A.J. CREW“You’re Doo,” Nightmares & Daydreams(both self-released)
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A hybrid house/rap beat, ringtone rave synths, an Auto-Tuned female vocal hook, a bunch of rhymes about clubs and women—in the hands of the Black Eyed Peas those elements add up to chart-dominating juggernauts as bland as they are popular. In the hands of Dude ‘n Nem, though, they add up to “Sounds Sexy,” which, while not exactly brilliant, is at least charming. Yeah, the single is an obvious attempt to get play in the clubs (and on the charts), and yeah, it’s a bummer to see the same two spectacular weirdos who gave us the giddily brilliant “Watch My Feet” taking their cues from master panderers like Will.i.am and company. But even when Dude ‘n Nem aim for middlebrow they throw in some stupid-smart kicks. The female vocals in the hook are in Spanish (or, in later versions, French, Hebrew, Portuguese, Hindi . . . ) and the duo respond in their own half of the chorus by admitting they have no idea what the woman’s saying. I can’t explain why, but that joke just doesn’t stop being funny to me.
MR. RUSSIATraining for the Gameshow Host(Lens)
Psalm One has been pretty quiet since 2006’s The Death of Frequent Flyer (Rhymesayers). That makes her an oddity at a time when other MCs seem to release new material every week—a situation that’s created such a glut of music online that an artist can be the hot new shit one month and a has-been the next. But the former chemist is a pretty unforgettable personality, straddling the line between backpacker and street rapper and earning her audience without stooping to Lil’ Kim-style sexploitation, so maybe she doesn’t have to worry about shelf life quite as much as the average MC. It’s good to have her back, and the time away doesn’t seem to have dulled her skills. On “Metro Puppy Love” she boasts about what a badass she is, gives women advice on playing with dudes’ minds, and gets loopily autobiographical—”I’m terrible / You know I’m so flaky / Croissant-style / Taters with the gravy.” (She’s the rare rapper who pronounces croissant the proper French way.) And check out the way she goes in on the organ-heavy beat to Drake’s “Uptown”—she tackles the song with a laid-back drawl that sounds like she isn’t even sweating it.
