Configa and DJ Views team up on “The Year After”
New Split LP explores huge range of sonic landscape crafting and vocal delivery
Like all articles on The New Haberdasher, this story is presented to you for free. If you like what I do, consider supporting my work with a small monetary contribution at my Patreon and thank you.
Throughout the history of recorded music, there have been these things called “Splits”: either an EP or LP, splits are records that feature more than one artist, but are not the same as VA records, which features different artists on each track. A Split LP used to have music from one artist on one side of the record and than a different artist on the other side. I think that splits used to be used to get the music of one artist exposed to the fans of the other artist, and to offset the cost of recording a whole LP, by sharing it between two musicians. One split LP I can think of off the top of my head is the Rancid/NoFX split called BYO Split Series III. On this record, Rancid did NoFX songs on their side, and NoFX did Rancid songs on their side.
Splits are most often used in punk and hardcore. You don’t tend to see a lot of splits outside of that genre. But today we are reviewing what is essentially a new Split LP from UK producer Configa who’s work I’ve reviewed before on the New Haberdasher, and up-and-coming Australian born, Tokyo-based DJ Views on his first LP outing. Their newest release, called The Year After, released on April 30, and which you can get on Bandcamp, is a split because it features the two production styles of these two producers, one who is quite prolific and the other who has a lot of experience, but is just now cutting his chops in the recording game.
From the outset, The Year After is a hardcore, albeit somewhat dark Boombap Hip Hop record. There is certainly not any “party rap” on this album, nor are there any trap beats, within miles of this record. All beats are hard core and hard hitting. I would certainly expect nothing less from Configa, who has long been a champion of that old school sound in Hip Hop which still rings clear in the underground, but it’s also nice to hear that new producers like DJ Views are making music along these lines as well, rather than taking the more common approach that remains ubiquitous in more commercially oriented rap.
The record is simply loaded with guest appearances, from some new MCs, as well as a number of longtime veterans. Among the new class, you will hear verses from MCs like Jarmel Reece, DA Donnyboy, and Fro Magnum Man, among many others. But you also get names which have been in the game for decades, most notably Ruste Juxx, El Da Sensei, Speech (who apparently wrote and recorded his verse and hook on “I Want U 2 Make It” in just three hours), Ras Kass, and Queensbridge vet Craig G. There are so many guest appearances on this record, you might be tempted to think it was a VA album after all.
But really, the record is about the two different production styles belonging to each of these producers. Both bring that hard core style to their music, but there are a lot more differences than similarities. Configa, who has been making records for two decades now, has such a rich sonic texture to his beats and I would say a fuller sound. I have compared his work in the past to music by The Quakers and MF Doom, in his use of lush production, samples which bring the mind back to the rollerskate, Philly Soul era, and heavy bass-driven beats. His music presents a multi-layer, high-relief and deeply textured landscape of sound that is interesting in and of itself, over which the MC who happens to be on his track can flow, soar and dive to his or her heart’s content.
Compared to Configa, DJ Views’ tracks tend to be more along the lines of music that allows the MC’s to shine. Some of the dopest rhymes on the record are on DJ Views’ tracks, simply because the backing track tends to have more of a rolling prairie feel compared to Configa’s Nordic fjords. On Dj Views’ production, you feel like you get more of the MC’s coming forward, and taking the spotlight. This is a totally different, and equally valid approach to making records: DJ Views creates music for the talent on the mic to stand out, while Configa places the MC as a more wholistic component to the whole track.
These two strikingly different approaches to making hip hop have their roots back in the dawn of Hip Hop, and were expressed in the difference of DJ oriented tracks, which involved a lot of cutting and mixing and sampling and overdubbing, versus the MC oriented tracks, where the Singers took the spotlight and delivered scalpel sharp lyrics that were socially heavy, or had humor in them which made audiences crack up when they heard them. Both trends in hip hop have been with us the entire time, and putting both next to one another on the same record, really gives us a more complete vision of where underground hip hop is today.
