Rating:
  Review Date: January 7, 2008
  Website: Wildchild Website
  Label: Fat Beats

Wildchild “Jack of All Trades” Album Review
Wildchild’s “The Jack of All Trades” begins with a series of voices all repeating the same question: “What hip hop means to me?” Instead of providing an answer, Wildchild proclaims, “We’ll be here all night for that one,” and then the music starts. From that point on, “The Jack of All Trades” seems to have the goal of defining what hip-hop means to Wildchild – and he utilizes a wide range of styles and musical directions in the process.

No matter what hip-hop means to you, this album probably touches upon it at least a little bit. Wildchild incorporates a handful of talented beatmakers, each using a multitude of different production techniques. He experiments with an uncountable number of rhyme deliveries and lyrical directions. And in the end, “The Jack of All Trades” succeeds in showing just how many different things hip-hop could mean – if we could just take the time to experiment with them all.

The album opens up with Jack of All Trades, a track that immediately allows Wildchild to display his diversity of flow – jumping back and forth between slow-paced, accentuated consonants to a fast-paced, choppy delivery. Fresh Air incorporates a smoother rhyme style with hypnotic vocals to create the epitome of a hip-hop feel good track, which Wildchild uses to show respect and praise to several masters of the old school. Then in Puppetmasters, he utilizes a vintage Madlib beat with an epic feel to demonstrate an impressive off beat flow that seems to hit the beat when you least expect it and move on. Verse two of that song gives a great example of this technique:

My policy using only soulful technology/
Plus adrenaline to transform this economy up to this broad to follow me/
‘Cause the meanings of astrology/
Scorpio forced the corporate to slow down syndrome/
When they couldn’t interpret or incorporate the flow/
Meeting after meeting/
Trying to break down A&R and drum and bass for reading/
With fake racy motivated greetings/
When did the metamorphosis take place?/
When did she lose the taste?/
Classified mission was to come out and make papes/

Boom Bap is a comical track modeled after the Oompa-Loompa song that continues Wildchild’s tendency to show love to old school, underground and true hip hop – a tendency also seen in many of the remaining tracks. Rest N Beats is a reminiscent track dedicated to J Dilla, while Love at 1^st Mic is a Com Sense type of track in which Wildchild speaks of hip-hop as if it were a woman. My favorite of these reminiscent tracks is Da Herc Dance – a tribute to DJ Kool Herc. In this song, Wildchild drops the following verse encouraging hip-hoppers to get to know the father of hip-hop and the movement he gave birth to:

Side to side – that’s the description of the pawn/
This dance was created to feel the emotion of the song/
Named after the one – The One! – known as the father/
You don’t even know what he’s done dog? Don’t even bother/
Doing this/
Fraudulent ain’t true in this/
None of your crew will be missed/
Get out of my airspace so we can continue moving our wrists/
Like turntablists on the dance floor/
The Herc was meant to give you back what you ask for/
Innovation – surpass your expectation/
Throw up your peace or a fist up for the whole Zulu Nation/

Wildchild then expands on his love for true hip-hop by including a handful of songs featuring a long list of classic underground and old school hip-hop artists – all slinging rhymes back and forth over head nodding beats. How We Do features Souls of Mischief. Ox to the D features Frank-n-Dank. The League features greats Special Ed, Masta Ace, Percee P and MC Lyte over a horn-dominated Madlib beat. And Eyes Wide Shut features Oh No and MED.

The remaining tracks stand out because of their unique experimentation of flows and rhyme styles. Custom Love introduces another unique rhyme approach in which Wildchild makes you think he’s speaking the intro until you realize that he’s using a fast-spoken, conversational tone type of flow throughout the entire song. Interviews allows Wildchild to demonstrate his ability to conquer a more battle rap approach. And Day N’ The Funk lets us hear Wildchild with a slower, more introspective flow and seemingly more heartfelt content. Verse two in that track is my favorite verse on the album:

Every move is a hustle to stack them chips/
Cats in psychiatric wards losing their grips/
B-boys defying gravity – power moves and flips/
Freaks speaking with their body instead of their lips/
Back when slaves would rebel get slapped with whips/
Now stray bullets from gunfire from Bloods and Crips/
Man’s fascination over a broad that strips/
Gambling your money away in Vegas, buying a gun and calling it quits/
Girls tricking at night relying on tips/
They hide away in the day fearing signs of apocalypse/
Holding on with a tight grip to their crucifix/
Hearing death calling out asking for a chance to fix/

Overall, there is not a dull moment on this album. Wildchild shows that he is indeed a “Jack of All Trades” by giving numerous examples of his ability to switch up sounds, flows and lyrical themes to create a futuristic collaboration that still serves as an effective tribute to the old school. I highly recommend picking up a copy of this one and giving it a couple spins – I guarantee you will be able to appreciate its balance and innovation. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. Jack of All Trades (prod. Astroblack)
2. Fresh Air (f/Georgia Anne Muldrow, prod. Lab Technicians)
3. Puppet Masters (f/Prince Po, prod. Madlib)
4. Boom Bap
5. Custom Love (prod. Georgia Anne Muldrow)
6. How We do (f/Souls of Mischief, prod. Quiroga)
7. Da Herc Dance (prod. Oh No)
8. Ox to tha D (prod. Black Milk, f/Frank-n-Dank)
9. The League (prod. Madlib, f/Special Ed, Masta Ace, Percee P, & MC Lyte)
10. Day N The Funk (f/Georgia Anne Muldrow)
11. Interviews (prod. Black Milk)
12. Rest N Beats (prod. Oh No)
13. Love at 1st Mic (prod. Black Milk)
14. Eyes Wide Shut (prod. Madlib, f/Oh No & MED)
15. The League Remix (prod. Kev Brown, f/Special Ed, Masta Ace, Percee P, & MC Lyte)