Like any label that can last a decade, Def Jux has seen its share of changes. While many of its former artists remain close and amicable with El-P and his cult-followed imprint, the roster most certainly has changed. Aesop Rock [click to read] has remained the flagship Def Jux artist, as the label acquired Cage [click to read], Del The Funkee Homosapien [click to read] and Dizzee Rascal [click to read], while old friends RJD2, Mr. Lif [click to read] and Murs [click to read] pursued paperwork at other labels. The success of the recent crop has been recognized but often lost in the shadows some of the most groundbreaking music to ever come from the island of Manhattan as recently as a half-decade ago. Definitive Jux Presents IV is the fourth time the gang has unveiled its current projects, attitude and the direction to come. Without the allure of the old cast, can the show still maintain its ratings?
One artist that will always carry the weight for Def Jux is its equally moody and musical founder, El-P. The compilation closes with “How To Serve Man (The Meanest Things I’d Never Say).” As the title tips to, the Fort Greene veteran emcee/producer rants with what could be a break-up note, a suicide letter, or simply put, those things that are kept behind sealed lips for sake of conscience. As proof in 2007’s I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead [click to read], the Company Flow alum is evolving, and while his recent deliveries are akin to P.O.S.’s [click to read] Punk poetry, the music boasts more layers, but is carefully tempered to fit a song structure more than any of El’s Rap work to date. Another notable of this release is Camu Tao’s “When You’re Going Down.” The MHz [click to read] member passed away early in 2008 from cancer, and left behind an album or more’s worth of experimental production, singing and rapping. The lone offering here mixes all three mediums in a melodic way that is comparable to Latryx’s abilities to do so, still defiantly different – with Tao’s emphasis on lyricism and cadence. The song hints at the kind of free form approach to music that built Def Jux, and though it’s outside the box, the glimpse shows that Camu Tao’s best work may be soon released.
The Weathermen also make a reconnection. This time however, the lineup that once included emcees from Philadelphia, Ohio, New Jersey and New York is reduced to the lone Def Jukies affiliated: El, Cage and Aesop. “Reports Of A Possible Kidnapping” contains vicious vocals from the trio, and a thick beat from Aesop and El, but bares no resemblance to the “5 Left In The Clip” years where independent Hip Hop yielded an unpublicized super-group of punchline perfectionists. Of the lesser known and current Jukies, Yak Ballz and Rob Sonic contribute to multiple tracks on the album [click to listen], as Chin Chin, Central Services and Hail Mary Mallow fill out most of the album’s 12 tracks. The lone outstanding early performance comes courtesy of Despot, a Lo Lives crew member. “Look Alive” packs the cynicism that Aesop and Cage set the stander for, but the Queens emcee rhymes in a timing and cadence that shows his allegiance to the early ‘90s greats. Meanwhile, E*Vax’s string production is something beautifully tangible to both Indie Rock crowds and the traditional Hip Hop heads.
Where Def Jux is headed, nobody knows. Every few years, a release like Hell’s Winter [click to read] by Cage or the aforementioned El-P album come and remind us quickly of the Lower Manhattan label’s potential for greatness. Still, the consistency of the early decade years, or the feeling that “Def Jux was the place to be” is a bit muddied in the departures and lackluster one-offs from artists who can’t deconstruct the meanings of pigeons or tear apart Brian Auger organ riffs quite the same. One thing is clear though, whether or not the future is bright, the Jukies are still wearing shades.
