Armand Hammer‘s new album "Race Music" is an epic exploration of rococo rhapsody from Bushwick indie label Backwoodz Studioz. Brooklyn vet MCs Billy Woods and Elucid incant their verses like Shakespearean witches ciphering over a cauldron. Dropping enough esoteric references to dizzy a Harvard Race and Ethnicity professor, they create a gallimaufry of street philosophy, beat cacophony, and cannabis cosmology. If audiences aren’t initially put off by their lyrical extravagance, they’ll catch clutches of clever wordplay. Elucid captures the theme and tone of the record on "Sunni’s Blues" intoning in his gravelly rasp, "Guns germs and steel / Scripture civilize these savages / One true gospel / Hazardous / Post radical / Plastic explosives level tabernacles." The electro-hop beats (from the smoldering labs of Willie Green and A.M. Breakups among others) tend to embark as simple loops, but evolve as they careen toward their crescendos, carrying the flows of the MCs like a crowd of robotic goblins. Though the hooks can leave something to be desired, lovers of the rhyme and evocative lyricism will fall under the spell of this standout album. – Broke MC
