Skip to content
Reviews

Vast Aire, ‘OX 2010: A Street Odyssey’ (Man Bites Dog/Fat Beats)

If you expected a reprise of Cannibal Ox’s 2001 cyberpunk masterpiece The Cold Vein, too bad: The duo’s Vast Aire is still in his thug phase. Trying to bridge the eras with OX 2010, he pairs smashmouth braggadocio with superhero homage (“Thor’s Hammer” and “Battle of the Planets,” the latter an angry shot at former Definitive Jux comrades El-P and Cage). Vast proves his lyrical bona fides on gems like “Horoscope,” rasping, “She would use music to escape / Press play, close her eyes, and dreamscape.” Unfortunately, OX 2010‘s middling beats aren’t quite as inspiring.