2010 AOTY so far: Strong Arm Steady & Madlib - In Search of Stoney Jackson

DAAAAAAAAMMMNNNNN!!!

i got this yesterday and this is the only thing ive been playing for the last 36 hours. Madlib is a monster...time for the review


So technically this album was available digitally at the end of 2009, but i dont buy digital or DL albums i plan on buying so this is the first i heard this album, and also im pretty sure the tracklisting is slightly different than the other one and theres some more songs on the physical copy.

A lot of heads might be thinking Madlib is "too soft" to work with SAS, but let me tell you the match works perfectly. Not only will underground Madlib fans be pleased but west coast fans of trunk rattling music will be satisfied. Theres songs on here with the booming bass sound of the west and theres others that any Madlib fan will instantly be able to jump right into. Madlib employs tons of different sounds from who knows where and creates one of the most musically cohesive albums ive heard in a LONG time.

The album starts with the chilled out Best of Times ft. Phonte...smooth beat typical of Madlib and a dope as song. Then we get into the smoked out "Cheeba Cheeba" with a pounding bass over a dope ass vocal sample, SAS spit about weed and the song is just dope. Now we get into the next track "Chitlins & Pepsi" featuring Planet Asia. Madlib definitely shines on this joint, vocal sample, funky bassline, with a dripping piano loop perfectly mashed together...this is a beat fellas (btw Planet Asia kills it)

"Telegram" is an interlude with a piano loop and a vocal sample...Kanye dreams of doing beats Lib makes on this album. "Questions" ft. Planet Asia and Fashawn is another banger everyone comes correct, the album continues on with crazy different samples but it all sounds soo good.

"Pressure" ft. Sick Jacken is a song with bangin drums, a heavy guitar, and what sounds like the same sample Black Milk uses on the song "Bounce" meshed together for a fast paced banger. Then comes "True Champs" which switches from a uptempo bass heavy sound to a perfectly layered "breakdown" with a nice bass line and good scratching. "Needle in the Haystack" is a high sped horn driven beat with what sounds like a monkey? noise blended perfectly in the background, oh and did i mention Guilty Simpson bodies this track like Mike Tyson

Eventually we get to "Ambassadors" ft. Planet Asia which is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Planet Asia comes in hard, the snare is definitely on point in this track, and the bass thumps...song uses a rattly synthy sample i cant put my finger on it but its dope.

Finally after an interlude and another dope song we get to "Two Pistols". This song is fucking ridiculously good. What sounds like a demonic church choir chanting in the background over a crazy sounds i dont even know where the fuck it came from, SAS bless this track perfectly. The cohesiveness of this group on the mic shines especially on this track and throughout the whole album.

The only complaint people may have with this album is that the lyrics may not be amazing, BUT it doesnt take away from the album at all, if anything there smooth flows add to Madlib's smoked out beats. Lyrically, theres battle raps, weed raps, sex raps, etc. Its a fun album and thats all its meant to be, and musically it's amazing. If you're into beats this album is all you can ask for an more. There are a lot of guests, Planet Asia is featured heavily (which is always a plus with me) but Madlib is the star here and the vocalists are damn good for these beats. I still have to digest the lyrics more since ive been so focused on the beats, but i dont see the rating i give this album go down any time soon. Also, i heard there may be some recycled beats from his instrumental albums, but i dont buy those anyway so this is all brand new to me.

I can see everyone from Dwight to yOgi enjoying this album, theres songs for everyone, and Madlib once again proves (which he's done for the last 15+ years) that he is one of the god producers, yet people still try to write him off

Final Thoughts:

Production: 5/5
Lyrics/Vocals: at least 4.25/5

OVERALL: 4.5/5



buy this album, now

Not much competition for Hip-Hop albums yet, at least no that I know of. It's one of only two Hip-Hop albums I've heard so far this year, the other being theGODleeBarnesLP by Blu, and they're both very good albums (once you get past the poor sound quality of Blu's), though I guess that Blu might not be considered a proper album.

I'm gonna order this now. Really dig madlibs work on madvillain and lootpack joints. Good review

Yeah, this is a pretty solid album. Madlib really does shine on it.

gametheory91 wrote:

Yeah, this is a pretty solid album. Madlib really does shine on it.

Indeed. Not a huge Strong Arm Steady fan but the beats really make the album IMO.

I'll check this out, but keep in mind that the year isn't even a month old yet LOL!

I never really dug Krondon..something about that voice of his..but Phil Tha Ag and Mitchy kill it......Ill mos def check it out..

Hmmm, sounds interesting, yet there are plenty of traits to the album that I seemingly wouldn't care for. At times I feel I've seen Madlib in genius form...other times I simply could care less for his music/direction. Never heard of SAS before, but the way he's described could go either way for me. The guest list sounds pretty tight though. But the real reason I'm checking this out is because of the incredibly dope cover art...

KJ Styles wrote:

I'll check this out, but keep in mind that the year isn't even a month old yet LOL!

Yeah for real. I actually haven't seen a single 2010 album I've been truly interested in yet.

Strong Arm Steady is a group. t's Krondon, Phil The Agony, and Mitchy Slick, and this is/was Xzibit's protege clique.

