When I heard this a few years ago, I completely abhorred it. It sounded like some weak-ass anticon shit or the garbage that El-P has a tendency of cosigning. After giving it a little time, I listened to The Cold Vein again, and I found a foreign world hidden inside the intricate El-P instrumentals. Vast Aire and Vordul Mega illustrate imaginative stories that are unlike any of the hip hop lore you have heard before.
Imagine Deltron 3030 from an east-coast perspective equipped with a strong undercurrent of Def Jux. Futuristic doesn't begin to describe it, there's a labyrinth of obscurity and nerd rap on this album that's nearly impossible to find elsewhere. If that's your thing, you should give this one a listen, for the purer heads, you might want to listen with a grain of salt, or not listen at all.
Choice Cuts:
A B-Boy's Alpha
Scream Phoenix
Stress Rap
Where To Cop From:
1
2
3
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5
October 24, 2009
Cannibal Ox- The Cold Vein
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It's funny you say you didn't like it the first time you heard it, I felt the same way. Then I was working on my list for the Best Albums of the Decade and I listened again, I loved it. Weird.
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