Product Description

Modill is more than Chicago's hottest emcee and producer collective, it is a movement toward the most original and creative sounds in music, unrestricted by trends or traditions. Consisting of emcee Racecar and producer and DJ K-Kruz, Midnight Green is breaking new ground for independent hip hop listeners and connisseurs. This debut full length album features vocals from the likes of Dave of De La Soul, Diverse, Truth E.N.O.L.A., Thaione Davis, Longshot, and Verb T. of Britain. Catch Modill at their best, and listen to the sounds of a classic in the making.

Track Listing

1. Intro
2. Music
3. Bigger Cents
4. Got It (Good)
5. Salvation
6. Moves
7. High Energy
8. Bushed
9. Interlude
10. Vacant Rhymes
11. Touchdown
12. Change Form!
13. Nightly
14. Get it Together
15. It's Time
16. Space
17. Send Me To Bliss
18. The Next Single

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #218202 in Music
• Released on: 2006-01-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .18 pounds

Customer Reviews

Dare i say the "C" word ??
The two-man crew ( comprised of emcee Racecar and producer/DJ K-Cruz ) from Chicago known as Modill came to my attention with there singles, "Move" featuring Thaione Davis & Truth E.N.O.L.A. and "Vacant Rhymes" featuring Dave from De La Soul, which both garnered more than a little bit of play from me on the Urban Alternatives radio show.

The group made an impression thanks in large part to K-Cruz's outstanding production and scratching which rivals that of the best beatmakers and DJs of the mid-to-late '90s crate-dug boom-bap era. But that shouldn't lead you to believe that Modill is a throwback act or that K-Cruz is a Premier clone like so many beatsmiths who favor basic boom-bap drum patterns and choppy samples. Cruz's style of beatmaking expands on the basics of boom-bappery by micro-chopping and reconstructing his samples and by using really melodic musical elements rather than simple stabs and hits thus giving his tracks a more mature sound than those of most of his indie-rap contemporaries. Granted, he takes a couple of cues from J. Dilla ( R.I.P. ) and his ilk, flipping soulful but robotic boom-clap beats, live instrumentation, spaced-out keyboards and intricate bass programming into the mix, but this combination of styles just lends his musical creations a feel unlike just about anything else being made right now.

Emcee Racecar's flow is fittingly simple but fluid, at times standing firm as a staccato verbal juxtaposition to K-Cruz's liquid musicality, and at others becoming amorphous and blending in with the beats in a way that compliments them like another instrument. Most of the guests ( a list largely comprised of Modill's Chicago area homies such as Thaione Davis, Diverse and Longshot but also including Brit Verb T and the aforementioned Truth E.N.O.L.A. and Dave from De La Soul ) possess a propensity for similar styles of verbal contortion so although the album is peppered with a wealth of guest verses the flavor brought to the table by the visitors never overpowers that of the meal being served by the hosts.

If anything about the album has an air of rigid formality it's the lyrical content, which for the most part sticks to tried and true topics such as the group's ( almost spiritual ) level of passion for music ( "Music," "Salvation" ), why they make the music they make ( "Nightly," "The Next Single" ), how they're better at making music than other hip-hop artists ( "Vacant Rhymes," "Moves" ) and how they hope their music effects the people who listen to it ( "Bigger Cents," "Got It ( Good )" ). Unsurprisingly -- for a group so rooted in the traditions of raw but positive hip-hop -- the familiar clichés are saturated through and through with a sentimentality intended to serve as a form of auditory upliftment; almost like chicken soup for the hip-hop soul. At least one track, "Bushed," delves into bold-faced political commentary though -- as Racecar vociferously critiques and dissects the policies and practices of George W. Bush and his administration -- and so stands out for it's concise lyrical treatment of very specific and unconventional thoughts and ideas.

With lyrical subject-matter that reads like a laundry-list of hip-hop archetypes and singularly hard-hitting, sample-fueled production comparisons to star duos of hip-hop's keep-it-real era such as Gang Starr, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Organized Konfusion and Showbiz & AG ( not to mention groups like De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest ) are not only inevitable, but appropriate. Even more appropriate might be observations of both sonic and thematic similitude between Modill and slightly more contemporary pioneers of the backpack-rap scene such as Black Star ( there are times when emcee Racecar sounds like both Mos Def AND Talib Kweli simultaneously ) or J-Live ( who's flow is also echoed occasionally ) for example. The result is that Modill's 'Midnight Green' comes off as a uniquely contemporary and refreshingly rejuvenating revival of some of the "realest" sonic traditions hip-hop's third decade had to offer

An Instant Classic
Lately I've been looking for something different in Hip-Hop. Something that pushes the boundaries of the music while staying relevant to the formula of samples, and rhymes. Chicago Hip Hop duo "Modill" take this chance, and not only create something fresh and unique, but something polished enough to be considered a masterpiece.

On paper, Midnight Green might seem like a disjointed mess. The production bombards you with layers and layers of samples, and a lot of the vocals border on nonsensical rambling. While these things are true of the album, the result isn't what you would think. The dreamy soundscapes are mind-blowing to the highest extent, and the lyrics do a great job of adding another layer to the music. That's not to say the lyrics here are lacking, rather the beats can be so involving on certain songs (such as the euphoric "Moves") that you'll lose yourself in the production. it's an album which can be enjoyed quietly in the background, just as much as it can when listened to in a nice pair of headphones. And that's really saying something considered the level of pleasure I get from listening to this album.

Personally, I feel like this is an album which every serious fan of music needs to hear; hip hop fan or not. The whole album is an inspired marvel which shows a level of polish and creativity rarely seen in Hip Hop. This is Hip Hop at its absolute finest.

5 Stars - BUY THIS ALBUM!