly moments of doubt and tension, though, that help make the album more three-dimensional.  On Scapegoat: “Slight society don’t respect us/Nothing more than the subject of a Cosby lecture/But when I’m on the block and stressed/Cause check-to-check ain’t stoppin’ them collectors from acknowledgin’ my debt.” Big Tone is a tight rapper, but the talent doesn’t end there.

Production on this album is nice start-to-finish.  In Detroit hip hop tradition, the primary engine of the music is soul samples.  This production has a fuller, rounder, sweeter sound than some of the work of Detroit underground mainstays like Black Milk, however.  Some of the beats are hard-hitting and high-energy.  Skin Deep features chopped up strings and and filtered vocals swirling insistently around a drum loop with a thunderous snare.  The uptempo Business has snare rolls and a wah-wah guitar loop.  You’ll be lucky if you can limit yourself to just head nodding while listening to it.  On the opposite end of the spectrum are songs like the silky, relaxed groove of The Look.  With a chopped up and filtered sample of standard, The Look of Love forming the foundation for a track with lazily strummng guitar, it compares favorably to tracks by another one of my favorite producers, Cincinnati’s Fat Jon.  Even with very capable rhyming and appearances by other rappers and singers, I have to say that the beats are the true strength of an album with only one major weakness.

The only thing that frustrates me about The Art of Ink is how short it is.  Clocking in at only 38 minutes, with a couple minutes of instrumental filler, this album is a throwback to the days of 12″ LP’s.  It is a hair too long to call it an EP, but I have a hard time thinking of anything under 45 minutes or so in length as an album, and in many cases, an hour or more is perfectly fine.  This album certainly could’ve sustained several more tracks of the same quality, and it is a bit of a disappointment that it ends as quickly as it does.  Still, the album is solid start-to-finish, and there is something to be said for that.  Overall, it is definitely a recommended listen, and I look forward to longer projects from Big Tone in the future.

Audio from two tracks can be found here.