Ladysmith Black Mambazo
IIembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu
Heads Up
What if barbershop quartets weren't lame? They would probably sound quite a bit like Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The venerable eight-man a capella outfit from South Africa amazes with the amount of music that can come from the throat as lone instrument. There are many-pronged harmonies featuring a voice deep enough to hit your subwoofer. The singers also provide rhythmic interjections and melodies alternately joyful and troubling. The excellent mix diffuses the harmonies and lets the lead voice float by itself in the center of things. Vocal effects feel like they're moving across your listening space, making them a nice way to show off your setup's big soundstage.
Little Brother
Getback
Abb Records
A couple of years ago, the editor of The Source reportedly resigned because his rating for Little Brother's The Minstrel Show was lowered without his approval. These guys were that good. Now, despite the departure of longtime producer 9th Wonder, they still are. Phonte's lilting style is subtly filled with complex rhythm and rhyme. Big Pooh's lines are his dopest yet. The beats are still mid-tempo and more complex than the norm. The album is a bit less cohesive than earlier efforts, which is the expected deficit of losing 9th. The recording is clean and bass-heavy, as it should be. Dynamics are OK, but soundstage is lacking. That shouldn't keep you from bumping this one, though.