Not really an "all-instrumental" album but a "very-instrumental" album nonetheless,
The Rebellion Sessions
finds MC
Black Milk
acting as orchestrator and producer for
Nat Turner
, aka his backing band, who are named after the U.S. slave rebellion leader. Featuring
Malik Hunter
on bass,
Zebulun "Z" Horton
on guitar, and
Aaron "Ab" Abernathy
on keyboards, these four co-conspirators have likely found a time machine, as they perfectly re-create the studio sound of the '70s. Cymbals snap, basslines thump, and guitar lines crackle across a wide sound spectrum, as if the 128 kbps Mp3 never happened. The music falls somewhere between
Miles Davis
electric-band albums of the era (think
Big Fun
) and the tamer work of
George Duke
and such, but oddball touches suggest this is 2016 or so, as the descending, drippy keyboards of "You Need This Light" are post-
A$AP Mob
, post-syrup sipping, and post-
Madlib
. Speaking of
, the smoky aesthetic of the
Stones Throw
label is all over this LP, although
also comes with a Detroit punch, some electro, and a
J Dilla
influence, best heard on "Traveler," where
Kraftwerk
and
ESG
jam a bit after listening to a stack of broken beat and
4Hero
. The LP runs at almost an EP's length and some cuts are cut short when they should have run longer, but
can make any day funkier and more flared, so file this next to
Oddisee
's equally soulful
The Odd Tape
and consider 2016 the best 1974 since 1974 itself. ~ David Jeffries