The chronicles of Crew54.

Congrats to Killeen’s Crew54, whose “54 Reality Show” video blog got them a write up in the Austin Chronicle.  Peep the article, and be sure to catch them in the streets.  They have a show in town almost every week, and even if they’re not performing, chances are they’re roaming the streets with camera in hand, so be sure to holler at them.

Crew54 | Can’t Lose f. Random

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Album Review: Random | Megaran 9

8 bits and 16 bars.  That’s the theme for the new release by Phoenix emcee, Random.  This album borrows both samples and thematic content from the Mega Man video game franchise, that has been around since I was blowing dust off the contacts on my original NES cartridges.

The album is produced by an ensemble of talented beatmakers, but all stick to the basic script of taking 8-bit synthesizer loops from the game soundtrack and adding drums and other instrumentation.  If this sounds like it could get monotonous, it could.  The number of different producers with different approaches to the same formula keeps this from happening, though.  Grooves tend to sound mechanical and cold, apropriate for Mega Man’s robotic post-apocalypse.

On the mic, Random follows a formula most of the time as well, speaking on various aspects of the game and it’s storyline.  He takes some interesting angles, like personifying boss character, Splash Woman:

She told me about her true purpose
Used to save victims that fell through the surface
A few days ago the contract expired
And she was scheduled to be thrown into the fire
And Wiley gave her a reason to live
So now she gotta do what he says
Shed a tear and said you don’t understand
I gotta stick to the plan, I owe everything to this man

He keeps this approach for a lot of the album, and although not everything is explicitly about the game, he uses a lot of language tied to it to form other metaphors (e.g. I wasn’t programmed with love in my heart).  He is an impressive emcee that manages to keep this idea fresh through the whole album.

Speaking as someone who hasn’t seriously fooled with video games in years, I enjoy this album.  It is an interesting concept, and Random and his producers pull it off well.  Definitely worth a spin for even casual fans.  It is currently available for free download almost in its entirety.  The whole thing drops on CD and digital download March 20.

Megaran – Splash Woman

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.