Hangar 18
Sweep The Leg
Definitive Jux
By Tom Jonze
Hangar 18’s second album, Sweep The Leg, does not fall into the dreaded sophomore slump because it follows the same formula yielding the same successes and failures as their debut. The most successful of the Jukies, namely El-P, Aesop Rock and Cage, all mix dope flows with great lyrical concepts. The loquacious MC’s Windnbreeze and Alaska have dope double-time flows that often tag team for added effect. Unfortunately their mind-numbingly fast flows leave little residual impact; their concepts are lost in the, um, lyrical sea. Producer paWL mines the 80s and 90s retro-synth sounds creating some truly hipster clash-ups. Hangar 18 is most successful when paWL leaves his beats sparse allowing the raps to take on more of a musical connotation.
Their first single (?!) from this album is “Baking Soda,” an ode to their ‘cracked out’ flows, is a redundant, pointless return to one of their better tracks from the debut. “Beat Slope” was the hip-hop equivalent of a few lines of cocaine. Fast frenetic flows tossed over a dark and tense but ultimately still enjoyable beat (hey, I’m not promoting coke but people return a second time for a reason and it’s not because they like bloody noses and being broke.) “Watchoself” contains a dope 8-bit beat but it is wasted with dull and forgettable positive lyrics. Advocating self-control and direction in today’s world is a good thing, no doubt, but just staying off heroin while living in the suburbs or sitting around watching too much TV isn’t exactly uplifting. A guest appearance by Slug from Atmosphere is over another paWL success in the beat-sphere but the song itself is marred by 3 terrible short stories; Windnbreeze “takes one for the team,” Sluggo robs a chick (something his self-deprecating self will no doubt regret and write 10 songs about for his next record,) and Alaska’s wifey is a semi-retarded chick only to leave her at the alter “all because [he’s] a diiiick.” Similarly the first of two Blockhead guest appearances is another fantastic beat tainted more vapid lyrics.
That’s not to say that Hangar 18 is without some success. The first and last songs, “Highly Anticipated” and “Last Stop” respectively, are minimal beats with entertaining double-time, tag-team lyrical performances. There’s a few other tunes throughout that also follow this formula for success: “…That I Know Of,” “Really Wide,” and “Think Big.” The three standout tracks from the record though are a bit of a departure from their formula. “Room To Breathe” is Blockhead in his signature moody jazz form that is, thankfully, complimentary to Alaska and Windnbreeze on this occasion (and also a welcome departure from their quirky funk.) “Sad” contains the most honest (yet not corny) lyrics to grace a Hangar 18 record which paired with a more unique shuffling beat from paWL. Chin Chin makes “Feet To Feet” worth listening to with its southern blues organ and big sound; musically speaking it is the most outstanding track on the album.
Some of the tunes are good enough to pop on the random mix to lighten the mood or blow someone’s mind. Some other tunes give a glimpse of “the artists that could be.” Ultimately though there’s not enough here to consider Sweep The Leg anything more than OK.
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