Dead Ringer

 

 

Create your own review

In 1996 DJ Shadow '...Endtroduced' himself with his debut wide release album, a compilation of sampled rhythms. '...Endtroducing' strived to create the perfect concoction between beat and melody, and succeeded, in a way. DJ Shadow relied heavily on the listeners' understanding of the intricacies of turntablism and sampling. To an average listener, the album might have seemed shallow and monotonous. It is unfair to criticize '...Endtroducing' for its simplicity though, due to the fact that in terms of complexity it ranks up there with the best of Q-Bert and Peanut Butter Wolf (with whom Shadow worked numerously). Yet when it comes to comparing Shadow's album to Rjd2's 2002 release 'Deadringer', it is necessary to point out that, though similar in their approaches to producing beats, Rjd2 adds enough variation and surprises to his sampling masterwork to please a wider audience.
Take the introductory 'The Horror', for example, which was released later as a single. Darkly atmospheric, the track contains no lyrics. 'The Horror' might even stimulate the desire to augment it with a freestyle (if you're not good at it, don't ruin the song and practice over Big Tymers instrumentals, brother). Its energy and structure brings to mind 'Midnight in a Perfect World' from '...Endtroducing'. Rjd2's lack of pretension and homing in on affecting simplicity distinguishes 'The Horror', along with distinctively excellent instrumentals, such as 'Ghostwriter' with its scratchy vinyl guitar that flows into an astounding trombone chorus; 'Cut Out to FL', which starts off quitely lyrical, builds up suspense and explodes with a helluva beat/scratching; and 'Silver Fox', that's bound to eerily dig its way under the skin with its jagged beat and hallucinatory Asian vibe.
Usually, experimental fusions with hip-hop don't work out. Uberzone's breakbeats on 'Faith in the Future' did not accomodate Beanie Man's freestyles well. AK1200's 'Shoot to Kill' was a major disappointment, due to the lack of energy Phife Dawg (of A Tribe Called Quest) exuded, along with other featured rappers, such as Last Empreror.
Those, and many more artists (Crystal Method, The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, even Aphex Twin and Moby, oh God, Moby for SURE) should have stuck with their own styles, explored and expanded them. Instead, they ventured into areas that they didn't know much about. Rjd2 knows much about hip-hop. He's collaborated with Copywrite, Blueprint, Aceyalone, Murs, Aesop Rock, El-P, Jakki Da Motormouth and Cage. He's created beats in underground hip-hop that rival only master turntablist, like the aforementioned Shadow, Cut Chemist, and Spooky when he is at his least pompous. 'Final Frontier' with Blueprint, F.H.H. featuring Jakki, and the masterpiece tear-jerker 'June', which Copywrite enhances with his sporadic lyrics: all those tracks accentuate the album's superiority and Rjd2's knowledge of sampling piano, guitar, deep-rooted beats, and a truck-full of other sounds he digs up from various sources (even the KFC-ad tune is stolen by the sly DJ from TV with a tape recorder). 'Deadringer' is a fine demonstartion of sampling skills. It is, despite some unnecessary tracks, like the overly-sentimental 'The Proxy', or '2 More Dead' which starts off complex but ends up dull, a major step in expanding the limits of underground hip-hop.

Oh, and if the rapping does disrupt the intensity of the tune for the listener (couldn't have phrased it better, could I?), 'The Horror' single should be checked out, with the same tracks as instrumentals, and some decent ones added, like 'Bus Stop Bitties'.

HIGHLIGHTS: 'Final Frontier', 'Ghostwriter', 'Cut Out to FL', 'Silver Fox' and 'June'
LOWPOINTS: ' Good Times Roll PT2', 'The Proxy', '2 More Dead'.

. . . is this good. Instrumental hip-hop is, I suppose, one possible label for this. And sure, there's some echoes of DJ Shadow here, perhaps a touch of Mr. Scruff, and weirdly enough, I hear hints - just hints mind you - of some of the solo stuff put out by Liam Howlett of, *sigh*, the Prodigy (specifically the Dirtchamber Sessions which admittedly is more of a mix album than anything else and which probably shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as an album like DeadRinger, but I still here some similarities. Sorry.)

