Decon Presents – Never Not Fresh

The independent label compilation seems to be as forgotten as the Rap soundtrack. Dr. Dre and Marley Marl proved it to be far more lucrative to do a producer’s compilation album than to settle for merely branding the label. Manhattan-based Decon Records has never been one to go with the grain though. From groundbreaking projects with RJD2 & Aceyalone to 88-Keys‘ vagina-inspired, Kanye West-presented Death Of Adam, Decon’s modus-operandi has been that substance drives the music. With Never Not Fresh, the five-plus year-old label looks back on some greatest hits, greatest misses, and a few things that they can really brag about.

Never Not Fresh is special for two reasons, and truly, two songs. Firstly, this is the first time a Jay Electronica solo song has been put on CD. “Exhibit A (Transformations)” , the Just Blaze-produced talk of the Internet 2008 is featured here. For anybody that’s never heard the finished mix in something beyond computer speakers, the New Orleans emcee shows the world why he may be one of the most intricate verse writers to hit the mainstream in nearly a decade. The other interesting song of note is RJD2’s “A Beautiful Mine,” perhaps better known as the theme to AMC’s Mad Men. For the Philadelphia producer who came up with MHz a decade ago, the cymbal-heavy song reveals so much more than many of us hear for 60 seconds on Sunday nights. The theme is a song, and hearing the transitions in full asserts that, even if Christina Hendricks still fills the mind also.

Although two songs might be selling points for Never Not Fresh, there’s plenty of other nuggets. Jurassic 5‘s “Ducky Boy” is a great reminder of the beautiful chemistry the six Los Angeles musicians maintained for over a decade, as Decon’s curated their legacy with box sets and Chali 2na releases. Skillz‘ “Take It Back” is another notch in the 15 year-post of the Virginia emcee bringing Battle-Rap bravado to the booth time and time again.

A considerable portion of the album are dedicated to one of Decon’s flagship artist through the last five years, Aceyalone. As he’s been since the early ’90s, the Freestyle Fellowship front-man is an acquired taste. This body of work shows his versatile from his Magnificent City work with RJD2 to some newer tracks with Haiku D’Etat, Casual, 2na and the Quannum family. This material, along with Chali 2na’s “Don’t Stop,” touch on Decon’s commitment to being bi-coastal. Zion I, Del and Dilated Peoples also round out the representation, although none are officially Decon artists.

It’s more likely that Never Not Fresh will be a specific vehicle to revisit when Hip Hop looks at Jay Electronica’s trajectory than it will be to add context to established veterans like Aceyalone and Chali 2na. Between the convenient appeal of the two talked-about tracks and the nice offering of catalog and new Decon looks, this compilation lives up to its name. As the Sony Red-distributed imprint creates opportunities that much of their competition simply could not, 2010 may prove to be instrumental to the true-school label.

Purchase Decon Presents: Never Not Fresh