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Rating: DJ Krush is a multifaceted and unpredictable character who, with his vast discography, has revolutionized the way rap music is conceived and produced, combining the typical 4/4 beats of the genre with world music and jazz influences, which find their consecration in the extraordinary Kakusei.
Meiso, dated 1995, is the third album by the ingenious Japanese producer, and also his first true masterpiece after the excellent Strictly Turntablized and Krush, a dark and at times astonishing work that marks the definitive growth of Krush as an artist, and the concrete maturation of a refined and immediately recognizable sound.
The album is structured into ten actual tracks, interspersed with four brief interludes (Bypath 1, Bypath 2, Bypath 3, and the concluding Bypath – Would You Take It?), and surprises with its darkness that is at times hypnotic, seemingly leading the listener into a state of mystical and disturbing trance at the same time. The robust rhythms of the introductory and splendid Only The Strong Survive blend perfectly with oriental atmospheres and typical instruments of Japanese culture, all accompanied by the superb rhymes of CL Smooth, for an astonishing result.
The ultra-minimal partitions of Anticipation introduce that absolute jewel that is What’s Behind Darkness, an incredible and suggestive synthesis between jazz and double H, that will make you hit the repeat button on your stereo multiple times. The remaining tracks of the album are no less impressive, Black Thought and Malik B from the Roots ignite the engaging title track with their tight metrics, Ground features Teflon Sallahr dominating the muffled sound of Krush’s superb base, in the beautiful Most Wanted Man we even find Big Shug and Guru from the Gang Starr Foundation on the microphone, and with 3rd Eye we enter the more reflective part of the work, culminating in the phantasmagorical Duality, an endless suite in several movements produced jointly with DJ Shadow, effectively the deepest and most exciting moment of Meiso.
In short, DJ Krush does not disappoint, and indeed surpasses himself, releasing an astonishing album from every perspective, perhaps not very appreciated by the staunch purists of rap, but undoubtedly among the first to open new horizons and perspectives for a genre that otherwise would have only risked repeating itself, recycling itself. A must-have.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Only the Strong Survive (04:15)
[Featuring CL Smooth]
(CL Smooth verse)
(yeah, DJ Krush in the house, the car-mel kingpin
CL Smooth and only the strong survive)
actual facts
the ghetto reacts to warfare
real bullets miss you by your hair
survival of the fittest
hell for the three time losers
the prisoners of enemy manuvers
hold down the fort
coz life is short enough to get it taken
forsaken when your mental planes' breakin
concealin' a 4 pound with every area
we surround coz clown
I get down for my crown
take it to the streets for the
honour and respect
connect the lethal
plus my young guns are unbeatable
aiding and abetting the foul
is a violation
that's why my retalliation
is premeditation
the invitation
is to run with a crew you can't do
and too great to infiltrate from a
nickel plate
I state
this be the illest ever known on a rush
swervin' with the krush
(CL Smooth 2nd verse)
slip into the world of shiesty individuals
a troubled man stalked by criminals
creeping through the city
I step on the block to chat with
thugs from all the drugs for fatcat
stepping off the set now hand on my tool
thinking how bad I want to flip on that fool
times are wasting
chasing these punks for petty loot
when there is a real mission to execute
I put the plan in effect
forget what you heard
when you get the word from 1st and 3rd
for real I got the fam and all my soldiers to feed
with the gunslingers on the block puffin' weed
envision the prison that I walk through
leaving any witness
when I'm about to handle my business
no escape from the duct tape and artillery
now tell me big man
where's the money aint a damn thing funny
(CL Smooth 3rd verse)
cops play for medals
killers play for corners
in the middle are your sons and are
your daughters
who gives the orders
to chaos and mayhem
who has the proper guidance and mind to save them
from this cold world of heartless ghetto dwellers,
pimps, prostitutes, and dope sellers
strive to be the lead and not follow
ladies
you can be the queens of tommorrow
dig it, I want all that and more
for my peeps in the stuggle
food, clothing, and shelter
is essential
to maintain the hardcore from the soft
that pushed me to the edge but I can't fall off
my battlegrounds keep the sound of babies crying,
gunshots, and cursing
can you feel my reel
here's the deal
by any means necessary
go all out
and keep this alive
coz only the strong survive
04 Meiso (04:02)
f/ The Roots
[Malik B]
The Roots bring it from the Phila Fifth, spill the gift
The melody of a felony is straight off a cliff
Now can I get a witness to dismiss Christmas from the myth list
Man that's bogus, let's try to stay focused
You would think it was the Fourth of July
Cause in Illadelph a round of applause light up the sky
Why? Don't ask me, subtle attitudes sometimes nasty
Foul mouth bitches walk around looking trashy
Bimbos talking about where's the indo?
Crackheads leavin babies unattended at the window
To see death, and brothers with strikes who got three left
I'm trying to make it, cause if I don't I'll probably take it
But perserverence is a virtue
The person that you thinking you hurting might hurt you
Ya celly might jerk too
Perhaps I'll go to court this time when I'm summoned
But I'm a rebel to the system so I might not be coming
So if I fail, man just get up the bail
It's just more time to write another story to tell
Ill elements, drop intelligence, Black Thought Malik B
fuck up their-re-le-vance
We got strain on the brain from bodies left in the dust
Man just leave it to us, look main aim and I'll bust
Fuck betrayal just trust, all the tracks we lust
With DJ Krush from Japan with no more need to discuss
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