I credit a lot to the plunderphonic master DJ Shadow. He's probably the artist that introduced me into the very diverse and intriguing genre of hip-hop. DJ Shadow's debut Endtroducing..... is perfect combination of trippy, earthy beats with a human, soulful energy that just enlightens in every one of Shadow's songs. It sounds so unreal on a first listen. You're fascinated by the drum beat splices Shadow does and the very intelligent samples he uses to create pure instrumental hip-hop magic.
It started out as a simple delve into a very foreign genre to me. Hip-hop, I loathed it immensely. It was something of taboo in my mind, I couldn't get into it and I wasn't about to try. Well, that is until I happen to be bored one day and take a look at some supposed influential hip-hop albums. I came across DJ Shadow's Endtroducing...... I was very interested by the cover, a partially blurred picture of two random guys going through records at some record shop. I thought it looked like the most "indie" looking hip-hop album I saw. So I downloaded it and gave it a listen. I was completely dumbfounded. Nothing in my music listening life had prepared me for that first listen.
From the first line of "Bob Wood National Director of the Chum Group worked with us in producing" on "Best Foot Forward" to the last ambient noise of "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1, Blue Sky Revisit, Transmission 3)", it was just completely mesmerizing. I probably give this album so much praise because I have never heard anything to foreign and magical. The splicing of beats, ambient overtones and deep snarls of the bass beat made me just ecstatic. I truly had heard nothing of it, taking samples of other obscure and lost forgotten songs to make something completely and utterly alien as compared to the original.
Little did I know that I was stepping into the experimental hip-hop range. The use of unconventional hip-hop instruments like the organ on "Organ Donor" and other obscurities. I wasn't stepping into a very accessible hip-hop range like Run-D.M.C. or Jay-Z. I was stepping right into the dark and very lucid instrumentation of a musical genius. "Changeling (Transmission 1)" might be one of my favorite songs of all time. The drum splicing is so cohesive and the snarling bass line following the intro is just monstrous and immediately a catchy keyboard line jumps in to contradict the monster bass. It creates such a hazy atmosphere that is unmatched by any music I have yet to hear.
Probably the most well known of the track off Endtroducing..... is "Midnight In a Perfect World". This song probably sums up the whole theme of the album. Dark, surreal and just reeks of insomnia. The whole album is like a soundtrack to someone who can't sleep and "Midnight In a Perfect World" is like the climax of the album. Another phenomenally dark, tasty song is "What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1, Blue Sky Revisit, Transmission 3)" the perfect atmospheric ending to Endtroducing......
I truly believe that anyone who thinks that they actually enjoy music, should take a listen to Endtroducing..... It's a magical and surreal adventure through music. DJ Shadow truly knew what he was doing when he put together this instrumental hip-hop masterpiece. I probably shouldn't even really call it "instrumental hip-hop" I might just call it "Endtroducing...." because it's pretty much a genre by itself.
Overall: 9.4/10
Track Listing:
1. Best Foot Foward - 9.4
2. Building Steam With a Grain of Sand - 9.2
3. Number Song - 9.2
4. Changeling (Transmission 1) - 10.0
5. What Does Your Soul Look Like? (Part 4) - 9.2
6. Untitled - 8.9
7. Stem - Long Stem (Transmission 2) - 9.3
8. Mutual Slump - 9.4
9. Organ Donor - 8.9
10. Why Hip-Hop Sucked In '96 - 9.3
11. Midnight In a Perfect World - 9.8
12. Napalm Brain - Scatter Brain - 9.6
13. What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 1, Blue Sky Revisit, Transmission 3) - 9.7
Sample:
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