So I know I remain pretty much the only guy who cares about Resonators, but I'm genuinely pleased with how much I wound up loving this - fantastic hip-hop classic, so happy I got a chance to revisit it. Especially considering my next review is bound to disappoint a lot of folks... yeah, stay tuned!
Oh, we're going to get weird with this one. But first, let me back up, because I've referenced this album in passing before in previous reviews but haven't really provided much context or history behind its strange, strange lineage, even though it might stand as damn near one of a kind even to this day, one of the few examples of a narrative-driven Afrofuturist hip-hop concept album, described by some as a rap opera. The producer is Dan the Automator, a California-based producer who by the late 90s had established his reputation through collaborations with DJ Shadow and especially Kool Keith, who had created his Dr. Octagon alter-ego and had released the celebrated if utterly demented concept album Dr. Octagonecologyst. This was the project that arguably won Dan the Automator the most initial attention for blending in organic instrumentation against Dr. Octagon's graphic iconography, which saw him garner the attention of De La Soul affiliate Prince Paul, who teamed up with him under the name Handsome Boy Modeling School for a 1999 project called So... How's Your Girl - unfortunately, it's as goofy and slapdash as it sounds. Then a year later he'd team up with Primal Scream for some production work - not the first nor last time he'd work with British acts, if you're familiar with one Damon Albarn's work in the 2000s - but he was still working with underground hip-hop acts as well... Which takes us to Del The Funky Homosapien. The cousin of Ice Cube, he struck some commercial success in the very early 90s, but he wanted to go in a weirder direction with his second album... which despite some well-deserved critical acclaim promptly tanked, which saw him not release another solo album until 1997, which he mostly produced himself. But it was around this time he joined the hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics, who carved out their own critical acclaim in 1998 with 3rd Eye Vision, which I honestly hoped to cover before this as it's been on the voting block for some time now. But in the year 2000 in San Francisco, Del teamed up with Dan the Automator and DJ Kid Koala for a one-of-a-kind album that stands as a defiantly unique entry in underground hip-hop, even today. And while I expected I would cover this later rather than sooner, might as well tackle it now: so here we go, this is the self-titled album from Deltron 3030, and this is Resonators!
I honestly don't know how many people will get down on me for this one, given how little hype the movie as a whole seems to have... eh, you never know. Next up, Resonators and Shawn Mendes - enjoy!
Huh, this was fascinating. Not really a great movie, but definitely one worth thinking and talking about. But on the opposite note... well, stay tuned!
Whoo boy, this one got a lot of anger from a lot of people... and really, I don't think it deserved it, this is a great film. Now what's coming up next might just deserve the anger... stay tuned?
Well, this happened... honestly, I wish I liked this movie a lot more, but again, it just wasn't clicking with me (and yes, I saw all the comments saying the references were an 'homage' and not a direct prequel... slightly less credible the more I think about it, really, I'm not sure I buy that one, it feels like the Star Trek: Into Darkness excuse to avoid comparisons to a superior, more thematically resonant film). Eh, whatever. Tyler, The Creator is next, so stay tuned!
