Diversionary Tactics: Ten Artists Ski Beatz Should Track Down For The Inevitable Fourth Semester Of His 24 Hour Karate School

A few of you have already noted this in your comments for the Ski Beatz 24 Hour Karate School projects, but for the rest of us: the quality of the music (and the artwork, although the album cover for the third installment, 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight, wasn't that bad) has decreased with each successive installment (24 Hour Karate School Japan doesn't count, since it included the same beats from the first installment of this series, just adopted by entirely different artists).  It's a known fact that Ski abandoned the hip hop tradition of overt sampling after the first installment, electing to utilize a live band (The Senseis) as a cheaper alternative, but that isn't why I feel the music has suffered; The Roots have used a live band nearly their entire career, and they sound just fine.  Although I do feel that the man's work ethic may have resulted in some rushed product that could have used a little more nurturing before it was unleashed upon the public, I believe that the fault of the glorified art project's failure lies with the artists who pass through the building.

Ever since Yasiin Bey Mos Def pulled out of the original 24 Hour Karate School seemingly hours before the album hit store shelves (after recording several guest verses, he refused to allow them to appear on the project itself), Ski Beatz has been very selective about the rappers he will allow into his dojo.  Unfortunately, he has pretty much excluded every single major name in hip hop today in favor of honoring the underground, which is fantastic in theory, but in execution, it's fairly obvious that most of the guests on all three (American) volumes aren't quite ready for prime time.  For every CurrenSy (who isn't perfect, but he has a charismatic quality that most hip hop stoners lack), there's a Tabi Bonney, a Da$h, and The Cool Kids (not technically a product of the Karate School, but still).  24 Hour Karate School featured well-regarded artists such as Joell Ortiz, Jay Electronica, Jean Grae, Ras Kass (yeah, I had forgotten about that one, too), a pre-fame Wiz Khalifa, and, um, Jim Jones, who isn't a good artist but has the name-brand recognition that most of the others lack; in contrast, 24 Hour Karate School Part 2's biggest star was either Kanye West's buddy GLC or former Shady/Aftermath artist Stat Quo, depending on what side of the country you're on, and neither one of those guys is selling any records.  Shit, Stat Quo is still best known for the label he was dropped from and not any of his actual musical output: that's never a good sign.

The biggest star on 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight is Mac Miller, a young upstart with MTV backing (and merchandising provided by Hot Topic) who is popular with his growing fanbase.  As Miller's debut album, Blue Slide Park, isn't known for its lyricism (the guy only seems to write about partying, chicks, and smoking weed, which apparently is enough these days), it would appear that his cameo is the result of a marketing meeting at Ski's label, where his business partner Dame Dash pretty much demanded that he put someone on the album that could move units (Mac Miller debuted at number one on the Billboard charts the week Blue Slide Park was released).  As you can see, Ski is painting himself into a corner: he wants to appeal to the underground demographic, the backpackers who appreciate hard beats and intricate, battle-ready lyricism that still manages to spread a message, but his scope doesn't seem to be as wide as it used to be, and he's limiting himself to working with only close colleagues.  Which is fine, but since Ski virtually disappeared from the rap game completely (only pitching in with co-production credits here or there on albums that weren't from Camp Lo) before his miraculous resurrection a few years ago, I think that it's important for him to maintain the goodwill he's generated as of late, what with his work on Curren$y's Pilot Talk series and the 24 Hour Karate School collective itself, which proved that he was capable of more than just the 1970s blaxploitation sound of Camp Lo and the backdrops to accompany the early crime parables of Jay-Z.

To that end, what follows is a list of suggested artists Ski Beatz should reach out to in an effort to make the hip hop audience pay attention to the inevitable fourth chapter in the series.  The artists or groups aren't presented in any particular order, and by no means is this an exhaustive list, so I encourage you two to leave your suggestions in the comments below.

1.  TALIB KWELI

Look, Ski's not getting Mos Def back in the booth.  That's never going to happen.  And if I had recorded several songs with Mos Def, released a few of them to blogs as a method of self-promotion, and then found out that he wanted nothing to do with my project, then I probably wouldn't want to work with him, either.  But that doesn't mean that Ski shouldn't try to work with Dante's Black Star partner Talib Kweli.  After coming across as awkward on his earlier efforts, Kweli has, admirably, become one of hip hop's more consistent-sounding artists, but his ear for beats has had mixed success.  Working alongside Ski Beatz and his live band may help both men achieve whatever goal they respectively have in this here rap game.  Also, considering the fact that Ski contributed a beat to Kweli's Gutter Rainbows, this idea isn't all that farfetched.

2.  SLAUGHTERHOUSE (YES, EVEN JOE BUDDEN)

Ski has already worked with Joell Ortiz, so it should be relatively easy for him to convince the rest of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse to show up at the dojo one day.  While writing the introductory paragraphs today's post, I was listening to 24 Hour Karate School's "Prowler 2", mostly to erase the memory of Twilight from my mind, and I truly believe that Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", Joell, and Joey B. could absolutely destroy a bluesy-rock-tinged banger of a beat like that.  (This may be harder to accomplish now that Ski doesn't sample anymore, but it's still possible.)  If Slaughterhouse isn't available, I would also accept Cormega's newly-formed M.A.R.S. supergroup, since I believe that Mega Montana, Action Bronson, and Saigon would do Ski's beats justice.  However, this would require me to acknowledge Roc Marciano's existence, which is, admittedly, difficult.

3.  ASHER ROTH

Okay, hear me out: after sinking about as low as he could go with his debut album, Asleep In The Bread Aisle, former Great White Hype Asher Roth has been hustling, releasing mixtapes and recording cameos alongside some of the underground's elite, so it may be the right time for him to reintroduce himself to the public over a Ski concoction of some sort.  Roth's lyrics tend to stay in partying/girls/smoking weed territory, but he mixes it up with a sense of humor and an actual flow, which is much more than absolutely anyone can say about Mac fucking Miller. 

4.  U-GOD

Not only would an appearance from Golden Arms guarantee a purchase from all of the Wu stans that remain in the world (there are about twelve of us now, and we meet during the fourth weekend of every September for the annual conference on a Staten Island ferry), it could also help U-God's career, which doesn't really seem to be going anywhere these days.  Hell, even Inspectah Deck is making moves; those moves may only include walking from the couch to the fridge and back, but he's still being more productive than U-God.  Everyone else in the Wu-Tang Clan will be too busy to pop by (even Masta Killa, probably), but U-God's flow could work wonders over one of the jazzier beats in Ski's computer.  Besides, how can it be called 24 Hour Karate School and not have included any Wu-Tang affiliates as of yet?

