Album Review
DJ Yoda – Chop Suey
Yes, he is renowned for his chopped up mixtapes, incredible audio-visual shows and widely bootlegged radio mixes, but how exactly does DJ Yoda fare when creating his own album, proper?
Second time round for DJ Yoda (although you are forgiven if you didn’t notice the first some six years ago) and the album announces itself with a fine flourish with guests galore making short work of Yoda’s finely crafted beats.
Greg Nice’s turn so early on the album seems rather unfair to those who follow, as he goes hard on ‘Charlie Sheen’, providing Yoda with a powerful battle weapon that is sure to destroy dancefloors in its wake, but Virus Syndicate and Sway certainly hold their own with cheeky tongue in cheek vibes whilst Boy George certainly surprises with his uplifting guest spot, as the backing tracks veer wildly from banging dance through spaghetti western horns, to hybrid electro-calypso and back again.
The midway point of the album ‘Big Trouble In Little China’ is full of eastern promise as Action Bronson perfects his Ghostface Killa impression, but sadly the momentum falters with the few tracks that follow, not to say that they are bad tracks, but following on from such a strong start leaves Man Like Me floundering, M.O.P mired in an overly dense approximation of thugged out noughties hip-hop, and Roots Manuva tucked away with Kid Creole on a cheeky down-tempo dancehall-esque number.
These respected contributors could have been better utilised, but it is the album’s previous strengths alone that are responsible for exposing these weaknesses.
Thankfully, Scroobius Pip’s sabbatical from Dan Le Sac that now sees him sparring over a dark, sparse Yoda beat puts the album back on track before its last hurrah, ruminating on 90s computer consoles and borrowing heavily from Biggie and Nas with deft ease, allowing Police Academy’s Micheal Winslow to put in a surprise turn over the final track, putting his full vocal dexterity on display in a style fitting with Yoda’s cartoonish leanings.
And after a whirlwind journey encompassing musical styles and guests, it is still the opening track that most strongly reflects DJ Yoda’s gift, as numerous vocal samples are chopped and scratched with Yoda’s expected prolific flair, concerning the album’s namesake, Chop Suey, we are reminded that this has ’everything in it, all mixed up’.