But similarities aside, this isn't much like any of the aforementioned artists. It's one of the more unique things I've heard in a while. It's your typical collage of breakbeats and samples and odd melodies. And where RJD2 really shines is in the last element: melodies. Yes, his beats are, putting it mildly, awesome. But what stood out for me is just how tuneful and finely crafted his songs (yes, songs) are. This guy has an ear for melody, and creates tracks that bear this out.

And the songs are oddly rousing, anthemic even. Listening to 'The Horror,' I kept wanting to throw up my hands at my pointless 9-5 life, and go off and have some sort of adventure or something. If that makes sense. It's stirring music, is what I guess I'm trying to say.

The only downside to this album, in my personal opinion, are the non-instrumental tracks. Not to say that the MCing is weak - it's not - just that RJD2 is so good that I bemoan being distracted from his work by the lyrics. But that's a pretty minor quibble, and doesn't make this any less great of an album.

Have a listen and go have an adventure or something.

Being compared to DJ Shadow might have had an advantage for RJD2: I doubt that his affiliation with Def Jux would be heavy enough to translate into the success he has seen. Not to mention that he is not very similiar to DJ Shadow: sure, they both construct hip-hop based music from diverse samples, but RJD2 is admittedly more hip-hop, in small measure because of the appearance of three MCs on three songs. Of these, "June" featuring Copywrite is the best one: not only is his verse touching (a tribute to his dead father, who died in the month Write was born in), but the instrumental interlude is sublime, with classical guitar and synth. The other standouts include the opener "The Horror", with its addictive, menacing synth line that sounds like an alien invasion, and "2 More Dead" - not the gangsta workout you'd expect. No, it didn't "change the world" as El-P claimed, but it is a fine album on its own accord.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 58 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

3.0 out of 5 stars The Best Hip Hop Instrumental CD Ever
Now I haven't heard a lot of hip hop instrumental CDs so I'm not well-versed enough to definitively say that this is the best. Read more

Published on Jun 16 2004 by hiphopcritic

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique and Rewarding
I first heard RjD2, alongside with Mr. Lif and The Gift of Gab, in Philadelphia opening up for DJ Shadow. Read more

Published on Jun 8 2004 by Blackberries

5.0 out of 5 stars Calling all hip hop heads!
This is the best collection of instrumentals I've ever heard. This white boy from Oregan knows how to get down with the beats. Read more

Published on May 23 2004 by Lolo Sykes

5.0 out of 5 stars Not that similair to Endtroducing
I don't understand why everybody compares this album to DJ Shadow's Endtroducing. I see a similarity, but this album is definitely taken in a more hip-hop direction. Read more

Published on April 28 2004 by Mathan Retik

5.0 out of 5 stars Rjd2's dead ringer: material for your head to bob to
I first heard of Rjd2 through Aesop Rock - after listening to this unique rap that was so out of the ordinary, I delved deep into the underground/indie rap scene to find Rjd2,... Read more

Published on April 4 2004 by J. LaCour

5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!!!
A Great Mixture of Hip hop, Soul, Blues, and rap!
I LOVE IT!!!!

Published on Feb 22 2004 by Sam

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful album.
I find it humorous that reviewers actually gave this album 1 star, because it was not like Sage Francis or DJ Shadow. Read more

Published on Feb 21 2004 by BiolanteX

1.0 out of 5 stars YAWN
i honestly can't remember the last time i was as disappointed with the purchase of a cd as i was when i purchased Rjd2's "dead ringer". Read more

Published on Feb 20 2004 by Gift Card Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar
The definition of the word stellar on dictionary.com is a) of or relating to a star performer, and b) outstanding. Read more

Published on Feb 13 2004

1.0 out of 5 stars why the shadow comparism?
This is a really poor cd. I really can't understand why all the reviews here are comparing this record to Endtroducing by DJ SHADOW. This doesn't even come close. Read more

Published on Feb 5 2004 by Daniel R Ashton

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 58 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!