5.  RICK ROSS

Ski's go-to guy Stalley is already a member of Ross's Maybach Music Group, so getting both of them together to record a collaboration should be the first thing on Ski's to-do list.  Besides, Officer Ricky is something of a phenomenon in our chosen genre these days: everything he touches seems to turn into gold, or at least earns tons of spins on rap radio.  If Ski wants to gain enough exposure so that the fifth installment of his series can feature nothing but unknown artists he picked up on the subway on the way into work, he needs to actually make money, and Ross is, sadly, one of the best ways to do it.  As is the next guy on the list...

6.  DRAKE

I don't want this to turn into some mainstream bullshit, but the point of this list was to point out some artists that Ski could look to in order to move some units and gain some free exposure for the as-yet-unannounced 24 Hour Karate School Part 4: The Dream Master.  Aubrey tends to traffic in slower, more abstract instrumentals anyway, so he may actually be a pretty good fit for the concept.  Hell, throw him on the song with Stalley and Rick Ross that I just made up in my mind and watch that shit blow up on Hot 97.

7.  BAHAMADIA

24 Hour Karate School featured Jean Grae, but each successive installment has lacked in the "female emcee" category.  And since I really don't want to ever see Nicki Minaj appear on a Ski Beatz album, I believe that Bahamadia is the obvious choice (if Grae herself isn't available).  Ski co-produced a track on her debut, Kollage, so he may still have her phone number somewhere.  I also feel that she is due for a comeback, and her monotone flow would clash beautifully with Ski's musical backdrops.

8.  SUAVE LOVER AND DJ CHUBBY CHUB, THE OTHER TWO GUYS FROM ORIGINAL FLAVOR

This could be a nice throwback to the old days, back when Ski Beatz was both a producer and a rapper in Original Flavor.  These guys are resigned to the trivia bin these days, as their second album Beyond Flavor is better known for featuring some of the earliest appearances from Jay-Z and Sauce Money.  There are many producers in our chosen genre who feel the need to pick up the mic from time to time, such as Black Milk, The Alchemist, and Hi-Tek, so it wouldn't be unheard of if Ski paid homage to his own past by spitting a single verse.  This collaboration would receive a ton of virtual ink on hip hop blogs, guaranteed.  I don't expect this one to actually happen, but it's a nice idea.

9.  TASH (OF THA ALKAHOLIKS)

This is more of a dream request than anything else, but Tash is one of my favorite underappreciated rappers, and his elastic flow could fit over one of Ski's more high-energy beats like a glove.  Hell, throw J-Ro and E-Swift on there too, if you want: I'd love to hear a reunion from Tha Liks.  Although he would probably have to record J-Ro's verse over Skype, since the dude lives in Sweden and all.  I also noticed that there was a lack of West Coast artists on this list, hence this entry, but even though I just acknowledged that fact, feel free to list some Cali rappers who would fit this specific bill in the comments below.

10.  JAY-Z

No, seriously.  Just call him, Ski.  You never know.  He has a daughter now, you know: he may actually be home.

-Max

My Gut Reaction: Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight (February 14, 2012)

Producer Ski Beatz has been pimping the shit out of his glorfied art project, the 24 Hour Karate School, over the past few years.  The subject of today's post, 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight (thankfully unrelated to the sparkly vampire romance of the same name), is the third album released under the name of the collective in as many years (at least in the United States; overseas, some of you may have also come across 24 Hour Karate School Japan, which would actually make this the fourth installment.)  This is in addition to his work with rappers such as Curren$y, Murs, and a slew of others who have aligned themselves with Ski and his business partner Dame Dash, all in an effort to promote themselves while maintaining artistic integrity, which is guaranteed by the fact that Ski's label DD172 doesn't have much of a marketing budget, since 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight dropped pretty much out of nowhere.

By his own admission, this project is comprised mostly of older material that never saw the light of day for various reasons.  Ski Beatz claims that 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight is his attempt at creating a moody atmosphere, aiming for a jazzy, intimate evening with friends, and the songs he selected from his vaults (along with a handful that were recorded especially for the album) were what he feels are the best representation of that concept.

However, all I heard was "comprised of older material", so I already have pretty much zero hopes for this album.  Insert audible groan here.

1.  DIDIT4THEGREEN (FEAT. DASH & RETCH)

24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight gets off to an inauspicious start with "Didit4thegreen", a dull track featuring rappers Dash and the unfortunately named Retch, neither of whom muster up any cleverness or creativity in order to stand out on the crowded field that is our chosen genre.  Ski's beat sounds okay at first, with its jazzy notes accompanied by a minimalist drum machine, but he doesn't trust his own instincts, choosing to also layer in some not-so-subtle guitar riffs and some cheesy stabs punctuating the shitty hooks, thereby making this opening salvo sound too busy.  Pass.

2.  FLY BY (FEAT. CURREN$Y)

This song was kind of hilarious, if only because guest star Curren$y (who skipped out on 24 Hour Karate School Part 2) admits during the second verse that "Fly By" isn't actually about anything, but the way he delivers that message (after going off on a side trip regarding how best to protect his cars from the many birds in his immediate vicinity that like to shit on his windshields) is so out of left field that you can't help but laugh.  Ski's beat is much more musically inclined than the previous track could ever aspire to be, and the combination of its pleasant instrumental wit Curren$y's weed-laced lackadaisical flow make for an entertaining experience.  This actually wasn't bad.

3.  HEAVEN IS (FEAT. C PLUS)

Ski takes another stab at an intimate instrumental smushed together with a hard-as-fuck drum beat, and is much more successful this time around, although a lot of the credit belongs to Sacramento rapper C Plus, whose J. Cole-on-quaaludes flow fits the backdrop perfectly.  C Plus delivers two dope verses and a simplistic chorus that doesn't get in the way and, as such, isn't as annoying as it could be.  I wouldn't be surprised if "Heaven Is" ends up being the best song on all of 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight: as a solo showcase for C Plus and a way for Ski Beatz to prove that his beats have evolved since Jay-Z's "Dead Presidents", it completely works.

4.  GENTLEMEN'S QUARTERLY (FEAT. STALLEY)

The gloriously bee-bearded Stalley spends most of his time these days as a member of Officer Rick Ross's Maybach Music Group, but he still finds time for his boy Ski on "Gentlemen's Quarterly", an attempted celebration of elegance that is sabotaged by Ski's mismatching beat, an overly wordy hook that tries to be clever by referencing a Kanye West song that most of you had probably forgotten about until reading this very sentence (that would be "Stronger", by the way), and the normally-impressive Stalley's own two verses, which are okay enough, but not so much that they don't evaporate from your consciousness upon impact.  In short, this song depressed the shit out of me.  What a shame.

5.  LIVING IT UP (FEAT. MIKEY ROCKS & TRADEMARK DA SKYDIVER)

This collaboration between the "Cool Kids and the Jets" only managed to generate enough interest from one member of each party, apparently.  Mikey Rocks represents his duo well enough, but still hasn't proven to me that The Cool Kids are worth paying any fucking attention to in our chosen genre (there are lots of artists, and it's impossible to follow all of them, so you pick your battles).  Trademark, on the other hand, sounds much better on "Living It Up" (save for his shitty hook) than he has on anything else I've heard him on.  That isn't to say that Curren$y's Jet Life weed carrier suddenly sounds good behind the mic: far from it.  But the man is learning and growing, which is more than you can say for most of these motherfuckers.  For his part, Ski's beat was alright, if a bit cheesy: I hope that isn't a running theme.

