Rating:
  Review Date: February 14, 2007
  Website: Arecee Website
  Label: Independent

Arcee “Background” Album Review
I got attention deficit disorder like a motherfucker, man. Not all the time … just recently. I can’t seem to concentrate on anything, and I damn sure ain’t getting any work done. My mind keeps slipping away from what I’m trying to focus on. I get half way through a song, start daydreaming, and miss the second and third verses.  

Before I know it, I’ve listened to an entire album and don’t have any idea whether or not I want to review it, or what to talk about in my review. Like when you read a couple pages of a book only to realize you don’t remember a thing you just read.

I guess I got a lot on my mind that’s been distracting me lately. My drunken roommate is getting on my nerves with his sloppy-staggering-repetitious ass. I been sleeping on the couch after finding out that my bedroom has simultaneous mold and radon gas problems, which are causing major allergy and respiratory afflictions and could lead to lung cancer in the future. On Saturday, I broke myself at Vail, Colorado while trying to be cute on my snowboard and ended up in the emergency room with a collapsed lung. Obviously, this prevents me from smoking herb or squares, which is causing much unneeded stress. I don’t have health insurance (chi-ching!), just ran out of Percocet last night, and Advil just ain’t doing the job right. And now, these things are all I can seem to think about when trying to work through the stack of CDs I have waiting for review.

I guess that’s why I like Arecee’s “Background” so much. This is the quickest-moving, fastest-changing, least boring hip-hop album I’ve heard in awhile, and it just naturally keeps my attention. “Background” fits over twenty tracks in just forty minutes. Half of the songs are just one verse long. A couple others just have Arecee flowing over recycled Timbaland or Dre beats, as if to say, “Look at what I can do over your beats, homie.” The rest switch between talented producers, lyrically-splendid emcees and different sounds and vibes, allowing the listener to avoid the boredom that often comes with 20-plus tracks of repetitive concepts, themes, sounds or directions.

Arecee is a dope lyricist and producer. His flow and intonation are reminiscent of Aesop Rock, while his lyrics cover a wide range of topics and points of view. And without a doubt, this cat has personality. But what impressed me most about Arecee was his satirical stances on issues of national and world importance.

Satire in Hip-Hop
Satire is a technique used in a variety of performing arts with the purpose of using humor and wit to criticize an event, individual or group in a clever manner. In many situations, this consists of pretending to be or acting out the characteristics of the person you are criticizing in order to demonstrate their low qualities, unintelligence or hypocrisy. From my viewpoint, satire is a technique not used enough in hip-hop.

The best modern day example of satirical humor is probably Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, which is arguably right up there with South Park as the funniest and most subtly-conscious comedy program on television. The show’s anchor Steven Colbert styles his show as a parody of such political opinion shows as The O’Reilly Factor, and pretends to be a right-winged conservative pundit in a clever manner that actually accomplishes the task of showing the holes in the conservative argument. It’s really fucking funny, too.

In a similar fashion, Arecee’s satiric alter ego is named Cowboy Clark, and is a self-proclaimed “Bush Lover” who defends the Iraq situation, George W. Bush’s social and political stances, and is an avid fan of Fox News. His MySpace page is covered with pro-America and pro-military propaganda, as well as a friend list including Bush supporters, country singers and the Republican Elephant, many of whom appear to actually believe this Cowboy Clark is a real person. In reality, it’s all an example of clever satire from a hip-hop point of view.

So whether you’re a fan of George W. Bush, conscious underground hip-hop or satirical comedy, or just somebody looking for a cure for that attention-deficit problem, check out Arecee, Cowboy Clark and their exceptional new album “Background.” It gives a rare glimpse into the thoughts of a hip-hopper who is either insane, brilliant, or destined to be a star. For more information on Cowboy Clark’s main man, click here. Peace.