Albums and Abominations

By Benjamin Huber-Rodriguez     1/20/14 6:00pm

In the wake of the Internet came a whole new way to gain fame in the music world - make something that people want to listen to, put it on YouTube, gain fame overnight. Such is the story of Wesleyan-Brooklyn-based rap trio Das Racist, who made waves with their 2008 jam "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell" before releasing two impressive mixtapes and a single debut album prior to breaking up to pursue solo careers. From the ashes of the group have risen an impressive and prolific run of five mixtapes from one of two primary Das Racist rappers, Victor Vazquez, aka Kool A.D. His latest mixtape, Not O.K., demonstrates his further development as a rapper since the breakup of the group while returning to the style of his Northern California roots.

Kool A.D. was primarily billed as a "comedy" or "gag" rapper during his days in Das Racist, a group known for its combination of college-educated literary and socially relevant references as well as its sarcasm and humor. Not O.K. is still a funny album, but Kool often dips further into apathetic sincerity and self-awareness than he has previously. The first proper track, "Victory," is a standout with an excellent sidesaddle beat and rattling production, where Kool appropriately begins the album by declaring himself among the best rappers in the world. "See my literary history, your military couldn't do shit to me / My name is in the beginning of victory." However, Kool never takes himself seriously, often ridiculing those who question his lack of development. "That's a reference to another Kool A.D. rap line / last time I said candle light instead of lamp light, so that's like about progress," he raps as if speaking directly to the listener on "Pass the Milk."

Kool's flow is relaxed and often conversational, which makes the album perfect for easy listening. The 15 tracks link together smoothly and without significant departures from the chilled-out, NorCal-style production, though sometimes Kool gets a bit lazy. His formula of "Call me (person), (adjective)" gets repetitive and comedically lacking toward the end of the album (e.g., "I'm Leonard Cohen, I don't even know a Leonard Cohen song,") and it can frequently sound like Kool raps about nothing but himself. But listening a bit more closely, he still has a few points to be made. "Used to be all like yes please, test me, then I graduated / Now I'm just doing my thing, you prolly mad, you hate it." Kool is content rapping about himself and his lifestyle, only subtly including more significant lyrics outside of his jokes for those who listen deeply enough. 

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The draw of Kool A.D. is not in the kind of astute observations or social commentary other rappers embrace, but rather in his ability to pump out catchy rap song after catchy rap song seemingly effortlessly; "I wrote these lyrics on a train on my iPhone," he claims on "Tiger Style." Kool has even stated that these were a collection of rejected songs for his forthcoming full-length album. The song crafting is exceptional for a mixtape filled with backups and B-sides, and since the record was released for download free of charge, there's no reason not to jam to this collection of easy California beats as we await his

debut L.P.

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