6.  FLY HIGH (FEAT. SMOKE DZA & TERRI WALKER)

That title makes it appear that "Fly High" is a companion piece to "Fly By", but the earlier Curren$y track was much better.  (Spitta also recorded his own companion pieces to "Fly By", both of which appear on his own Muscle Car Chronicles, as is my understanding, if you care about that sort of thing.)  I don't want to say Smoke DZA's song is terrible, but I have no choice, and his rap name is ridiculous, and his mother's a whore.  Ski's instrumental is so fucking boring that there is no way DZA could have overcome that obstacle, but he could have at least tried.  And what's up with guest vocalist Terri Walker receiving a performing credit for basically humming in the fucking background?

7.  HIP HOP AND LOVE (FEAT. MURS & TABI BONNEY)

Tabi Bonney remains on my shit list due to his piss-poor performance on "Frontin'", one of the worst songs of all of 2011, a year when a lot of shit sucked, so that's saying a lot.  ("Frontin'" is, conveniently enough, featured on 24 Hour Karate School Part 2, and is one of the reasons that album wasn't very good.)  I believe "Frontin'" to be Bonney's middle finger directed at our chosen art form, so hearing his punk ass rapping about how much 1990s hip hop means to him sounds forced at best, and outright malicious at worst.  So yes, this shit sucks, too.  And he drags fellow guest star Murs through the mud with him, even though he didn't do anything wrong.  Tabi Bonney: forever making me turn this car around.  Dick.  (This is the third project that features this song, after Bonney's The Summer Years and the Ski Beatz/Murs project Love and Rockets Vol. 1: The Transformation; only Ski himself knows why he felt that this particular track deserved three separate chances to catch on with the listener.)

8.  CITY LIGHTS (FEAT. NAJEE)

The female vocals on "City Lights" sound fucking demonic, like an Auto-Tuned Satan climbing out of the Hellmouth just so he can walk through Times Square unencumbered.  They're terrible, so much so that your significant other's ears will start to bleed, and she's nowhere near you as you're reading this article, is she?  Rapper Najee, who I was first introduced to on 24 Hour Karate School Part 2, isn't awful, but he hasn't yet formed a distinctive identity behind the microphone, so he easily gets lost in the shuffle.  It probably didn't help that Ski's beat isn't all that compelling, either.

9.  ON (FEAT. SAM ADAMS & OLAMIDE FAISON)

On one hand, it took Ski nine tracks before the listener is finally presented with a track that celebrates himself, his band The Senseis, and the 24 Hour Karate School project as a whole, so his restraint should be noted.  Which it was, in that previous sentence.  On the other hand, this song was pretty awful: Olamide Faison's singing was blandly generic, like store brand peanut butter, and guest rapper Sam Adams clearly didn't have much to say on this dressed-up freestyle, so he fucking talks about Ski on pretty much every fourth bar.  On the third hand (wait, you two don't have one of those?), Ski's own instrumental fails his guests: I got the feeling that Sam Adams (awful rap name, by the way) knew it sucked, but elected to use it anyway, just so he can now say that he has a track in his catalog that was produced by the same guy who produced Jay-Z's "Streets Is Watching".  Bleh.

10.  TIME GOES (FEAT. MAC MILLER & LOCKSMITH)

Overrated Great White Hype Mac Miller becomes the highest-profile artist on 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight by default, since Curren$y has never had a number one album on the Billboard charts.  Over a migraine headache of a Ski beat, Miller fails to impress, spitting the same party piffle that annoyed the shit out of me on his debut album Blue Slide Park (has everybody pretty much forgotten about that album yet?), while Locksmith, who doesn't receive a proper credit for some reason, turns in the other verse sounding pretty much like Mac Miller's alter-ego, which was lame.  Mac's chorus is also so fucking bad that you may want to shoot yourself in the face: I implore you not to do so, if only so you can read the rest of today's post.  Yep, I'm selfish like that.

11.  THANK GOD (FEAT. RUGZ D. BEWLER)

24 Hour Karate School fifth-year senior Rugz D. Bewler closes out the project focusing on the nipples and lips of the object of his affection, essentially bringing the listener an alternate take of "Time Goes", as both songs explore similar, non-martial-arts-related territory.  "Thank God" has more of a positive bent, although in no way is that intended to be an endorsement of such a boring fucking song.

THE LAST WORD:  24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight has a few more decent tracks than its predecessor, but Ski Beatz is losing favor with me very quickly, especially with his admission that this project was essentially a compilation of throwaway tracks.  I admire the fact that he's now working with a live band instead of sampling every little thing, but while he may believe that he was aiming for an intimate sound with this album, what the listener ends up getting is a continuous series of half-thought out ideas, most of them punctuated by guest appearances by novice rappers who most certainly won't be making any moves in this industry.  I'm sure that there are a lot of bloggers out there who praise Ski's work ethic: after pretty much falling off the face of the Earth when Jay-Z moved on to other producers, he's been on an incredible run in the past three or four years.  But when you're churning out shit like this, a vacation may be in order.  "Heaven Is" is a fantastic track, but I take back what I wrote earlier: it isn't that great of a showcase for Ski.  But it does make me want to track down the work of C Plus, which isn't really how this is supposed to work.  In short, 24 Hour Karate School Presents Twilight makes a persuasive argument for a temporary shutdown while the building is fumigated.

-Max

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My Gut Reaction: Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 (August 9, 2011)

In 2010, producer Ski Beatz presented his grand attempt at a comeback in our chosen genre, the compilation 24 Hour Karate School, which was named after his loose collective of artists who popped by his Damon Dash-financed studios to work with him at odd intervals.  This project was notable for being mostly interesting while selling almost zero copies, because nobody actually buys hip hop albums anymore.  Blogger favorites such as Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, Ras Kass, Stalley, Curren$y, and The Cool Kids all took their turns behind the mic (as did Yasiin Mos Def, who was later erased from the masters because Dame was pissed at his defecting to the enemy's G.O.O.D. Music label Dante refused to sign over the rights), all while Ski worked his magic behind the boards, turning in some of the most inspired instrumentals of his entire career (which spans quite a bit of time; this is a guy who worked on Jay-Z's debut Reasonable Doubt, after all).

Later in the same year, Ski capitalized on the goodwill by releasing 24 Hour Karate School Japan, which was an experiment that took all of his original beats from the first project and worked in artists of Japanese descent.  Although it could be considered rather inaccessible, I found it enjoyable enough (even though I had no fucking clue what was being said about one hundred and seventy-six percent of the time), and I believe it proves that Ski's beats are universal.  It was only released overseas, but you weren't really expecting to see it on the shelves of Best Buy, were you?

