The Yakuza is distinguished from many other criminal organizations by its distinctive method of affiliation: the yubitsume ceremony, which consists in the amputation of the phalanges of one's little finger. Hideaki Ishi has never been an affiliate, he was probably a minor associate like many others, when he understood what the initiation ceremony was to be part of the criminal organization, he decided to do something else in life.
He debuted with a studio album at 32 y/o, self-produced, opened by Guru and closed by Monday Michiru. The boy is committed and practically makes no mistakes for 52 minutes and 15 tracks (5 skits, 2 consecutive): the only slip comes on the interlude on track number three, when he chooses a bad sample that creates an annoying sound, but the choice of samples has never been his strong point. For the rest of the record, he finds some excellent dynamic instrumentals and places them all in a row, composing them with a simple and minimal style, drum + sample, making an excellent job to say the least. Of course some choices immediately look uninspired, however, the pros here bridge the cons by a wide margin and there are some hidden gems.
Good jazzy intro, then Guru kills the his spot with a performance at his level on a good jazzy boom bap, on a track released only for the Japanese market at the time. Interlude, then "Roll & Tumble", where Krush places an eclectic piano scale on honest drum machine. The next instrumental is one of the least successful: decent sample soul, slow pounding and incessant drum, an honest and uninspired rhythm comes out. The sixth choice is short and spectacular, perhaps Krush's best work on this CD: combining a light accessible drum with beautiful samples, DJ Krush composes an excellent beautiful instrumental, boasting ethereal and relaxed vibes, dope. "On the Dub-ble" is another great rhythm: smooth sample of brilliant sax dominating the lean and metallic drum chosen by the beatmaker, honest samples, good instrumental. The following cut is short and features a decent sample with dusted cymbals: it's a ten-second sound credited to a twenty-second cut.
There are other cymbals sprinkled on a slow drum of "Undearneath the System", the tenth track follows: accessible downtempo drum, eclectic crazy sax all the time, extravagant and at times squeaky, good sci-fi samples, xmas bells in the background. It's a good, interesting experimental joint. "Big City Lover" features a jazzy boom bap composed of a good vocal sample of a girl, good jazzy sample of horn on the hook, midtempo drum pounding. "Down the Drain" has decent experimental rhythm, with single-line vocal samples of the title in the background and accessible drum midtempo. A good electric guitar riff follows in the next instrumental, with honest samples and a hard, regular drum. "Ruff-Neck Jam" features an excellent sample and a quick, tight drum to compose a robust jazzy boom bap before the final tune, "Keeping the Motion": boom jazzy bap, hard slow pounding drum, Monday Michiru's sung delivery.
The disc was originally released by Chance Records in 1993, and was re-released early the following year by the same label and by Triad Records, which is supported by the local Columbia division. The album also arrives in Europe and in the US in the following years, distributed by labels linked to jazz. DJ Krush does an excellent job on his debut album, building a cohesive, coherent and accessible soundscape, blending hip-hop and jazz well. There are several brilliant moments and the record today is revised in the light of one of the pioneering projects of instrumental hip-hop music, being his finest work in career: nevertheless, the comparisons with his contemporaries are all forced and absurd. DJ Krush isn't at the level of the best, although this project is a must-listen for fans of jazz rap.
Highlights: "B-Boy Mastamind", "E.A.R.T.H./SOS", "On the Dub-ble", "Edge of Blue", "Ruff-Neck Jam".
Rating: 7.5/10.
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