Blackroc - Blakroc (2010)

Review By Andreas Heuer

2004 saw the release of Collision Course, a CD/DVD set featuring American nu-metal 'band' Linkin Park and self-anointed “best rapper alive” Jay-Z. It was the first time a rock/rap mash-up had been released as a legitimate commercial, mainstream venture and it was a success. A huge success.

It was catchy, slick and populous. 2009 saw the release of Blakroc, a similar sort of venture. Blakroc features the production and music of Akron blues duo The Black Keys, a fantastically authentic and mind-blowingly loud band who brought the grit and feel of Muddy Waters to the twenty-first century.

Blakroc also features some of the best and most credible rappers working today (and one who now resides, sadly, in the Great Stretch Hummer in the sky); Mos Def, the RZA, Raekwon, Pharoahe Monch, and Q-Tip all contribute rhymes. Blakroc, basically, is Collision Course's cooler cousin.

On an initial listen, one similar group project immediately springs to mind: N.A.S.A's The Spirit Of Apollo. Both Blakroc and Apollo feature collaborations between highly skilled rock musicians and pre-eminent hip hop artists, and both Blakroc and Apollo are fantastically executed.

Patrick Carney's strong drums carry a beat throughout, giving a more natural feel to what can often end up being a cold, sterile metronome in other hip hop. Dan Auerbach's guitar drives each track, metamorphosing from spacey to atmospheric to ragged to riff-heavy to, sometimes, everything at once.

The performances of the rappers are excellent and fit with the tone of the music perfectly. There are no weak moments, from the smooth opener 'Coochie' (which features lyrical contribution form Ludacris and Ol' Dirty Bastard) to closer 'Done Did It' (driven by a super-cool bass riff and the ridiculously entertaining flow of Baltimorean NOE).

Blakroc isn't ground-breaking, but it is authentic, creative, entertaining and very, very cool. On 'Dollaz & Sense', RZA and Pharoahe Monch claim that, “If it don't make dollars then it don't make sense”, but Blakroc isn't about the money. It's about the music.

RATING: 4 out of 5

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