Unsurprisingly, Ski immediately took to the studio and crafted a sequel to his breakthrough project.  24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 was released in August of this year, conveniently around the time I took my sabbatical, complete with some of the lamest album artwork I've ever come across (and this is coming from a guy who praised the first installment's design).  Interestingly enough, it was unceremoniously dumped into the retail market for the masses, without one hint of actual marketing (those videos on the other hip hop blogs don't count: did nobody at the label think that producing a print advertisement was a good idea?).  Maybe the folks at DD172 (Dame Dash's record label) felt that it would be a waste of time to promote an album that dropped the same goddamn week as Watch The Throne, the joint effort from Dame's former Roc-A-Fella Records business partner Jay-Z and the former in-house producer Kanye West.

Probably doesn't help that the tracklisting of 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 is filled with a bunch of names nobody really cares about, either.

1. METABOLIC (FEAT. LOCKSMITH)

24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 kicks off not with a bang, but with a half-assed whimper, as a vaguely guitar-tainted Ski beat (that sounds incomplete, if I'm being honest, and why wouldn't I be?) is entirely wasted on newbie Locksmith, who adopts an annoying-as-fuck halting flow for his shitty chorus and his first few bars before settling into what I assume is his normal, incredibly mediocre delivery style to spit braggadocio that doesn't ever feel earned and that absolutely nobody will ever believe. Maybe Locksmith has some actual talent, but it won't be found on something that is so fucking terrible that it should have been replaced with a rap album intro. This isn't a good sign.

2. MOON WALKING (FEAT. STS)

Ski Beatz skews toward the experimental side of the dial with his work on “Moon Walking”: sadly, “experimental” was being used in the previous sentence as a euphemism for “crappy”. STS, a Philly-based artist who has worked alongside The Roots, sounds bland as fuck, but any rapper would have had a significant amount of trouble working with this particular instrumental: nobody really wants to hear someone rhyme to a beat created by a malfunctioning sound board who is hell bent on taking over the world. Sugar Tongue Slim does the best he can with what he was given, but there isn't jack shit on here that makes me believe that his beat selection was his only misstep. Sigh.

3. LOOKING FOR ME (FEAT. L.E.P. BOGUS BOYS & TERRI WALKER)

The first three beats on 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 sound as though they were crafted by three separate parties, which I guess should be seen as a testament to Ski's continuing evolution as a producer. This horn-heavy concoction sounds pretty decent, actually: I only wish it were given to a different set of artists. I didn't hate the contributions from Count and Moonie of the L.E.P. Bogus Boys entirely: in fact, whoever goes second on here (because I don't know shit about them) has a voice that reminded me of a cross between Prodigy (of Mobb Deep) and Big Sha. But neither man stands out in the crowded field of subpar new artists, and Terri Walker's singing voice will cause your ears to start bleeding heavily. What the fuck happened on here, Ski?

4. MAJESTY (FEAT. CASSIDY)

It's my own fault, but whenever I hear the phrase “rat king”, I immediately think of Dean Winters's Dennis Duffy on 30 Rock. Hip hop also-ran Cassidy, who I have managed to pay almost zero attention to throughout his entire career thus far, takes a stab at relevancy with a long single verse bookended with a shitty hook over a simple Ski beat, and he doesn't sound all that awful, although his performance quickly spirals into a homophobic rant directed at an anonymous competitor. Cassidy never comes right out and says the f-word, though, so I suppose his restraint is commendable. Still, it's really fucking sad when that is the first thing I find on 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 that is even remotely “commendable”. Groan.

5. ILLEGAL (FEAT. FREDDIE GIBBS)

Using blogger love as the only qualifier, Freddie Gibbs is the biggest star on 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2, which is a strange-as-fuck sentence for me to write. At least Fredward steps up to the plate, though, delivering a performance straight off the Str8 Killa cutting room floor over a Ski Beatz instrumental that would have slid seamlessly onto that particular EP, had Gibbs been using name-brand producers at that point. The hook is wordy and unnecessary, but Freddie's specific brand of self-aware thug posturing helps make “Illegal” the first entertaining entry on this entire project thus far.

6. AMNESIA (FEAT. STAT QUO & NICOLE WRAY)

Stat Quo is a Southern rap artist who was once signed to Eminem's Shady Records, and, like everyone else on that vanity label not named Curtis Jackson, he was eventually dropped from the roster having only released a handful of tracks and no actual album. (Hey, someone had to make room for Yelawolf (who I can't imagine succeeding with Marshall's backing, but whatever) and Slaughterhouse.) Listening to his middling verse on “Amnesia”, it becomes very apparent why Slim Shady cut his losses: the boy isn't all that great. Ski's beat, which also isn't that great, almost seems to go out of its own way to prove that Stat Quo is less than average. Vocalist Nicole Wray, a holdover from the first installment, continues her career's downward trajectory by singing a shitty chorus. Meh.

7. LARRY BIRD (FEAT. STALLEY)

The magnificently bee-bearded Stalley, one of the standouts from the original 24 Hour Karate School (who subsequently signed with Rick Ross and his Maybach Music Group: raise your hand if you saw that shit coming, so that I know who to point out as being a fucking liar), returns to drop a quick one-verse wonder (and I mean quick: the majority of the one-minute-and-forty-seven-second run time is taken up by the beat) and then jumps off of this sinking ship, landing in a nearby inflatable raft that is powered by his own sense of self-worth. Even though it sounds like Ski lifted this directly from a voicemail message, “Larry Bird” easily makes for one of the best performances on the entire project. The beat isn't all that, but one-verse wonders are tailor-made for producers to use up their unfinished thoughts, so I'll let it slide. Not bad.

8. HIGH SCORE (FEAT. DA$H)

This was alright enough. Dash (which is written a different way on the back cover for some reason), from The Heir$, isn't an artist I would necessarily follow, but he sounded decent over a surprisingly sweeping Ski score, and his line about “study[ing] a n---a and becom[ing] his understudy” was kind of funny. There isn't much more I can write here: “High Score” was a perfectly serviceable rap song with a crappy hook, but that last part should come as no surprise to anybody who has listened to what passes for today's hip hop for at least three minutes.

9. FRONTIN' (FEAT. TABI BONNEY)

And with what is by far the worst song on 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2, Tabi Bonney, a holdover from the original project who I didn't have much of an opinion on, moves straight to the top of my shit list. This song is fucking atrocious, and not just because Ski's contribution sounds like something he stole from the Cali Swag District. Bonney has undergone a de-evolution with his rhyming ability, eliminating any trace of substance from his bars in favor of an overplayed style made up of monosyllabic words, crappy sound effects on the “hook”, and shitty Drake-esque metaphors (including one that is alarmingly similar to what Eminem used on Bad Meets Evil's “I'm On Everything”). Methinks Tabi Bonney needs to stop frontin' and find himself a real fucking job, as he won't last that much longer in our chosen genre. If you actually liked this shit, then you just brought shame upon your family.

