Company Flow
Little Johnny From The Hospitul: Breaks And Instrumentals, Vol. 1

In the multifaceted sonic universe of "Rap Music," we've often witnessed the emergence of artists who, with their ways of doing and producing music, have managed to release pioneering and innovative works that have had a tremendous influence on subsequent generations of MCs and producers around the world.
Figures like EPMD, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and Wu-Tang Clan are still used as examples and sources of inspiration for their once ingenious insights by all those who, while glancing at past achievements, are today part of the renewal of a constantly evolving genre.

Company Flow, on par with the aforementioned sacred monsters, have contributed, with their atypical and seminal albums, to strongly revolutionizing Rap, passing on to posterity a new figure of "underground artist," which still today continues to gather new followers.
The group was formed in New York in the first half of the '90s, founded by the eclectic MC and producer Jaime Meline (alias El-P) and DJ Mr. Len. Company Flow, originally a duo, recorded the single "Juvenile Techniques" for the Libra label, which ended up being much appreciated by a Libra employee (coincidentally, Bigg Jus...), who first establishes a friendship with them and then becomes the second MC of the ensemble. The fresh trio finished their first album "Funcrusher" in '95, completely self-produced and financed solely with the part-time jobs of various members. The record immediately received great feedback in the New York underground, accompanied by the magnificent single "8 Steps To Perfection," and sparked a real battle among various record labels eager to sign El-P and company. Rawkus Records, an independent label, prevailed, for which the group created some bonus tracks that expanded the debut album, leading to the release, two years later, of the definitive "Funcrusher Plus" (Rawkus Records, 1997), an extraordinary and frighteningly "forward" work for its time, which finally received its deserved visibility.
Soon, however, internal disputes undermined the stability achieved, leading to Bigg Jus's departure. After the unfortunate event, the two survivors, El-P and Mr. Len, decided to devote themselves entirely to musical experimentation, momentarily setting aside the lyrics, and soon completed "Little Johnny From The Hospitul: Breaks And Instrumentals, Vol. 1" (Rawkus Records, 1999), which marks a further maturation of the duo, showing greater care for mixing and audio quality, as well as a clear broadening of their sounds to new musical horizons.
The album, across its sixteen tracks, further delves into the avant-garde mix of distorted sounds and irregular beats previously proposed with "Funcrusher Plus", smoothing out many of the more indigestible rough edges without sacrificing consistency or originality: Company Flow has not sold out; they have simply changed and, above all, grown.

It kicks off immediately, then, with the deviant sound kaleidoscope of "Comp", and the subsequent "Suzy Pulled A Pistol On Henry", a kind of "Bad Touch Example Pt. 2" (the kid, who was harassed there, takes his sweet revenge here...), leading towards the hallucinatory funk of "Friend Vs. Friend," which will drive digging maniacs crazy due to the hypnotic sample "borrowed" from the cult movie "Vampyros Lesbos" soundtrack, by Jess Franco. Spectacular. The acid electronic inserts of "Linoleum" even push to headbanging, while "Bee Aware", and especially the disorienting "Workers Needed", swing the balance needle back towards the classic skewed and irregular beats, so dear to fans from the first hour. After the brief interlude "# Nine", there is first "Gigapet Epiphany", with its rich and redundant arrangement, and immediately after "8MS Digital", with a minimal yet engaging sound at the same time.

The robotic rhythms of "No Lock" immediately give way to the dark "Shadows Drown", one of the most successful moments of the album: four minutes of dark and visionary journey through the subways of a modern metropolis, amidst murky water sounds and distorted vocal samples, chilling. The continuous register changes of "Worker Ant Uprise" alternate with balance between emptiness and fullness, the skit "Indelible Hybrid" contaminates the offbeat drum metrics of "The Fire In Which You Burn" with scratches and overdubs, and "World Of Garbage" veers towards slow, vaguely "trippy" flavors. Not bad. There's still time for the crooked grooves of the rhythmic "Black Out", and the lysergic delusions of the concluding "Happy Happy Joy Kill", which further confirm the talent of Company Flow and their very personal musical taste.

Despite the differing opinions from critics and long-time supporters, who were not very enthusiastic about the change of direction undertaken by the group, "Little Johnny From The Hospitul: Breaks And Instrumentals, Vol. 1" remains a commendable work, free of substantial drops in intensity, and accessible to a significantly broader audience, compared to the enigmatic "Funcrusher Plus": a truly applause-worthy evolution, and one that pleases everyone, be it the 4/4 fans of double H, or the less trained listeners, or simply, the curious ones.

Rating: 4.5-5/5