My two favorite tracks on the record were, hands down, Configa’s
“Funeral March” and DJ Views’ “On the Dot”. Both of these tracks were killer for totally different reasons. “Funeral March” contains some of the most complex lyrical rhythms I’ve heard in a very long time delivered by Chino XL, who we last heard from on the the February release of ConfigHas Crates. Chino really leaves nothing at all on the field, as he comes out blasting and just never ever quits. While I know I just said Configa’s tracks seem to be more Producer oriented, but on this track, Chino XL just burns the whole place down, and one is left wondering held onto the mic so long when his delivery was pure fire.
Played next to this song, DJ Views’ track “On the Dot” features Brooklyn underground MC Ruste Juxx. The lyrics on this track, along with the beat, hearken back to the old analog tape days. I could easily imagine this song playing on a copied cassette, which had been passed around from friend to friend to friend to block party to house Party to DJ mix, etc. It’s a kick ass song to boot, and Ruste Juxx shows off immense talent and control on the mic. This was an excellent pairing for this song, and unlike some of the other tracks on this record, is just the MC and the Producer, so it stood out that way.
One standout track on this record was the song “I want U 2 Make It” which talks about the things people who are interested in making it in Hip Hop to reach their dreams. It requires a dose of realism to realize that not everyone does make it, and those who do often don’t get lucky to meet a major producer, but have to work their asses off. I also liked the spacy vibe of the aptly titled “Galactic Rap”, which featured flows reminiscent of Pharoahe Monch and Royce da 5'9"and talks about space aliens. Its so nice to have a record that doesn’t lag in the middle, but keeps it interesting after the booming top of the setlist. I also give “Dangerous on the Ave” high marks for its muddy AF bass backing production and “Different Timezones” props for Craig G’s perfectly matched delivery over DJ Views’ track.
I appreciated the verses from Speech and HaStyle, as well as the singer Sulpacio Jones who has done work with Configa in the past. These lyricists add so much value to what they do, it is always such a treat to listen to their work. Craig G’s work is excellent of course and shows what decades of experience still sound like. This record has a lot of really good work on it.
If I would have one hit against the record, I would say the number of guest appearances on it, while impressive, was a little jarring. Keeping track of who was MCing on these cuts was a task in and of itself, and with so many good verses to choose from, I was almost left wishing that the work was a bit more focused in the lyrics department. There were a number of artists I really wanted to hear more from: I think of three MCs in particular. I would have liked more from Fro Magnum Man, whose voice is so distinctive and stands out on every track I hear from him, HaStyle, who has a LOT of work out there, both with Configa and as a soloist but really is so impressive in his delivery, and Speech, who I absolutely respect and appreciate for his flow and his consciousness. It’s not a huge deal, and should not keep anyone from listening to this record, but I think it really would have improved this Split LP, if the producers had chosen maybe fewer guest MCs, and had them on their tracks more often.
Generally speaking, the value of this record is in its innovative approach to making a split LP in Hip Hop. So often, creative folks really do like to shine, but these two producers on this record share the limelight and compliment one another’s work. Configa’s work and DJ Views’ work is in many ways similar, but there is a noticeable difference in production techniques and sonic focus in the songs to make a varied and diverse sound that is probably unlike any other hip hop record you will hear this year.
I say it’s worth a listen, especially the tracks I’ve mentioned, as well as the remix at the end of the record of the lead track, just to hear a different take on the material. You can get your copy at bandcamp, where I tell all supporters of independent music to go for their tunage, because they support independent artists best. But you can also listen to The Year After right here, below, from Bandcamp. If you like that boombap, hardcore hiphop you will not be disappointed with this new one from Configa and DJ Views.
Like all articles on The New Haberdasher, this story is presented to you for free. If you like what I do, consider supporting my work with a small monetary contribution at my Patreon and thank you.
