The second album from Montreal rapper/producer Josh “Socalled” Dolgin may be the most unusual hip-hop album of the year. A trippy exploration of Jewish identity, it teems with collaborators, from indie MC C-Rayz Walz to Fiddler on the Roof legend Theodore Bikel. Klezmer melodies waft over Socalled’s MPC beats, evoking New York’s Second Avenue district, a.k.a. “Yiddish Broadway,” West Coast turntablism, and old-school funk. Weirdest of all, he closes with an electro-house remix of “Let’s Get Wet” that’s as crunchy as a Justice stomper. The result is a smorgasbord of sounds both ancient and appealingly bohemian.
Now Hear This: Socalled – “You Are Never Alone” DOWNLOAD MP3
