DJ Krush
Meiso

THE REVIEW

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.