Blakroc
Blakroc
(Blakroc, 2009)

Fusing rap and rock sounds like a natural pairing, but the rap-rock subgenre has produced so many misfires. It was a revolutionary concept back when Run-DMC and Aerosmith remade “Walk This Way”, but had devolved into noisy clichés by 2004, when Jay-Z and Linkin Park collaborated on Collision Course. And then, just when you get your shovel out to bury the genre, Damon Dash and the Black Keys save it.

They are unlikely saviors of the genre: Damon Dash is a hip-hop mogul and cofounder of Roc-A-Fella Records; the Black Keys are two indie darlings known for their garagiste take on blues-rock. But it works. The Black Keys don’t have to exaggerate the hip-hop quotient in their music; Patrick Carney’s beats rock and Dan Auerbach’s guitar work brings the appropriate swagger. Damon Dash, for his part, doesn’t even have to touch the mic—not when he’s got Mos Def, Q-Tip, a third of the Wu-Tang Clan, and his former Roc-A-Fella roster in his rolodex.

What evolves is similar to one of those hip-hop producer’s albums, where a master producer, demanding some time in the spotlight, cobbles together a record with too many styles and too many underused and upstaged friends. Except it works. Maybe it’s because the Black Keys are already well-known and respected in their own right, but they have no trouble sticking to a blues-rock backbone, providing a rock-solid foundation, and then stepping back, allowing space for a variety of voices to tug the music in their respective directions.

Billy Danze (Mash Out Posse) brings his gravelly delivery to a pair of tracks, and his growling shout-out “Black Keys!” on “Hope You’re Happy” is the best nod to the rhythm section anywhere on the album, save for the esteemed Pharoahe Monch’s “Fuck the white ones / The Black Keys got so much soul.” Nikki Wray, who has been little heard from since her auspicious breakout as a Missy Elliott protégé in the late ’90s, makes a strong case for reintroduction: She handles hooks on three tracks, and performs a sultry solo over the crunchy, atmospheric thump of “Why Can’t I Forget Him.” Mos Def free-associates over the shimmering “On the Vista”—“Stars so close you could reach out and kiss one”—and still leaves room for Auerbach’s grinding guitar solo.

The Wu-Tang Clan is heavily represented here. Aside from the posthumous appearance by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Raekwon destroys a verse on “Stay Off the Fuckin’ Flowers”, and RZA brings two very different performances to the record. His verse on “Tellin’ Me Things” wanders between the hook, “She just keep tellin’ me things / Things I don’t want to hear,” and ramblings about a bad break-up. The sloppy verse breathes a little when RZA yearns, “We was like Mork and Mindy,” but the humorous nod doesn’t save the track. Thankfully, RZA offers up a commanding performance on “Dollaz & Sense”—both on the mic and guitar. The song has that certified Wu-Tang sound, downbeats like daggers, neck-snapping backbeats, and a healthy flare of Morricone. RZA is accompanied on the track by Monch, who puns, “I see dead people when I spit with my sixth sense.”

Baltimore’s Jay-Z sound-alike NOE comes through on two tracks, and actually gets the very last word on the album with “Done Did It.” As the Black Keys fade out, he snaps, “A drug dealer’s dream is a dream nonetheless / Yeah, I settle back into the beat / With the Ranchers sticking out the cracks in the seat / Now, back in the street, where young boys are asking to eat / Tough guy you wouldn’t last a week.”

The language is vivid and well-placed against the fading music, but it’s an abrupt and unsatisfying end to this project. Watching The Blakroc Sessions web series, it’s apparent that the record was executed in quick, casual fashion. That’s a strength and weakness: The collaborations are wonderfully spontaneous, but sometimes feel unfinished. The website bills the project as “11 artists… 11 days… 11 tracks”—maybe a few more days would have made a difference.

No matter, in webisode one of The Blakroc Sessions, Dash shoots for the stars: “This is something that could be a tour, a movie, a doc, you know. It’s gonna make history. I see posters. I see everything.” We’ve already got the movie/doc, replete with outtakes, antics, and plumes of purple smoke; t-shirts are on the website; and a couple live shows are probably not far off. What I’d really like to see is a thorough follow-up.

Watch: The Blakroc Sessions [at blakroc.com]

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