Hip-Hop: The Collection DVD
Was I expecting too much from this DVD? I don't know, but any road up I'm left disappointed. The line up sounds promising doesn't it:
Roots Manuva, DJ Vadim feat. Rev. Chunky, Rodney P, Braintax feat. Jehst, Quakes, Ice feat. LA tha Darkman and Chuck D and a bunch of others.
But the lack of exclusives and videos (only the Roots Manuva and Quakes videos are featured) left me wanting more, and the lack of quality and variety in the US tracks left me wondering why they bothered with them. The three US tracks all feature the mediocre Ice, who even guests such as Chuck D and LA the Darkman can't lift. Giving a CD away with the DVD is a nice touch, but again the quality isn't there in enough depth - Braintax's only appearance in the project adding some much needed relief from Ice, with UK crew Blood Shedders not bringing much to the table, the rest of the tracks all featuring on the DVD.
The live sets are the high point of the DVD. Task Force's session start with some smart scratching before performing "Battle Cats" which they do totally proper, as you'd expect. Karl Hinds delivers 2 tracks - "Don Gramma" and another track that I don't know. Both are quality, delivered with energy and feeling. Killa Kela is wicked - alongside Normski who I thought was going to be annoying but turns out to complement Kela quite nicely. The Mixologists come with two mixes, not the best you'll ever hear but with some nice touches, visual as well as technical. Fredi Kruga gives 10 minutes of pre-styles mostly, adding a bit of freestyling here and there - he should stick to pre-styles, especially when he's alongside people like Task Force... All of the live sets, with the exception perhaps of Fredi Kruga, leave you wanting more especially Task Force - why only one track when their live performances and freestyles are so good?
We rarely get the chance to see UK rap videos so you'd think that this would have been an ideal opportunity. Instead we get videos for 2 wicked tracks - Roots Manuva's "Dreamy Days" and Quakes' "Neptune". Apart from that, the visual mixes are OK although relaxing water for Rodney P's "Big Tings We Inna" doesn't really go, and Vadim and Rev. Chunky get a pretty uninspiring disc in the middle of the screen with changing colours and shapes inside it that look like something Winamp churned out. The 3 US tracks are treated better, with cartoon images for Ice/LA the Darkmans "Unbreakable" and some atmospheric styles to go with the dark sounds of "Insane Killers", and some thought obviously went into the visual mix for "Elvis Killed Kennedy".
The DVD in itself is well presented, coming with a nice sleeve although the cannabis leaf as a logo is a bit tired from overuse. The menus are easy to use and self-explanatory, although the graphics and general presentation could be cleaner and more imaginative.
So I come away from this DVD with a sense of disappointment - it seems like a missed opportunity. I really hope there's a second edition to come, and I really hope they get a better balance of quality and realise that we'd rather see artists performing than visual mixes that you watch once and thereafter just listen to...
- Flat 4 | profile
Related Links:
© ukhh.com 1999 - 2002