10. COTTON CANDY (FEAT. MIKEY ROCKS)

The Cool Kids have sporadically popped up on HHID whenever they make guest appearances, but neither member has made enough of an impression for me to run out and find one of their actual albums to write about. Mikey Rocks, one half of the duo (along with Chuck Inglish), attempts to personally rectify that oversight by unleashing an interesting-enough verse over some mismatched Ski production. Unfortunately, he flounders: he sounds okay, but he still comes across as just generic enough for me to not give a damn, and Ski fails him the same way he has failed most of his invited gusts on 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2: these instrumentals sound like the product of a lack of focus.

11. THIS WORLD (FEAT. NAJEE)

Ski's guitar-heavy instrumental sounds like a relic from the early part of the millennium, back when rappers were running out of 1980s samples to use but before producers resorted to mashing together random noises and calling it “music” (*cough* “Frontin'” *cough*). Rapper Najee drowns in the river fairly quickly: I would love to say that he fought the tides admirably, but he was the wrong choice of artist for this beat. Ski attempts a bigger sound on “This World” and aims for a dramatic effect that is entirely undeserved, but it isn't a total loss: at least the music was interesting.

12. YOU ALREADY KNOW (FEAT. STAT QUO & GLC)

24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 ends with the unheralded return of Stat Quo, who I suppose was positioned to be the star of this project by default, and his sexist remarks that, for some reason, sound unreasonably harsh and misogynistic, even for a rap song: Stat Quo sounds like he literally hates women. And he isn't a big enough talent in hip hop to pretend that he's just “acting”, either (and let's be honest, he never will be). At least this time around he brought Kanye West's running buddy GLC (a surprise cameo, considering the ongoing issues Dame Dash has with The Throne) with him: he spits pretty much the exact same type of shit, but has a natural charisma that helps him play it off as him just fucking around on the mic. Ski's beat was ineffective, as seems to be standard here. What the fuck did I just waste my time with?

THE LAST WORD: I enjoyed Ski Beatz's original 24 Hour Karate School, and 24 Hour Karate School Japan was pretty entertaining as well, but 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 is some straight-up bullshit. This project has no redeeming qualities whatsoever: it's almost as though Ski foolishly believed that he actually had some laurels that he could rest on. There are only two artists on here that can walk away with something resembling a halfhearted smile: Freddie Gibbs and Stalley both prove that they can overcome any obstacle thrown their way and deliver a decent performance, regardless of what their producer is throwing at them. Everyone else on here suffers from varying degrees of suckage, the worst offender being that guy on “Frontin'” who was so fucking terrible that I don't ever want to write his name on my site ever again. If Ski was actively trying to create the worst compilation imaginable, he succeeded. The true problem on here is Ski himself, though, who makes 24 Hour Karate School Pt. 2 sound like a rush job of a sequel that absolutely nobody was really expecting anyway: his attempted showcase for unknown artists (rendered as such when the A-list refused to return his calls) now comes across as a shitty demo tape that any A&R in the industry would turn down on general principle. I don't know what happened, Ski, but your work on here will put you back on the brink of hip hop irrelevancy unless you step your shit up. Apparently his frequent collaborators Curren$y and Camp Lo saw the writing on the wall and stayed the fuck away: you should, too.

-Max

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Catch up on the other Ski Beatz projects by clicking here.

My Gut Reaction / Something Different: Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School Japan (October 20, 2010)

Producer Ski Beatz spent the majority of 2010 trying to finally release his 24 Hour Karate School compilation, meeting obstacles every step of the way, including record label reluctance (even though Ski's artist collective worked in conjunction with former Roc-A-Fella showrunner Damon Dash) that resulted in release dates appearing and disappearing from the calendar.  But Ski's biggest issue was with his artists themselves, specifically Dante "Mos Def" Smith, who recorded a number of tracks for the project (and shot a lot of videos, both behind-the-scenes clips for blogs and actual music videos) and still elected to pull out of 24 Hour Karate School at the eleventh hour.  This decision changed the course of the album, altering it from what it might have been to the final product I reviewed earlier this year, one which was still pretty good, all things considered, but one which didn't really live up to the standards that Dante's earlier-released verses (all of which were unleashed by Ski himself for free shortly after the album hit stores) promised.  Then again, any casual hip hop fan could have figured that shit out when they realized that Jim Jones was a featured guest.

However, while undergoing this very public struggle (everything a rapper or a producer does in the United States seems to be done in the public eye, thanks to never-ending blog coverage that only rivals TMZ when it comes to promoting the most inane shit), Ski Beatz quietly assembled a companion project for the Japanese hip hop audience, conveniently named 24 Hour Karate School Japan.  Now that's a move you didn't see coming, right?  (Unless you've already read about this project on another site, in which case, feel free to get a snack before starting with the actual write-up.) 

Dame Dash's vanity label DD172, which released the original 24 Hour Karate School with help from Def Jam Records, teamed up with the Japanese hip hop label R-Rated Records to craft this album, which features some of the best rappers from the Far East (I'm assuming, anyway, since I don't follow Japanese hip hop that often, thanks to the language barrier)  over the exact same production Ski gave his American counterparts.  Yep, that's right: the exact same beats he gave the likes of Curren$y, Camp Lo, and Jay Electronica on the original project were also given to some of Japan's finest emcees, almost as an insurance policy in the event that Def Jam flaked and failed to release the first album, so as to make sure that the music was heard somehow.

Even more interesting is the fact that 24 Hour Karate School Japan is actually readily available in the United States, thanks to Amazon.  Sure, you could spend fifty or sixty bucks to actually have the compact disc shipped to you (and get rewarded with a bonus track for your effort), but why bother when you can get the album for less than ten bucks by downloading it legally?  For those of you keeping score, this would be the only reason I'm writing up 24 Hour Karate School Japan: this blog doesn't make me nearly as much money to justify purchasing Japanese imports on a regular basis.

Okay, let's see what we've got.

1. AMERURAN DREAM (INFUMIAI KUMIAI)

24 Hour Karate School Japan kicks off at an unrelenting pace, as the instrumental to the discarded title track from the original project (which featured Mos Def and is easily found online via a quick Google search) is utilized by the group Infumiai Kumiai for a posse cut that transcends language barriers and just sounds dope, even though I'll be the first to admit that each artist on here could be bragging about fucking my mother, for all I know. It's good to hear that Ski's beat (and its nice little homage to A Tribe Called Quest's “Oh My God”) doesn't sound diluted or altered to match his collaborators: if anything, the rappers modify their own flows to keep up with him, which is the way it should be. Nice!

