oh no

Raise your hand if you've heard of Madlib...Okay, not bad. Raise your hand if you've heard of Stones Throw records... Hmm, still not too bad. Raise your hand if you've heard of Madlib's lesser known but just as talented younger brother Oh No (born Michael Jackson. Yes, I said Michael Jackson), also signed to Stones Throw and whose contributions to their catalog is only out numbered by his better known older sibling...Just as I suspected, no response.

Folks, if you're a Madlib fan, if you enjoyed Mos Def's superb The Ecstatic, than you need to sit down with Oh No's Dr. No's Oxperiment. Heck, if you're a fan of world rhythms, soulful hip-hop and good music in general you should spend some time with this album. You don't have to like rap music, because there is no rapping here. These are short and sweet instrumentals, modeled after those of Madlib's Beat Konducta series and the late great J Dilla's Donuts. Two of the tracks were used on Mos Def's return to greatness this year. Basically, there is more than one good reason for Oh No to be more popular and this is my plug, in the hopes that some day he will be. Then I can say I knew of him before you and will have stopped listening to him because he's too popular.

I think his strong suite is his taste for all things international. Oxperiment incorporates several Middle Eastern sounds throughout. Using elements like Turkish guitars and Lebanese horns, Oh No ends up crafting a mosaic of world funk, psychedelic pop, and ancient rock. It's so well blended, however, and none of it really stands out on it's own. Honestly, records like this are what's saving hip-hop for me. This kind of innovation, this kind of crossover is what hip-hop music is about. When someone like Galt MacDermot, composer of Broadway musicals such as Hair, grants you open access to his catalog for remixing purposes, you are stretching the bounds of DJing and the genre of hip-hop. That's what Oh No did with MacDermot's material on Exodus into Unheard Rhythms in 2006. His latest, Dr. No's Ethiopium, is constructed from and around '60s and '70s Ethiopian jazz and funk (for fans of the Ethiopiques compilation series - which is another blog topic in itself - I think this is a must listen).

Oxperiment is still my favorite, however, and it should be yours too. I'm looking forward to what he does next. Keep an ear on Oh No, I think the dude's going places.