Bonus Post #1

What with all of the 9th Wonder talk in the previous post, how would you two like to dive a bit deeper into another project where his beats take center stage? What's that? You don’t care? But I spent all of this time writing…ah, fuck it, you’re getting this bonus post anyway. Enjoy.

Black Thought - Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 (June 1, 2018)

Earlier this year, Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter, the lead (and, most times, only) rapper from the band The Roots, announced he was finally dropping his solo debut. Here’s why this was a big deal: Thought had been teasing hip hop heads with the prospect of an album outside of the Roots Crew for nearly twenty fucking years. His first effort at this seemingly Herculean task, Masterpiece Theatre, was announced way back in 2000, after The Roots dropped their most popular album, Things Fall Apart, and as he carried the bulk of the lyrical weight on that project, it seemed as though the stars were aligning for Tariq. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be: for whatever reason, Black Thought abandoned the album and chose to retreat back into the group setting. Their 2002 follow-up, Phrenology, features some of the songs Thought had been working on for himself, although updated and altered by Questlove and company.

Wikipedia also reminded me that Thought had also intended to release a joint effort with producer Danger Mouse at some point, although the alleged title, Dangerous Thoughts, reads exactly like something one would make up as fanfic, lazily borrowing elements of their musical pseudonyms not unlike “Wu-Block” or “Danger Doom”. This project was also cancelled, although from what I can tell, Thought didn’t spend nearly as much time on this one, at least when compared to the lengthy lead-up to Masterpiece Theatre.

Since then, Thought seemed content to stick with his band. It certainly helps that this was the point in their career where they were hand-picked by Jimmy Fallon to be his house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a working relationship that has lasted for nine years (and counting) and two talk shows, as Fallon brought them with him when he took over The Tonight Show. The Roots continued to release albums after turning in their W9s to NBC’s human resources department, and with the promise of a steady paycheck, they felt more comfortable branching out with their music: we are still in the midst of the band’s most experimental period, as they have released collaborative projects with Elvis Costello, John Legend, and Betty Wright, while also recording more conceptual albums such as Undun and …and then you shoot your cousin, both of which are a far cry from the harder, colder hip hop Thought made his bones with back in the day.

Perhaps the man’s pent-up creative feelings were threatening to burst out of his head: I believe everyone has a natural instinct to reach out toward the uncomfortable, but not everyone has the wherewithal (and a fallback source of income) to actually do it. Black Thought’s catharsis came with a ten-minute “freestyle” (which was pre-written, but hadn’t been performed elsewhere, so I guess it counts, even though an insanely large number of people believe he came up with all of that on the spot) on New York station Hot 97 in late 2017, which took Twitter by storm for roughly five minutes, because that’s how quickly the news cycle moves these days. But the reception was good enough for Thought to reconsider the whole “solo album” thing, and shortly thereafter, he announced he was working on a joint project with North Carolina producer 9th Wonder.

Even though Black Thought had failed to release full-length projects on his own, he was still available for guest features, and the occasional loose song would hit the Interweb every now and then. One such song, “Making a Murderer”, was actually produced by 9th Wonder, which helped build momentum for what would become his debut EP, Streams of Thought, Vol. 1. The news was met with applause and anticipation from the hip hop community, including myself, even though I had some reservations about the production aspect, as there are tons of other producers out there that (a) would kill for such an opportunity, and (b) make the type of beats Black Thought thrives over. There wasn’t much 9th had done prior that led me to believe that he was the man for the job.

I wasn’t wrong.

Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 was released on the first Friday in June, where it was initially buried by Kanye West’s ye, which dropped the same day to a high level of exposure, and also far more media scrutiny. Roots fanatics and hip hop heads didn’t forget about Thought, however, seeking out the EP’s five tracks and picking apart their favorite bars. Why, Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 vanished from the collective consciousness the next day, as opposed to on its release date, due to the stubbornness of older hip hop heads, especially those who were looking for any reason to proclaim the project an instant classic. The album artwork is a section of a Rashad Johnson piece entitled Untitled Anxious Audience, which, by pure chance, I happened to see in full at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville earlier this year when it was part of a larger exhibition highlighting 21st century contemporary art, and let me tell you, that motherfucker is huge and haunting, so Thought and 9th at least nailed the feeling of living in the world today, even if the EP itself doesn't quite hold itself up to the same standard,

9th and Thought have since begun teasing the next volume in what could become a series, as Tariq claims the duo have recorded enough songs to keep this partnership going for quite a while: that extended guttural scream you hear in the background of the site is my own. A fun game would be to list hip hop producers that should collaborate with Black Thought for a full-length project in the comments below.

1. TWOFIFTEEN

The sample 9th Wonder chooses isn’t great, but it definitely isn’t bad, and he uses it to bookend “Twofifteen”, the body of which consists of a simpler loop that Black Thought uses to spit an extra-long verse. Names after the area code in Philadelphia, this opening salvo quickly establishes what Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 at least wanted to be: a lyrical exercise-slash-TED Talk, wherein Tariq Trotter will dive into his thought process, with the social consciousness and the requisite boasts-n-bullshit that go hand-in-hand wherein. 9th brings out a side of Thought that we don’t get to hear all that often: his energy over looped samples and drum machines is slightly, if not markedly, different than he typically appears to be on Roots tracks or on late-night broadcast television. But this is still Tariq we’re talking about, and even if the instrumental is merely alright, if a bit dull, he still kills it with the bars.

