Blakroc (and Blakroc) might be the coolest blending of sounds in some time, and maybe the best 'white people' meets hip hop project of all time (sorry Aerosmith and Run DMC, sorry Fred Durst and Method Man). One of the great things is how authentic it feels: Dan Auerbach throws down rippin' Black Keys beats and the Wu-Tang Clan (etc.) respond with some their richest and rawest of verses. There's no compromise, only oddly harmonious collaboration.
Mos Def eases in with a tightrope walker's confidence ("On the Vista"), letting y'all know that this about talent meets talent. But it's hard to top Raekwon's "Stay Off the Fuckin' Flowers," who kicks his cocaine adventures over a Woodstock jam--an alternative take on history where the civil rights movement happened thirty years earlier and people were ready for him by the 1970's. I mean, how can you argue with urban non-sequiturs like "Green pea soup/Corrine coup/In the front/With twelve rickshaws ready to front"). Jim Jones, Q-Tip, and RZA come along for the party as well, tossing in their own quality efforts.
This slick little disc isn't perfect, but it's an exciting glimpse into non-cringeworthy rap-rock potential to come. I'll be waiting for Part II.
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