FAKE JOHN BLAKE

“Absolute hot is the highest attainable temperature by any form of matter.  Absolute hot is the opposite of absolute zero, which is the temperature at which energy is minimized.”

Emcee John Blake has done it again.  This time he teamed up with Chris Renné and spit some hot fire over several remixed and rearranged tracks from The Budos Band’s 2009 self-titled EP.  Blake and Renné have produced an album with so much energy that it can only truly be measured at absolute hot.  These tracks are literally on fire… and Blake has done, yet again, what he is best at—combining powerful lyrics and masterful flows with hard pounding instruments that drive home the funk. 

That Nu

The first track, That Nu, draws the listener in slowly with a soft rhythm as John Blake sips what is likely a b-bom or possibly some type of high-proof rum drink.  You can almost feel Blake preparing himself to bring the heat as the horns kick in the door to this track and he gives kudos to The Budos Band.  He doesn’t need an alias when he’s pumping through ya speakers—Blake’s declaration is refreshingly honest and demands respect.  He immediately sets himself apart from other emcees with his fresh lyrics and proves that he is without peer as the horns come in and out dancing along with his powerful rhymes.  The Budos Band absolutely put in work with the horns on this track and Blake’s voice seamlessly compliments their sound.  Like a fine wine paired with the perfect cheese, Blake’s voice is perfectly paired with The Budos Band’s sound, which is a testament to Blake’s skills as an emcee and Renné’s talent on the production end.  Raising his voice to correspond with the volume of the horns around the 1:40 mark is sheer magic and builds anticipation in the listener waiting to hear what will happen next.  It’s hard to sit still and listen to this first track.  That Nu was the perfect choice to be the opener on this album because Blake absolutely kills it and forces you out of your seat and onto the dance floor before you even knew you liked to dance.

Tarzan

What That Nu did to get you out on the dance floor, Tarzan continues by keeping your body moving.  The beginning of this song sounds like the start of something by The Roots, which is not surprising as Blake is “half man, half amazing, half poet, half blazing.”  It takes four halves to describe how dirty Blake gets on this track.  The high energy lyrics and rhythms bring the listener in and invite you to get your Tarzan on.  I’m not exactly sure what it means to get your Tarzan on, but when I listen to this track Blake makes me want to go out and abso-fucking-lutely get my Tarzan on.  Allowing the track to fade out so that Blake can tell you how crazy he is, with his genuine John Blake chuckle in the background, was a nice touch and gives a quick look at the man himself, the man behind the rhymes.  Renné deserves a whole lotta love for effortlessly mixing Blake’s voice with the building instruments around the 2:00 mark.  He flawlessly transitioned each instrument back into the song piece by piece until the song comes back together at full force, forcing your ear to listen and enjoy the sound.  The end of the song offers another look at the man himself as Blake proclaims that we’re listening to history in the making—to your face.  Blake doesn’t even know what the hell that means, but it makes sense in the context of how dirty he got on this track.  Feel free to tell him how dirty he got on this one, because he knows.

No Body’s Bulletproof

This fast track is another one that forced me up out of my seat so that I could shake my ass.  Again, Blake showcases how versatile his sound is with the opening of this track.  This is perhaps the strongest track on the album in terms of the timing and the lyrics.  I found myself playing this one back many times to really listen to the words he chose to use.  We would expect nothing less of black superhero music.  No Body’s Bulletproof definitely provides a different perspective of Blake’s arsenal, his fast rhyming throughout the song is impressive because it’s clean and you can hear every damn word flying out of his mouth.  It’s hard to find the words to describe what Blake does on this song, so I’ll just say…Somebody please teach John Blake how to swim.

So Fine

So Fine showcases Blake’s range of vocal skills and proves that he can do it for the ladies too.  The subtitle to this track should be “LL John Blake” because Ladies Love John Blake.  His voice is so smooth on this track I was naked by the time it was over and had no idea how it happened.  This might be my favorite track on the album and the only way I can describe it is to say it sounds like some other level tango shit.  Blake shows his versatility on this track yet again by keeping it smooth and softly singing and rhyming the lyrics right into your ear.  It is placed perfectly among the other tracks and gives you a break to cool off from all the fire he spits in the first three songs.  This track is still hot, of course, but in a different way.  With this track, Blake sits down with you and has a conversation.  The sound of his voice and smoothness offers a different perspective from the rest of the album and made me fall in love with Blake all over again.  And, please, spend some time thinking about this verse—

Do what you can, or do what you will

Will what you want, want what ya feel

Feel what you want, and always will

Wants turn bad even if it’s good will

Hunting, it’s not your fault

Never was, but mine cause my wants went off

I’m off, but I’m always here, maybe the next time, dear, dear 

Fire

What So Fine does to cool you off Fire undoes by coming out firing with high intensity in Blake’s voice.  The contrast of these two tracks back to back is perfect.  Fire reminds you that Blake is here to stay.  Again, The Budos Band has a tight sound and kills it with the horns playing hard so you can clearly hear each note they’re pushing through your speakers. Blake perfectly matches the intensity of the instruments with his voice and use of timing.  This track answers the question of why Blake does music—because he was made for it.  His timing is impeccable on this track and the lyrics deserve several playbacks as you catch yourself asking ‘Wait, what did he just say?! Play that back!’  Yea, that’s right, he goes for girls that look edible.  Not only does he deliver with the timing and lyrics, but Blake also solves the healthcare crisis in one line—“Who needs insurance, I like being ill.”  Somebody get Obama on the phone, we’ve found something that both Democrats and Republicans alike can agree on…John Blake.

Overall

Overall, this is an incredible album and I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from each person who listens to it.  The only criticism, if you can even call it that, is that there were not enough tracks.  He left his fans hungry for more with this album.  The people have a fever, and the only prescription is more John Blake.  The way he uses timing to split up words and phrases in his lyrics is reminiscent of classic emcees that put their lyrics together with the precision of a surgeon.  More than anything else, this album illustrates how this multi-talented emcee is best showcased—rhyming with a full band behind him driving his flow.  Like Black Thought of the Legendary Roots Crew, Blake combines his unique flow with the instruments behind him and puts it all out on the table leaving nothing to be desired.  Blake has skills that can’t be taught and he takes it to the next level with this album by using his greatest instruments, his voice and mind.  His fans are anxiously awaiting for the arrival of his next project and hope that the scientific community catches up to John Blake by figuring out what is hotter than absolute hot so that his next album can be properly classified in that category of heat.

-Viva