Artist Denizen Kane shares his top five albums of the moment.
Photograph by Joan Osato (www.joanosato.com)
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Freezerburner by Qwel (2006, Galapagos4)
My brother from another, Qwel is the hardest-working man in underground hip-hop. Cat has dropped 15 full-length solo projects since ’01, homie. His new joint, Owl, is must-listen material. But Freezerburner is my sentimental favorite. It’s a real Chicago record. Bleak and beautiful. And peep how my man sings with all the sorrow in his soul, “I’ll never call this home…Fallen Rome…”
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A New Perspective by Donald Byrd (1963, Blue Note)
If there’s ever been a piece of music more magnificent than Byrd’s version of “Cristo Redentor,” it’s kept in a vault in the heart of an impenetrable mountain, guarded by centaurs with javelins. This is the pain and beauty of diaspora written for a choir and horns.
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Upstairs at Eric’s by Yaz (1982, Sire)
You know, my Auntie Tae Kyung (RIP) got me a copy of this record when I was shorty. Being all hip-hopped out, I wasn’t trying to hear any corny English ‘80s synth-pop. But time and experience will change a man. When I hear Alison Moyet’s mournful wail now, it hits me in my soul. I miss you, Auntie. “Only You.”
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Day Dream Academy Mixtape by various artists (2011)
“Sweet Sad Nothings” by the Newly Weds is my joint. Producer Patrick Kiboneka crafts a sultry, sinuous beat and Ahb and Nina catch slow, smoldering wreck. My new favorite MCs, hands down. My OG Pete Kang told me you can flow like Coltrane or like Miles. They go Miles on this one.
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Bat meets Blaine by Qwazaar & Batsauce (2011, Galagapos 4) (forthcoming)
“Chop ‘Em All Down” is classic. My other brother from another, the original Q-W murders this Batsauce beat. Absolutely bananas. His flow is majestically futuristic, but the content is dotty. “The oompety-oomps—bo-gobbety-goops/and you can catch me in the lobby—not as sloppy as you…” What? The Ornette Coleman of the game.
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Denizen Kane’s work is dedicated to the preservation of the Tree City Legends. The Legends are songs, stories, poems and theater works—and at the same time, people. He co-founded I Was Born With Two Tongues, a pan-Asian spoken word quartet and the seminal Chicago hip-hop crew Typical Cats. He made his mark as a solo artist with a pair of discs entitled Tree City Legends Vols. I & II. He is currently at work preparing new Legends for print, record and stage. Starting in September, he will perform Tree City Legends at various Bay Area venues including Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco and La Pena Cultural Center in Berkley.
