bookstores are the most interesting places on boring public holidays. went to Kinokuniya and MPH Midvalley, browsed like crazy, soaked up names i've never heard before, and discovered new categories like 'Chic Lit' which really sounded more perverse than it should when said out loud. now if only books didn't cost fifty bucks a piece. friggin' profiteers.
bought this CD - Malaysian Fusion X II, which is a collection of local hip-hop. running the range from hardcore right on to slow jams, it's a pretty good listen, and bodes well for the local scene. i would say the quality is world-class, lah, comparable even to those Nelly and 50 Cent tracks we get all the time. this deserves airplay, u know. we even get some Cantonese, Melayu, and Tamil innit. cool. the mid-tempo tracks will blow ya away, i tell ya.
if there's one complaint... sampling and being inspired by other artistes is one thing, but this CD is a lil too much. it's my opinion that there's there's one too many tracks where it sounds like remakes of past Cypress Hill / Pyscho Realm / Cypress family posse hits. for instance, the gun-loading sounds from Cypress' classic songs? they're here as well. how relevant is that in this country where we just don't carry guns??? the references to Eastside / Westside are quite hilarious too. glamourising violence, are we? that stupid quarrel with so many dead... next thing u know, our locals will be rappin' about the Blood, the Crips, and the Spics. ho hum.
apart from all the usual b-boy posturing, at least there are some socially-conscious messages here too, like anti-war and the like. we're all creatures after some peace and lovin', aren't we...
friday nite, dudes... off to telawi we go, eh ; ) if only the rain will let up for a few hours! taaa
