The Divine Dezign of Radio

Floyd the Locsmif released his 4th full length installment, Divine Dezignz #2: Soul, Etc at the tail end of 2008 which was followed this year with Exile’s release of Radio. Floyd the Locsmif fashions a fluid album that brings to mind that good, classic soulful production reminiscent of Pete Rock’s Petestrumentals album. On the other hand, Exile chops up songs and vocal snippets with his trusty MPC in a way that pays homage to Dilla without copying the late beatsmith’s style. Although they differ in style and presentation, both projects are great in their own respects and are worthy of your monetary patronage.

Floyd stays in one lane, which isn’t a bad thing, and blesses us with consistent soulful, mellow, hypnotic hip-hop treats. What would you expect though, from an album titled Soul, Etc.? This is one that you’ll play when you want to come home and “wine” down or if you’re having a laid-back set at the house. Radio was created by Exile to give you that medium’s feel from HIS perspective. Just like a true radio, you’re introduced to a range of genres that Exile creates from anything such as radio static to your favorite childhood Christmas song! Although the beats may seem to be all over the place, it is a cohesive project overall.

Soul, Etc features vocalists on 4 of its 16 tracks. The artists are coupled together to give you more bang for your buck and they deliver too! My favorite vocally assisted track is Don’t Nobody Care with Yirayah crooning like a “Coming From Where Im From”-era Anthony Hamilton and 4Ize spitting about socio-political ills. Exile’s vocal snippets help illustrate his overall vision of Radio. He also uses snippets to assert his hip-hop braggadocio, express political discontent and share love amongst other things. One of the more memorable excerpts is the Uneducated Rapper skit which is hilarious!

If banging beats, creativity and soul is what you’re looking for, these two projects have it in abundance! Exile rocks you with his great compositions and by showing off his MPC playing skills and Floyd envelopes you in his melodious beats that create musical euphoria. Purchasing these two together is like buying the salt and pepper together. They’re good alone but much better when together. Enjoy!