2. 9TH VS. THOUGHT

Black Thought over a breakbeat should be a no-brainer, right? His performances on both versions of “Thought @ Work” make my case all by themselves, and I’m not even counting any of his freestyles. So why in the fuck did “9th Vs. Thought” leave me so cold? Tariq spits two verses over a decent-enough drum break, one that perhaps runs a bit slower than I would have preferred, but otherwise he sounds okay, if bored. However, 9th takes liberties with the instrumental which are completely uncalled for: there didn’t need to be any horn section behind all of this, and the lecture framing device used to separate Tariq’s verses and to conclude the track are borderline pretentious. How is it possible that 9th Wonder could fuck all of this up? The breakbeat was a goddamn gimme! I would assume it’s because 9th thinks of himself as a Very Important Producer, and as such, he is above the material presented. Our chosen genre isn’t as forgiving as he may believe, though, This misfire may be enough to make me hate this EP outright, no lie.

3. DOSTOYEVSKY (FEAT. RAPSODY)

I don’t blame Rapsody for wanting to jump onto a track with Black Thought: if I were a rapper, I’d consider it a fucking honor to work alongside one of the best that ever did it. I do blame 9th Wonder for shoehorning his artist onto Thought’s project, though, just like he snuck her onto Grammy ballots earlier this year, her nominations pushing A Tribe Called Quest out of contention entirely.  (Lest you think I’m just being a dick here, 9th Wonder was on the committee that helped select the nominees in the rap categories, so he one hundred percent snuck her into the mix, and you can’t tell me otherwise.) The beat on “Dostoyevsky” aims for hypnotic, but settles for somnambulant, so while Thought’s “Elder statesman conversation” sounds alright, the beat fails him. For her part, Rapsody sounds fine: she is skilled with the pen, and her flow is confident, but with room to grow. (For the record, I never listened to Laila’s Wisdom, her 9th Wonder-produced album that was inexplicably nominated for a Grammy, so I’m not saying anything about the quality of the project or her performances on it. But if any of you two have an argument for exactly why it deserved the nomination, and over A Tribe Called Quest’s farewell album at that, I’d like to hear it.)

4. MAKING A MURDERER (FEAT. STYLES P)

I enjoyed “Making a Murderer” quite a bit back when it originally dropped in 2016, but I realize today that I liked it despite 9th Wonder’s production, not because of it. I mean, 9th’s work behind the boards here is fine, a textbook example of the correct way to embellish upon a breakbeat without having any ironic removal from the source. But fuck all of that, “Making a Murderer” (named after the Netflix documentary series, obviously, even though this is just a shit-talking session) goes because of Thought and his guest Styles P., who functions more as a co-star than a cameo, as it is just as much a Styles song as it is Thought’s. Both rappers spit their vague threats and cocky braggadocio with ease, the instrumental adding a somewhat sinister tone to their efforts, even as the horns used throughout contradict the menace. There’s no way “Making a Murderer” won’t be the best song on Streams of Thought, Vol. 1, you two, and that could be just because there were no expectations on either Tariq or 9th when this originally dropped, so they both feel more comfortable in their respective skins.

5. THANK YOU (FEAT. KIRBY)

Once again, 9th Wonder receives full credit for the project even though he didn’t produce the entire thing, outsourcing “Thank You” to Khrysis. (At least the production credit on Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 is given to “9 th Wonder & The Soul Council” this time around.) The difference in sound in this finale is immediate, as Khrysis’ drums hit harder than everything else on here, especially when paired up with a D’Angelo sample (from “The Charade”, credited to D’Angelo and the Vanguard). Thought spits two reflective verses, sounding much more alert than he has, while crooner KIRBY provides a chorus that was completely unnecessary, but I’m not mad at it. I’m just really happy that this review is almost over: I have a thing at five that I’ve already moved twice.

FINAL THOUGHTS: For a long-awaited solo debut, Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 sure fails to hit the mark. As with Jean Grae’s Jeanius, though, the blame lays squarely at the feet of 9th Wonder, who just doesn’t come across as a good collaborator when it comes to these type of projects: his beats fail to connect with Black Thought on any level, and Tariq has the rhymes. If I’m being completely fair, though, and I realize my consistent attacks on 9th Wonder are anything but fair, I’m used to hearing Thought participate in more of a group environment anyway, where every Roots Crew member has at least a modicum of input in what direction the music should go. Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 plays as not so much a proper team-up than it does Black Thought rapping over a bunch of 9 th beats he happened to find behind a false wall in his basement, and although his writing is as sharp as ever, his engagement to and level of commitment with said instrumentals is lacking. When the best track on your EP was released two years prior, that says a lot about the quality of your project, but at least if one were to remix Black Thought’s vocals (and Styles P.’s and Rapsody’s), you may be able to make some good songs out of them. 9th’s musical backing sounds rushed, but at the same time he comes across as too confident in his abilities when he hasn’t really proven anything to anyone when it comes to working with established artists. Yep, I just said that.

BUY OR BURN? Neither, sadly. If you happen to run into Thought walking out of 30 Rockefeller Center, offer to buy the man a coffee or something, but this EP doesn’t deserve your money. Just stream the motherfucker and you’ll be fine.

BEST TRACKS: “Making a Murderer”

-Max

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Not a lot of Black Thought by himself, as this was his solo debut, but you can catch up with The Roots here.