2. GO (SEEDA)

This song, on the other hand, was a muddled mess. Over the same beat as the American version of “Go” (as originally performed by Curren$y and Jim Jones), Seeda mixes his native tongue with random English phrases, causing this track to sound like an aural interpretation of the seventh level of hell. It doesn't help that Ski's beat (which didn't sound that great to begin with) comes across as fucking excruciating within this context. The rhymes themselves sound alright (Seeda is apparently classified as a “gangsta-slash-conscious” rapper: yes, they do have gangsta rap in Japan), but the forced conviction behind them make it extraordinarily difficult to power through them. As a result, there is absolutely no reason for anybody of any nationality to ever listen to this particularly shitty song again.

3. NIHONJIN RAPPER SOSENKYO (HANNYA)

According to Discogs, the title translates literally to “general election of Japanese rappers”, but Hannya, a solo artist who has worked with Kool G Rap in the past, is the only guy to appear, so I assume this was meant to be a musical version of his own personal political platform. Hannya uses his Guru-esque monotone to ride all over the same instrumental Ski gave The Cool Kids and Stalley for “Do It Big”, but it isn't the best fit for him, as the beat is a bit too busy to support that type of voice work. This song was alright, but “Do It Big” was never one of my favorite tracks (I think The Cool Kids are overrated, although to be honest, I've never paid that much attention to them, so my opinion is pretty much based on their lackluster performance on a single song, which may or may not be very fair), and “Nihonjin Rapper Sousenkyo” follows suit. Hannya would probably sound better over a much slower, far more dramatic beat anyway. Oh well.

4. 24 BARS TO KILL (ANARCHY, RINO LATINA II, KAN, & MACCHO)

The beat for “Prowler 2”, which originally featured Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, and Joell Ortiz (alongside Mos Def, depending on which version you're familiar with) is used again for “24 Bars To Kill”, proving that nearly any group of emcees, regardless of nationality, will sound fucking great over it. The bluesy boom bap just sounds really goddamn perfect for posses to record to, as Anarchy, Rino Latina II, Kan, and Maccho come across as what the Wu-Tang Clan would sound like, had they been from Japan instead of Staten Island. This was pretty fucking nice.

5. JAPANESE TOKKOTAI BANCHO (TETRAD THE GANG OF FOUR)

Remember how awkward Camp Lo sounded on “Back Uptown”? Ski gives the same instrumental to this quartet, who actually do the beat justice. Perhaps the experimental staccato simply works better for rap artists who aren't lyrically stuck in the 1970s (in no way is that meant as a dis toward Camp Lo). This sounds so good, I wouldn't be surprised if Ski gave this to Tetrad The Gang of Four first, and then allowed Geechie Suede and Sonny Cheeba to lace it after running out of other beats for them to use for the original 24 Hour Karate School.

6. MY CITY (GAZZILA)

Since “Arials” (which featured Curren$y, Stalley, Whosane, Terri Walker, and, surprise surprise, Mos Def, although in a limited capacity) failed to make the final cut of 24 Hour Karate School, “My City” may actually sound to you like a brand new song. (I don't understand how, though, since I believe the only people still reading this write-up are the two of you who (a) picked up the original project, and (b) are computer literate, meaning that you could find the “lost” songs fairly easily.) The instrumental is pleasant enough, but I'm not sold that Gazzila was the best outfit for the day: his verses sound alright, but the corny hook, performed in English, makes Kool Keith choruses sound sane. Still, kudos to Ski for going green and recycling all of these beats, eh?

7. HEAVEN’S DOOR (RYUZO & B.I.G. JOE)

I can only assume that Ryuzo and B.I.G. Joe are using the jazzy “Nothing But Us” beat for a mediation on death or as an ode to fallen comrades: remember, there's this whole “language barrier” thing that I'm working through. The artists pepper their verses with enough English words so as to not completely lose the American audience that may only seek this out because of this very write-up, but the bars performed in their native language sound the most natural (obviously) against the Ski backdrop, which sounds a lot better than it did when it was supporting the rhymes of Curren$y and Smoke DZA. This was pleasant enough.

8. RUNNIN’ (BARAGAKI & ZEUS)

Ski's attempt at theme music for an 1970s Saturday morning superhero cartoon series that never existed, originally handed over to Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y (for “Scaling The Building), finds its way into the clutches of Baragaki and Zeus, who both sound okay, as they praise Ski himself and talk some shit (I'm assuming). “Runnin'” doesn't fare much better than its predecessor did, but it sounds decent enough, as the music really carries the artists over the threshold and into their marital bed for some deep-dick cuddling.

9. REMEMBER SHADOWMEN (KGE THE SHADOWMEN)

This is the rare song that dilutes the potency of its predecessor, but not because it is so mind-blowingly transcendent or anything. Instead, this song just exposes the fact that most rap songs are not collaborative efforts: typically, an instrumental is crafted first, and then sold to the highest bidder, who then writes about whatever the fuck they want, usually without any input from the original producer. Most of your favorite songs feature instrumentals that could have gone to absolutely anybody. As such, Stalley's “S.T.A.L.L.E.Y.”, which originally felt like the man's personal theme music, now comes across as an incredibly average song by KGE The Shadowmen. True, this song still sounds okay, save for the awkward hook, but it sounds powerful for all of the wrong reasons. I almost feel the need to retroactively adjust the original review of Stalley's track from 24 Hour Karate School, since now it sounds just so fucking generic. If I were Stalley, I would be really pissed at Ski for giving the beat to a second group of artists. Their quick homage to Camp Lo's “Luchini (This Is It)” was unexpected, though.

10. ROC RATED (ANARCHY, LA BONO, & RYUZO)

During my write-up for 24 Hour Karate School, I stated that “I Got Mines” sounded like a companion piece to “Prowler 2”. “Roc Rated” serves the same function for “24 Bars To Kill”, and not just because Anarchy appears on both tracks. This guitar-driven, highly-caffeinated instrumental sounds much better without Nicole Wray's chorus, which didn't even sound all that bad to begin with, which is a testament to Ski's ability to wrangle the best out of his collaborators when he so chooses. “Roc Rated” and “24 Bars To Kill” should be added to your Ski Beatz 24 Hour Karate School playlist immediately. No, I'm not joking.

11. MCW (MUCHA CUCHA WARU) (TWIGY & DABO)

Rugz D Bewler's “Super Bad” is repurposed for this song, which sounds exactly how a rip-off of Lil' Wayne's “A Milli” would in Japan, funnily enough. I've always liked the way Ski adds or subtracts elements from his instrumental every eight bars or so. However, this track is only alright: it isn't bad by any means, but the calm line readings of Twigy and Dabo don't mesh as nicely with the simple, gimmicky musical backdrop.

12. FOLLOW ME (SMITH-CN)

Uses the “Not Like Me” beat and warrants an overall “meh”. It is what it is.

