Waajeed has an answer to the tired debate about what to do or where to take hip hop: Blow the whole damn thing up. The War L.P. does just that. Through the use of “weapons of mass percussion” this mostly instrumental affair manages to do what many artists of today are incapable of…make an artistic statement.
As one half of the Platinum Pied Pipers, Waajeed was at least 50% responsible for one of the most creative efforts this millennium in the group’s Triple P album. However, Waajeed is too forward-thinking to simply rehash such an artistic masterpiece to pacify his cult following. The War L.P. instead has a much, much darker and grittier feel than the electronic neo soul of Triple P. At times the album has hard rock textures and guitar riffs that meld with the rough-edged boom-bap that only Motown can produce. At other points the album has the feel of futuristically soulful electronica mixed with smart and relevant samples. The sinister synths of “Anything” are as raw and cold as Detroit itself while “The Dragon” is Jeed’s self-described ode to “cheap-ass 80’s” movie soundtracks like The Terminator. Waajeed’s cuts are showcased on several of his own tracks but are particularly deft (and affecting) on the suite of J Dilla-produced beats towards the middle of the album. The production is also garnished with its share of blaring sirens, falling bombs, bullets and explosions that contribute to the canvass of sonic destruction and despair on which Waajeed operates.
The guest appearances aren’t as diverse or robust as on the Triple P effort, but when vocalists do appear over Jeed’s beats, the music is taken to another level. All vocals are mostly done by Detroit-bred artists, which effectively add to the cohesion and hunger of this album. Tiombe Lockhart’s (the lone non-Detroiter) apocalyptic careening on “O’Bloody Days, O’Starry Nights On The Bowery” blend seamlessly with Waajeed’s use of cascading synthesizer and Dilla-like soul clap. Elsewhere, the heavy rock feel of Invincible’s metaphoric ode to the love of her craft on “Pick Your Poison” and her bleak tales of Detroit living on “Place Where We Dwell” paint pictures so vividly overwhelming that you might have to step back from the album for a bit.
This effort should not be looked upon as an instrumental album or beat tape the likes of Petestrumentals or, more recently, Rappers Best Friend. Rather, The War LP is a concept album, where the marriage of menacing beats, perilous lyrics and haunting vocals make it the kind of musical H-bomb aimed at an industry prone to static.