N3R0 wrote:

Strong Arm Steady is a group. t's Krondon, Phil The Agony, and Mitchy Slick, and this is/was Xzibit's protege clique.

Oh, thanks for the info. I had no idea. I've actually heard of all those guys but I can't say I know much about them. I'm actually a bit more excited about the album now that I know it's a group of rappers.

I would also say that their group work is head and shoulders above anything I've heard from them individually.

Alan wrote:

N3R0 wrote:

Strong Arm Steady is a group. t's Krondon, Phil The Agony, and Mitchy Slick, and this is/was Xzibit's protege clique.

Oh, thanks for the info. I had no idea. I've actually heard of all those guys but I can't say I know much about them. I'm actually a bit more excited about the album now that I know it's a group of rappers.

yea i would def check it out...there are tons of guests too, it sometimes plays more like a Madlib comp which is great

guests are Planet Asia, Phonte, Fashawn, Evidence, Oh No, Roc C, Tri-State, Sick Jacken, Talib Kweli, Guilty Simpson, Montage One, Roscoe, Chace Infinite, Phats Bossalini

Slang Editorial wrote:

Alan wrote:

N3R0 wrote:

Strong Arm Steady is a group. t's Krondon, Phil The Agony, and Mitchy Slick, and this is/was Xzibit's protege clique.

Oh, thanks for the info. I had no idea. I've actually heard of all those guys but I can't say I know much about them. I'm actually a bit more excited about the album now that I know it's a group of rappers.

yea i would def check it out...there are tons of guests too, it sometimes plays more like a Madlib comp which is great

guests are Planet Asia, Phonte, Fashawn, Evidence, Oh No, Roc C, Tri-State, Sick Jacken, Talib Kweli, Guilty Simpson, Montage One, Roscoe, Chace Infinite, Phats Bossalini

Damn Slang, good rec man. I dig it! Both Madlib's production and the rhymes.

Dope fuckin' album. I spun it nearly 4 times. And it may sound strange, but the first 3 tracks may be my favorites on the whole album. I've probably spun those about 10 times a piece. That shit is dripping with soul - sounds very Dilla-inspired. Track 3 is my favorite. Madlib is killin' it behind the boards though. I'm still most surprised by the rappers. Very intelligent material. I dig 'em all.

Eh, I'm finishing my first spin of this and I don't see it.

Not AOTY or close to 5 star hype.

I got this around 3.5 after the spin... probably climbing to the 3.75 or 4 star area at most.

I dig SAS, but they just can't seem to find their niche.

Their first couple of projects suffered from spotty production and schizo directions.

The production on this album is more cohesive, but I don't know if I would call it better, not for them at least.

Mitchy Slick especially loses a lot of his street edge on here. They seem to be trying to go for a lot of esoteric "smart" rhymes and they just don't hit IMO.

Madlib laces some pretty sick bangers, but may he RIP, his blatant Dilla rips just come off uninspired IMO. more spins will let this grow slightly, but I think SAS needs more work to find their spot. I think all of the hype from this album comes from the Madlib lovers out there.

the production on this album is flawless

Lionel Hutz wrote:

Eh, I'm finishing my first spin of this and I don't see it.

Not AOTY or close to 5 star hype.

I got this around 3.5 after the spin... probably climbing to the 3.75 or 4 star area at most.

I dig SAS, but they just can't seem to find their niche.

Their first couple of projects suffered from spotty production and schizo directions.

The production on this album is more cohesive, but I don't know if I would call it better, not for them at least.

Mitchy Slick especially loses a lot of his street edge on here. They seem to be trying to go for a lot of esoteric "smart" rhymes and they just don't hit IMO.

Madlib laces some pretty sick bangers, but may he RIP, his blatant Dilla rips just come off uninspired IMO. more spins will let this grow slightly, but I think SAS needs more work to find their spot. I think all of the hype from this album comes from the Madlib lovers out there.

I disagree with that line. I actually liked his Dilla rip-off beats...lol. Blatant as they may sound, I actually dug the production throughout the album...it's not the super ADD stuff I'm used to from Madlib....that stuff I don't dig as much.

As for the rating, I give it 4 stars. I don't think it will be AOTY material for me in the least...just the first dope album I've heard this year.

Good rec Slang. Honestly I wasn't a huge SAS fan before this album but he really came correct and Madlib's production is virtually flawless. Every guest on this album came correct as well. I've got this at 4.25 after one spin.

SAS is a group son. Albino Man, Phil Da Agony, and Mitchy Slick.

Xzibit was part of them too at one point... they were doper then.

For this album it seems it was mainly down to Albino Man and Phil - with Mitchy doing a few guest spots.

Albino Man is the weakest rapper IMO... good for the hooks though. Phil is OK at times.

Ok thanks for the info but I heard these cats before and wasn't all that impressed with them until now.

This album is bangin though. I don't know if it's the production or the guest appearances but in any event they came with the heat on this album. I stand by my 4.25 rating for now, could go up or down with more spins. I don't see it falling below 4 though.

ive decided that this album is a solid 4.25, maybe pushing a little higher but right now ive cooled on it slightly from my initial listens to solidify it at 4.25