Dudley Perkins is not a great singer by any typical metric
of ability, but he has a loose, off-the-cuff informality to the proceedings
that makes his singing records, which are released under his birth name, some
of his best work. It helps that the two Dudley Perkins records on Stones Throw,
A Lil’ Light and Expressions (2012 A.U.), are fully produced by Madlib, who turned
in some of his career best beats (check “Falling” if you need some proof). So
news today of a new Dudley Perkins/Madlib collaboration was greeted with
excitement among the typically fanatical fans of the two artists.
“State of Emergency” is something of a bait-and-switch. Madlib
the Bad Kid provided a track that is somewhere between the stuff on his Beat Konducta in Africa record and his
more electronically-tinged stuff from O.J.
Simpson and Low Budget High Fi Music.
And Dudley is nowhere to be found. Instead, he got blunted enough for Declaime
to come out and rip the beat to shreds in the way only he can. Declaime has
never had much concern for flow, and his voice doesn’t really lend itself to
any kind of lyrical gymnastics. He works with what he has, and drops weeded
knowledge in his own deceptively simple way. Yet there is an urgency here that
isn’t usually present in his recent work. Things are dire, and he intends to
spread the word to those not already in the know.
Madlib and Declaime is every bit as potent of a combination
as Madlib and Dudley Perkins is. Illmindmuzik
and Andsoitisaid stand as testament
to tha . It seems as if Dudley/Declaime is intent on blurring the lines between
his names at this stage in his career, which can only be a good thing. Dudley’s
new album Dr. Stokely will be out on
Mello Music Group on November 29. No word on how much Madlib will be involved,
but he makes so much music every day that he could easily have given up
hundreds of beats for the project. One can only hope.
And here's "Falling" just because.
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