On Exodus Into Unheard Rythms the musical talents of two great producers from different eras and genres, Oh No and Galt Macdermot, have been fused together to create an album’s worth of true hip hop listening pleasure. This should come as no great surprise if you are familiar with the history of the two masterminds behind the music on this release.

For those that don’t know, Oh No (real name Michael Jackson) is an emcee and producer from the west coast of America who is signed to the respected “Stones Throw” label. Oh No also happens to be the younger brother of the legendary producer Madlib, who ever since 1999 has been at the top of many peoples “hip-hop producers to check for” list.

Oh No’s beats on this album are based on samples from the previous works of the Canadian producer and pianist Galt Macdermott. Galt, who is now in his 70’s, is probably best known in mainstream society as the composer/producer behind the soundtrack of the Hair musical, which includes the songs “Aquarius” and “Let the Sunshine In”. Within hip hop circles Galt is revered for his releases which have been sampled to provide the basis for tracks by DJ Shadow, Busta Rhymes and the Beatnuts, amongst others.

On this, his second album, Oh No’s contribution is mostly from behind the boards, in the role of producer, where he provides an absorbing array of beats for the emcees to do their thing over. The vocals on the album are provided by an impressive line-up of big name emcees and singers spanning both coasts of the united states, including Cali Agents, AG, Buckshot (of Black Moon), Wise Intelligent, Aloe Blacc, LMNO, Vast Aire, Murs, Wildchild, MED, Wordsworth and a host of others.

It is difficult to describe Oh No’s production without comparison to his brother Madlib, and this is a good reference point to start describing Oh No’s work. Oh No chops and twists the samples lifted from Mr Macdermot’s releases into a captivating, hypnotic tapestry where horns, piano and string samples interact nicely with Oh No’s head nod inspiring boom bap beats. In other places sampled female hooks, organs, flutes, violins, harps and other instrumentation float through over muddy basslines, while atmospheric sounds swirl around in the background. This is an album that needs to be listened to on a decent sound system in surrounds where you can relax and focus on the intracies of the production.

Standout tracks include the song T. Biggums, which features the soulful stylings of Dudley Perkins & singer Georgia Anne Muldrow, who tell the sad tale of the drug dependant young Tryone Biggums over a beautiful piano loop based beat. The story is told from the perspectives of both Tyrone and his loving mother, who has all but given up after trying all that she can to be supportive and helpful to a son who can’t seem to help himself.

The first full-length track on the album (after the intro), Beware, hits you with a pure west coast neck-snapper of a beat, with a big bassline and horn stabs providing a funky background for the Cali Agent emcees (Planet Asia and Rasco) to flex their well delivered brag and boast rhymes over. Rasco sum’s it up best with a line from the first verse where he says “Oh No laying down heat”.

On Smile a Little bit  Posdnous (of de la soul fame) comes correct with the intelligent word play and free roaming lyrics that we have come to expect of him, reminiscing on subjects including the lessons that he has learnt during his life and long career in the music industry.

One criticism that is often levelled at producer album’s featuring different guest emcees on each track is a lack of depth and consistency in the rhymes of the emcees. This is evident on this long (22 track) album on a few occasions, where the contributions of certain emcees do not shine as brightly as Oh No’s beats. The LMNO featured track Hank is an example of a very nice beat wasted by a rhymer who plods through his uninspired verses. Thankfully the occasional below par contributions are more than balanced out by impressive performances from the majority of vocalists, and the fact that at all times we are able to focus on Oh No’s captivating production ensures an enjoyable listening experience.

We can only hope that Oh No embarks upon another Exodus sometime soon, and I’m sure that when he returns we will all be saying “Oh yes”.

Rating: 7.25/10

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http://www.teknoscape.com.au/forums/showthread.php?p=1154942

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Beware feat. Cali Agents
3. Black feat. Wise Intelligent
4. Get Yours feat. Buckshot
5. Interlude
6. To Be An MC feat. K Jay
7. To Be An MC Reprise feat. K Jay
8. Keep Tryin’ feat. Roc C and Aloe Blacc
9. Know Better feat. Wordsworth
10. Second Chance feat. Aloe Blacc
11. Low Coastin’ feat. AG
12. Hank feat. LMNO
13. No Aire feat. Vast Aire
14. Cut Session feat. DJ Romes
15. Smile a Lil Bit feat. Posdnuos
16. Keep It Lit feat. Med and Wildchild
17. Mama Skit: Callin’ in T. for Some Food
18. T. Biggums feat. Dudley Perkins and Georgia Anne Muldrow
19. In This feat. Murs
20. Lights Out feat. Frank N Dank
21. Basement (Interlude)
22. Coffee Cold feat. Fergus MacRoy

This was a RTRFM Full Frequency album feature.