The term “critic” makes me nervous. I would rather be a fan, one who appreciates rather than judges. In that spirit, after somewhat harshly disregarding several months full of new music in favor of a single epic release, I’d like to take a few quick looks back at some other recent albums that still need to get some shine.
Georgiavania, the debut of Willie Isz, a partnership between Khujo Goodie (of Goodie Mob) and lesser known Jneiro Jarel, takes the South and turns it a little weird.
The title track and others like “The Grussle” are hard bangers with a twist, but there are as many songs that stray further from typical Khujo material. Jneiro’s production contains futuristic echoes of the Organized Noize beats that ran so smoothly under Khujo’s gruff voice on prior Goodie Mob and other Dungeon Family records and he stands strong with his own Big Boi-esque flow. Together, the pair explore and expand on Southern conventions to produce an album that simultaneously induces heavy head nods and thought processes.
Though Goodie Mob will be playing a reunion show in Atlanta this weekend and are recording a new album together, the last decade or so has shown the once incredible group pursuing their own individual paths. Cee-Lo managed the greatest commercial success through his Gnarls Barkely partnership with DJ Dangermouse, and it’s hard not to have songs like “Crazy” in mind when listening to Georgiavania. What Gnarls might have done with pop music, Willie Isz does similarly, maybe more successfully, within the bounds of Southern Rap. Of course, by the project’s very nature, those bounds are questioned, pushed, and occasionally ignored as Jneiro grafts other genres onto more typical foundations to form his own unique, diverse soundscape as Willie Isz pulls listeners along for a surprising trip to the imaginary land of Georgiavania.
1 Comment
Josh Smith
I gotta listen to more of this, it’s dope. I would say that at this point though, the CunninLynguists have become the heirs to the mid to late 90’s Dungeon Family sound. Goodie broke up and Outkast moved in other directions, and CunninLynguists, they have taken pieces of those influences and made something of their own, which is incredibly creative and soulful. If you like this and don’t own A Piece of Strange and Dirty Acres by CL, I’d suggest giving those a listen.