13. HEY TAXI (ISSUGI & S.L.A.C.K.)

Since the album version of “Taxi” ended up being an instrumental-only affair, this is one of the few efforts on 24 Hour Karate School Japan to not sound like a retread. (True, the original version of “Taxi” was supposed to contain a Mos Def performance, but that ended up being deleted, as did all of Dante's performances, in case I haven't mentioned that fact enough today.) Issugi and S.L.A.C.K. take Ski's driving music and turn it into an aimless ride through downtown Tokyo, and I mean that in the best possible way. Mos Def's version sounds much better, but I'm just glad that someone was officially able to capitalize on this aurally pleasing instrumental. And with that, I'm done.

Physical copies of 24 Hour Karate School Japan contain a bonus track, a remix of “24 Bars To Kill” that features completely different artists. Picking this up off of iTunes or Amazon is one thing, but I'm not in a financial position anymore to drop fifty-plus bucks on an import just to get an additional song. So I'll leave it to the readers: if any of you live in Japan and own a physical copy of 24 Hour Karate School Japan, let me know if the extra song is any good by leaving me a comment below.

THE LAST WORD: Obviously, Ski Beatz's 24 Hour Karate School Japan isn't for all tastes. Just as there are many people who (incredibly fucking stupidly, in my opinion) avoid foreign films because they hate to read subtitles, there will be American hip hop heads who refuse to listen to music that originated outside of their comfort zone. While this project isn't perfect, it does serve as an effective gateway into Japanese hip hop culture, aided and abetted by Ski's original 24 Hour Karate School instrumentals, which act as a bridge between two separate audiences. For the most part, the artists involved with the Japanese chapter of the academy adhere to a similar curriculum as their American counterparts, and they certainly talk as much shit as some of your favorite artists do. Aside from the language barrier, 24 Hour Karate School Japan could easily blend into the rest of your iTunes playlist: the acts involved don't sound as abrasive as you may have feared, if your only exposure to Japanese culture thus far has been anime, Gojira, and the first volume of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Ski Beatz allows listeners to have a unique look into a parallel universe that we can visit while still currently enjoying our current lifestyle, which is rare in hip hop, mainly because most rappers would become apoplectic if they discovered that their producer sold the same beat to an entirely different artist. 24 Hour Karate School Japan comes with a built-in handicap: the instrumentals you're probably already familiar with help ease the transition into an entirely new world, and as a result, this curious experiment actually works.

-Max

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Ski Beatz – 24 Hour Karate School

My Gut Reaction: Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School (September 21, 2010)

Producer Ski Beatz, who I will refer to as just Ski from this point forward because I think "Ski Beatz" sounds too close to "Swizz Beatz" and that annoys me, has the privilege of holding the coolest fucking album title of 2010 with his compilation project 24 Hour Karate School.  Unfortunately, he also holds the dubious honor of having one of the most anticipated projects of the year continuously pushed back and mutated to such a degree that it nowhere near resembles what it was once conceived of being.

First, some quick background.  Ski, known as David Willis whenever his parents were pissed off at him, was first noticed by a young Max as one of the producers on Jay-Z's debut album, Reasonable Doubt, contributing four tracks, including the well-received "Dead Presidents II" (and, technically, the original "Dead Presidents", which was a twelve-inch single release only, even though a video exists) and "Feelin' It" (more on that in a minute).  This partnership with a man who would soon become the biggest name in hip hop, one which lasted for two albums, was formed by Jay's friend and business partner Damon Dash, who inspired Ski to name his short-lived production company Roc-A-Blok (as he would be working in conjunction with Roc-A-Fella Records).  

Since man cannot live by bread alone, Ski also worked extensively with the rap duo Camp Lo, who were best known for their appreciation of 1970s culture and their anachronistic slang that still managed to sound interesting.  (Jay-Z's "Feelin' It" appears to have been a track originally given to the Lo, and bloggers have determined that Hova apparently lifted his flow from the unreleased version.  That's just a bit of trivia for those of you who give a fuck.)  But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum: Ski faded into the distance.  While he still produced songs ever once in a while (mainly for Camp Lo, although he did take an ill-advised trip with Pittsburgh Slim, who he somehow convinced Shawn Carter to sign to Def Jam), he pretty much kept to himself.

Until now, anyway.

Ski reunited with Dame Dash, who now hated Jay-Z with all of his might, and the two worked together to form DD172, a collective space that encouraged artists in all musical genres to collaborate and create without restriction.  DD172 also happens to be the name of Dame Dash's new vanity label, distributed through Def Jam Records (take that, Hova!), so the rappers involved, including such names as Mos Def, Jim Jones, Curren$y, and Stalley, nicknamed the endeavor the 24 Hour Karate School, a name that Ski borrowed for his album.

24 Hour Karate School is actually Ski's debut album, and having spent more than a decade devoted to his craft, he sticks with his work behind the boards and leaves the rhyming to the many professionals who fill the voids.  Take a quick look at the tracklist below: odds are that you will recognize a handful of names, but the rest of them will be brand new to your eyes, as they hope that their performances will lead you to follow their respective careers beyond this project.

One name you won't see on 24 Hour Karate School, though, is that of Mos Def.  Early promotion for the project, which seemed to start back in 1998 (this album has been promised for quite a while now) featured Dante as the headliner, making several appearances throughout.  The songs he was to be featured on even leaked to the Interweb.  But for unknown reasons, he refused to sign a release (even after having shot multiple videos), so Ski was left with the unpopular decision to erase his existence from 24 Hour Karate School entirely.  However, our host handled this setback with stride: he even promised to leak the unreleased mastered tracks himself at a later date, which may have been a defense mechanism protecting him from the almost-universal sigh of apathy that surrounded the project after its nineteenth release date was scrapped.  But Ski kept working up until the very last minute (which is why the final tracklisting is missing a song that appears on photos of the back cover released to blogs), and 24 Hour Karate School now actually exists, it's in my hands, and it's being reviewed.

1. NOTHING BUT US (FEAT. CURREN$Y & SMOKE DZA)

Instead of kicking off the project with a title track-slash-rap album intro as was the original plan, Ski skips straight to the music, giving blogger favorites Curren$y and Smoke DZA a backdrop that sounds like someone offstage is describing to them the fabulous prizes they could win if they bid closest to the suggested retail price during the Showcase Showdown. I liked DZA's line about being “higher than giraffe pussy”, but overall, neither one of these guys sold the song for me. If this is the average caliber of guest emcee that enrolled in the 24 Hour Karate School, you can consider me worried.

2. GO (FEAT. JIM JONES & CURREN$Y)

Jim Jones? Really? How in the fuck is he managing to score better cameos than the rest of his Dip Set brethren? You don't see Cam'Ron working alongside Pete Rock and The Black Keys, for fuck's sake. James sounds predictably boring on “Go”, although I must admit I liked his admission that “we want the cash, even though it's the root of Satan”. Curren$y redeems himself for his lackluster performance on “Nothing But Us” over a neurotic Ski beat that sounds like a precursor to Just Blaze's entire career, even though that would be impossible (unless Ski recorded this instrumental during Hova's Reasonable Doubt days, which probably isn't true). Erase James from this track, and you would have a one-verse banger.

