Straight out of Pittsburgh, PA, it’s Charon Don and DJ
Huggy, one of the few deejay/rapper duos in the modern era of Hip Hop.
With notable appearances by artists such as Rah Digga and Killah
Priest, it’s clear the two came to do business – so let’s get right to
it, shall we?
The album starts of with the energetic and intense “Just Wanna Know,”
which features Reef The Lost Cauze. The song addresses nosy
folk with humorous contempt: “They wanna know, ‘how you get your album out,
how you get it in stores?/When you hittin’ the road, how you be getting on
tours?…What’s your sales today, how much you Soundscan?/Why you think the
underground don’t got no brown fans?/What’s your next move, what’s the next
step?/Why you still got a job, you ain’t seen them checks yet?/Why you think
these wack cats seem to double your sales?/Damn nigga, how the fuck you get in
XXL?'”
The next track is “Ready Or Naught,” which, while a little slower than the
previous song, packs quite a wallop. It makes one wonder if Charon Don
plans to turn down the ferocity of his emceeing at any point. Reassuring in
that respect is “Up
In Here,” which features both an excellent display of braggadocio
and an infectious beat. Things get back to being intense with “Stop(Best Beware),”
as Charon’s yelling just barely begins to get tiresome.
Thankfully, as if on cue, the song is followed by the far more laid back “Ghetto.”
Although it’s not exactly relaxing, the guitar strums in the background are a
welcome change of pace, as is Charon’s decision to tone it
down.
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One of the album’s highlights is “Observers,” featuring Killah
Priest. The beat is one part spaced out and one part sinister as Charon
Don and Priest just tear through their verses. Next
up is “Motherless
Child,” which would be better left off of the album as it
contributes very little in terms of content, while simultaneously detracting
from cohesiveness. Fortunately, all the rest of the tracks are extremely solid,
highlighted by “Make
it Good” and “Act Like You Know.”
As far as production goes, the only drawback on this album is that a few of
the samples have already very obviously already been flipped, sometimes making
it seem like you’ve paid for the same song twice. For example, “Just Wanna Know” features
the same sample Pharoahe Monch used for “Let’s Go.” As
a consequence, the album sounds very familiar. The more astute listeners out
there will assuredly pick up on this; if it’s the sort of thing that really bothers
you, it could be very detrimental to your listening experience. Personally, I
think most of the albums’ beats are a damn sight better than most of the shit
out right now – “Act
Like You Know’s” is so dope it’s criminal – so these recycled
samples are (much) more often than not forgivable.
If there was any measure of justice in this world, Charon Don and
DJ Huggy would get a lot of attention for Art of Life, which
is one of the dopest releases of the year. Do yourself a favor and cop an album
that’s not only enjoyable nearly the whole way through, but very memorable. A
rare combination of lyricism, humor and content, backed by excellent production
will most assuredly keep this one on your playlist for a good while.
