Blaq Starr - The King Of Roq (JB Starr Productions)

You already know that Blaq Starr is the reigning genius of Baltimore club music right now, at least in my opinion, I'm not even gonna get into that because I've said it time and time again, you can check the archives for other things I've posted and written. But anyway, he's finally got a big deal mix CD on sale at Downtown Locker Room (I'm Banging was more low key, he seemed to be just selling those hand to hand and it didn't have any cover art), and as I said last week, I reviewed it for the City Paper.

Blaq Starr's been doing big things lately, including a recent video shoot for "Shake It 2 The Ground" with Rye Rye (which I still think is one of his worst tracks ever, no idea why that wack label, Mad Decent, is promoting it more than his other songs). And the first major label album to feature a Blaq Starr production, Kala by Interscope artist M.I.A., was released this week. BS did the song "The Turn" on the album, as well as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of the album called "What I Got,", and she bit the chorus of "Hands Up, Thumbs Down" for another song on the album called "World Town." I personally think M.I.A.'s music is real wack, it always just sounded like some annoying dance music hyped up by blogs to me, but it's still pretty cool that Blaq Starr is getting that kind of exposure.

M.I.A. did an interview with my friend Tom Breihan a while back, and they talked about Blaq Starr a bit and it was interesting. I think she was kinda wrong when she said, "I don't think in terms of making art around Baltimore he's allowed to be that experimental," though, because his shit has always been kind of out-there by Bmore club terms, and he goes really far out on this CD, it's got some of his most adventurous stuff that I've ever heard. His pallette of percussion sounds and synth tones keeps expanding and he's not even tied to just doing things at a fast club tempo anymore. Anyway, this mixtape is sick, and the liner notes say he's got a ton of new projects coming up later this summer and in the fall (a full-length Blaq Starr album, a DVD, The Starr Mixtape and King Of Roq Vol. 2).

Blaq Starr - "Swagga Back" (mp3)
Another thing I mentioned in my City Paper review was that he supposedly did some production for the new Yung Joc album, which kinda sense since Joc appeared on the remix of D.O.G. and Blaq Starr's "Ryda Gyrl," but the Joc album leaked this weak and there was no Blaq Starr on it (which is just as well, hopefully once a famous MC does jump on his tracks it'll be someone better). The kinda slow, Southern rap type beats on King Of Roq are some of my favorite shit on here, though, the beat on "Swagga Back" is incredible. He's got a couple rappers in his camp now that guest on those tracks, but I don't think they're from Baltimore, BS says on the mixtape that Hipno is from Chicago, and he's like a fast Twista-type MC.

Labels: Baltimore City Paper, Baltimore club, Blaq Starr, mixtape/album review, mp3