3. PROWLER 2 (FEAT. JEAN GRAE, JAY ELECTRONICA, & JOELL ORTIZ)

When this song originally leaked to the Interweb and still contained a Mos Def verse, it was still called “Prowler 2”, so I have no idea what Part 1 is supposed to be. (Ski, if you're reading this, you're welcome to contribute an answer.) The good news is, even without Dante's presence, this song is still the shit: it's just a bit shorter. Underground superstars (or at least they should be) Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, and Joell Ortiz (best known these days for his Slaughterhouse affiliation) fucking kill it without the additional burden of a chorus. Ski laces the trio with a heavy, guitar-driven instrumental that you will want to listen to for an additional fourteen verses, it's that good. Joell seems to be the only guy on the project that took the concept of a 24 Hour Karate School literally, judging from his verse. This shit was nice.  (EDIT: A couple of readers have pointed out that I, very stupidly, neglected to mention that the sample used on this song comes from Dan Auerbach's "The Prowl", which helps explain the title somewhat.  Thanks, guys.)

4. DO IT BIG!! (FEAT. THE COOL KIDS & STALLEY)

I hated the chorus on here: although I love both movies and buttered popcorn, never has that particular pairing sounded so unappealing. The second verse is especially dull, which doesn't bode well for any possible write-ups for The Cool Kids that I may have eventually considered. Stalley, the only guy on here that sounds different than the rest, was pretty nice, but he was derailed by a Ski beat that was uncharacteristically bleh. Moving on...

5. S.T.A.L.L.E.Y. (FEAT. STALLEY)

Stalley, whose beard is fucking vanglorious, somehow scores a self-titled solo track on 24 Hour Karate School (he must have made the honor roll or something), and had it not been for the inane chorus, on which the guest star's name is spelled out for the listener over and over again as if we were watching an especially obnoxious episode of Sesame Street, I would be lavishing the song with praise. Instead, it's merely really good, with a “sometimes it's really fucking annoying” qualifier. Ski coughs up an instrumental with some nice hard drums, and Stalley is more than up to the challenge: if only he switched up the chorus and refrained from calling himself “the capital” (which just sounds goofy). Still, I liked this one overall.

6. NOT LIKE ME (FEAT. TABI BONNEY)

Ski's beat truly lends this song credibility that it doesn't even come close to achieving. Tabi Bonney's flow isn't bad or anything: it just isn't anything new or interesting, and his “hook” is mind-numbingly awful. But my God, the instrumental is a fucking banger. Someone needs to jack this beat and record a mixtape posse cut as soon as possible.

7. SCALING THE BUILDING (FEAT. WIZ KHALIFA & CURREN$Y)

On the rare occasion that I listen to a Wiz Khalifa song, I usually walk away unimpressed, not understanding why he's gotten so much blogger love. (You could say that about a lot of today's artists, actually.) I'm similarly underwhelmed on here, but it isn't just Wiz's performance and his really fucking stupid hook that makes me feel like I'm missing something: everything on here, from Curren$y's lackluster bars to Ski's mismatched beat, fails to gel into a cohesive bit of media. This track couldn't end fast enough for me.

8. SUPER BAD (FEAT. RUGZ D BEWLER)

Ski throws his hat into the “A Milli”-slash-”On To The Next One” ring, recruiting New York rapper Rugz D Bewler to narrate the prevalent staccato. I can imagine the instrumental growing more and more annoying and frustrating to listen to after about two minutes of the song's running time, and I wouldn't add this to my iTunes playlist or anything, but I didn't actually mind the beat all that much. Rugz, however, I minded greatly: he veers from merely passable (during the verses) all the way to abhorrent (during the shitty hook) in a relatively short time span. Sigh.

9. I GOT MINES (FEAT. TABI BONNEY, NIKKI WRAY, STALLEY, & RAS KASS)

Now we're getting back on track. This could easily be seen as the original version of “Prowler”, as this song also features a guitar-driven instrumental and rappers who straight-up spit. (Except for the fact that “I Got Mines” features a chorus performed by Nikki Wray, better known as former Missy Elliott apprentice Nicole Wray.  Although I kind of liked the hook, so I'll allow it.) Stalley and Tabi both sound refreshed, but Ras Kass, arguably the biggest star on 24 Hour Karate School after Dante was deleted, absolutely murders his competition, even with a flow that suggests that he had a cold the day he recorded his verse. Rassy should absolutely look to Ski for some musical guidance whenever he starts recording his next actual album. This shit was pretty badass.

10. BACK UPTOWN (FEAT. CAMP LO)

It wouldn't be a Ski album without an appearance from his most frequent collaborators Camp Lo. On “Back Uptown”, our host forces his guests to play by his rules, yanking them through a wormhole, taking them away from their comfort zone of funky 1970's-inspired beats in favor of a more militant, futuristic 2010 sound, and while the experiment doesn't fully pay off, it's at least interesting to listen to Geechi Suede And Sonny Cheeba rap over something that sounds like a much better fit for one of those shitty Busta Rhymes club bangers that pop up twice a year. Fans of the Lo's Uptown Saturday Night (an underrated gem in my book) will find little to no resemblance between that album and this art installation piece, but I found it just risky enough to enjoy, at least a little bit.

11. CREAM OF THE PLANET (INSTRUMENTAL)

Refusing to admit defeat, Ski includes the instrumental to a song that originally was to feature Mos Def. It's pleasant as hell, and it would make for excellent driving music, but since it has been sent to the back of the bus on here, this can't help but sound like an afterthought. It has a nice jazzy feel, but I'd rather listen to the original, which is readily available on the Interweb. Hell, I'd bet that Ski would rather listen to the original, too. Such is life.

12. TAXI (INSTRUMENTAL)

Everything I wrote about “Cream Of The Planet” also applies to this instrumental. And with that, we're done.

THE LAST WORD: Occasional lapse in judgment regarding the selection of certain guest artists aside, Ski Beatz makes his 24 Hour Karate School sound like the it preschool for hipster parents to sign their kids up for three years before they're even conceived. Ski may have preferred his background role over the past decade or so, bt he's smartly used his down time to craft his instrumentals with the care of a Hattori Hanzo blade, so 24 Hour Karate School is consistently enjoyable. I wish Ski had reached out to some other A-list talent for cameos after Mos Def flaked on him, but at the same time, 24 Hour Karate School proves that our host has been keeping an eye on the underground while actively seeking out new talent, which is the only way any producer will ever last in our chosen genre. Interest for this new project may have waned significantly thanks to a consistently changing release date (I'm pretty sure this album was originally supposed to drop in 1987), but 24 Hour Karate School emerges relatively unscathed, even with its last-minute adjustments. More importantly, I found this album to be enjoyable as fuck, so it's well worth both your money and your time. For the full effect, you should search the Interweb for all of the missing songs and make your own Ski Beatz playlist; I'm sure he won't mind.

-Max