, ,

Presto State Of The Art [review]


I love when producers I had never heard of, like Presto, blow me out of the water with something amazing they've created. I love it even more when I get their album in the mail, and it's even slicker than I imagined it would be. Track-fi-track, maayne...

"Listen"
Nice, quick jazzy intro. Sounds like something that would play on the menu screen from a DVD documentary about DJ Premier.

"Conquer Mentally" (ft. Sadat X, O.C. & Large Professor)
Wow. Talk about... wow. That jazz sample is perfect, especially on that cold ass beat. Sadat's verse is my favorite of this one, with him laying out his thoughts on his legacy and space in the game. Both O.C. and Extra P flex their skills as well. Beats like this, from the cuts to the overall melancholy funk this track emotes... wow, I don't know whether to cry or light a cigarette.

"Street Sport" (ft. Ark)
I remember hearing MF Doom use this sample years ago. Just a nice mixture of such a cool, relaxing melody and Ark's mellow fury.

"Pour Another Glass" (ft. Blu)
Another jazzy affair here. Perfect combination on here. I could see this one going off well at a grown ass club, kind of like the spot in D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" video.

"On" (ft. LOWD)
This track is dope, has a nice, dusty break underneath not much else. I'm not that big a fan of LOWD on the track, but I don't dislike him at all. I do not like his hook, though.

"The Pressure" (ft. Raashan Ahmad)
The keys on this sound like Lupe Fiasco's "Paris, Tokyo", but are closer to ATCQ than Lupe could ever be. Raashan sounds like how niggas rhymed back in '95.

"Higher" (ft. Mhax Montes)
I love that dude doesn't go for the big drums on that loop. So many producers would just go to the basic drums, all big and crisp. Nah, Presto keeps it simple, and just let's that soul flow. The fill might make you think it's gonna drop, but the beauty is in that lil' sample!

"Altered States" (ft. Wayward Saints)
Damn. Summer cookout anthem here. That airy keyboard, the flexing on the guitar. "Cool" doesn't even begin to describe it. A crime would be someone rapping to this track. Excellent.

"Mass Quality" (ft. J Theory)
Wow, dude must have a batch of tight beats sitting at his crib. I'm not up on J Theory, but he kicks some dope rhymes over this one. This has a New York feel to it. I love how the beat flips randomly in this one.

"What's What" (ft. Fatlip & Kim Hill)
There's Fatlip! There's some interesting sounds going on in this beat - has a nice, bouncy feel to it. 'Lip does his thing on this, but it's not necessarily his best rhyme. I never really bought him chattin' up chicks - especially after "Passin' Me By".

"Feel Me" (ft. T Weaponz)
Probably one of my least-favorite beats on here. The strings on this don't really go anywhere.

"Part Of Greatness" (ft. CL Smooth)
CL always comes correct over cuts like this. Neck-snappin' vibe on this one, with Smooth caressing the track so slyly. The piano twinkling in this sets it off.

"Let It Circulate" (ft. Dhurti Whoutr)
Another beautiful piano sample. That Nas on the hook works well, too. I'm not sold on dude on the mic, but again, he isn't murdering the track.

"Plain Jane" (ft. Kim Hill)
This beat sounds almost too-hard for this lovely voice... the contrast doesn't mesh for me here. I think she could have coasted over some of those more lush tracks Presto has created.

"Go" (ft. Trek Life)
Some dope inspirational rhymes for the Black youth of today.

"Still Here" (ft. IN-Q)
I love this instrumental. Those stabs sound like fat raindrops on a warm summer afternoon.

"Outro"
Damn. Dude takes it out like a heavy, blunted DJ Krush number on this one. This shit has the ill lurch to it.

"Conquer Mentally (Large Pro Remix)" (ft. Sadat X, O.C. & Large Professor)
Extra P spreads his quality production to arguably the best cut on here. It's not better than the original, but has a nice, gritty feel to it, with that sleazy guitar and those horns. Nice take on this banger.

I used to buy albums just like this in the late '90s! I am so not mad at this. I feel like I did back when I was a teen, taping underground Hip-Hop from college radio, then hitting up mom & pop spots, digging for both the new releases and the sources they would sift through, looking for the perfect beat. Presto has the jazz, the boom-clack, the ear... dude is a producer that more of you MCs need to be giving your checks to.

rock the dub gives State Of The Art 4 out of 5 stars. Most of today's talent bubbles under the radar. Fortunately, with the cameos Presto has pulled, and the obvious talent dude has, he should be making it onto more projects than his own. Let's hope someone is listening to this.

Burn Deez: "Conquer Mentally", "Altered States", "Pour Another Glass", "Still Here"

State Of The Art is in stores June 17th. You can pre-order this album (which comes with a 2nd disc with the "Conquer Mentally"/"On" video on it) on Amazon.

www.myspace.com/prestojazz
www.concretegrooves.com
Share:

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fam I'm currently listening to his myspace page..."street sport" is something else...

Trackstar the DJ said...

shit you got me interested with this review...i'll check dude out...