I downloaded Gonjasufi's A Sufi and a Killer months and months ago but really never got around to listening to it. I listened to bits of it and really didn't like it. Now, seven months late, I started to really listen to it. Gonjasufi is a rapper/singer, disc jockey and yoga teacher from San Diego who has been making underground rap since the '90s. His big break happened on Flying Lotus's second LP Los Angeles where he had a guest appearance on a track. Now, Gonjasufi was signed to Warp Records and hit off with his debut A Sufi and a Killer.
A Sufi and a Killer is by far one of the most enticing and bizarre listens of the year. Gonjasufi creates a kind of '60s psychedelic rap with his rusty, Tom Waits-like voice. Going from track to track on A Sufi and a Killer you won't really find a definitive theme to the LP. Instead you'll find an assorted mess of lo-fi songs that Gonjasufi truly has put his heart into. The bizarre choice of styles that Gonjasufi will put out really span to many genres, it's hard to really pinpoint a definitive style for him. You have the heavy screamo-like metal song "SuzieQ", the R&B beauty "Sheep" and the disco-electro styled "Candylane".
One thing that Gonjasufi does keep constant on A Sufi and a Killer is the heavy voice-clipped vocals that have a Middle Eastern influence throughout. It sounds as though Gonjasufi recorded his vocals with his hands clapped over his mouth then recorded that with a computer's recording capabilities. It can drag the sound down, but it also can lift it up. If you're a lo-fi junkie with a heart towards a rough and jagged vocal with a deep, piercing instrumental that really make you groove backward.
Gonjasufi's honest and heart-filled lyricism is truly worthy to note. "Oh how I wish I was/One of your gentle sheep/Only made out of love/Like a bird in retreat," croons Gonjasufi on one of the strongest tracks "Sheep". Love is a major theme of his lyrics, weather it's lost, found or searching; love is there in his lyrics, "so deep in love/Covered with sheets of past/And candy canes".
A Sufi and a Killer is one of the most intriguing and enticing listens you will have for 2010 so far. Songs like "Duet", "Sheep", and "DedNd" are fun and create Gonjasufi's psychedelic-like rap/soul style to a definitive lock. If you're looking for a very bizarre and tripped out trip of music, take a plunge into A Sufi and a Killer.
Overall - 8.0/10
Track Listing:
1. Untitled - 7.0
2. Kobwebz - 8.0
3. Ancestors - 8.5
4. Sheep - 9.0
5. She Gone - 7.5
6. SuzieQ - 6.5
7. Stardustin' - 7.0
8. Kowboyz&Indians - 8.0
9. Change - 8.0
10. Duet - 9.0
11. Candylane - 8.5
12. Holidays - 8.0
13. Love of Reign - 8.0
14. Advice - 8.5
15. Klowds - 7.0
16. Ageing - 7.5
17. DedNd - 9.0
18. I've Given - 8.5
19. Made - 9.0
Sample:
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