A track is yet to be recorded that is both scary and ear-catching in equal proportions like "Liquid Swords" by the Genius, aka GZA, arguably the most prolific MC in the Wu-Tang Clan. Even if their 36 chambers managed to come to the foreground, the music of the clan always kept a considerable and undeniable underground appeal. That difficult balance between art and commerce is loosely addressed in the first installment of "Bagpak Selects", a compilation put out by New York-based Bagpak Records.
Appropriately subtitled "Future Underground Mix Tape", this 14-track (unmixed) collection pulls off the masterful trick of genre-bending without faking the funk for a second. The romantic but truthful concept of the mix tape is so last century that "retro" is the prefix that immediately comes to mind, but then these tracks sound so refreshing that one must add the "futuristic" suffix. And all is done with no prejudice against any form of music whatsoever, which is far from being new.
Truth be told, sound sculptors like the ones featured here have always had a way with a beat or a bass line to keep the riddim going. From the lounge, chilled-out prairies of Yellowtail's "Bushwick Summer" and Arch_typ's "Luge del Sol" (featuring Rosina Kazi) to the deep house maneuvers of Masoul's "Live at Tomb 37", this compilation has something for everyone, be it the electro geek or the arbitrary partygoer on a Saturday night.
But unlike the freak folk pranksters of today, who make contemplation a weary, agonizing pain in any eardrum, these nu-jazzmen tuck you in with profound, sleepless beats. Besides, they come up with a whole new concept in the otherwise decaying arts of head-nodding and hand-clapping. For clarification you may want to check out the broken beat lines of Nappy G's "Fight the Power" after the remixing bath by Extra Crispy or even the sketches of bossa nova drawn in Inverse Cinematics' "Bossaffair".
Without even noticing the far-reaching resonance of their music, these guys are providing the soundtrack for an entire society to drop their Prozac and start taking advantage of downbeat's therapeutic benefits. And if this is not what music should provide people with, I don't know what it should. Maybe we will all keep both ears to the ground more often, bring home the good vibes from the creative streets and pounding clubs out there, and keep adding tracks to an endless mix tape.
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