It's no surprise that one of the best hip-hop albums of 1994 comes from Memphis. Instead, it's a surprise that one of the best hip-hop albums of 1994 comes from Player 1 & Bloody Bones, rappers of the crew Frayser Click of Frayser, North Memphis.
Like all cassettes released from that rap scene, the production is a strong point of the project: Bloody Bones deals with a few beats, but almost all of the rhythms are entrusted to Carlos "DJ Sound" Perry. Maybe "genius" isn't the best word to describe him, but this guy does a spectacular job in making the soundscapes for this tape: he creates one of the richest musical background you can find in Memphis tapes, there are all kinds of drum machines, good scratches, synths, melodic, dark, gloomy, dystopian and disturbing samples, soul, funky, jazzy, rock, joined with bass, guitars and horns scattered, to support the gangsta and horrorcore lyrics of the Frayser Click MCs. These beats are dirty, dusty, gritty and dark, fantastic: so, what would be the difference compared to all the other records released by Bluff City? These guys can rap. Does it seem little to you? There are your typical single looped lines, simple hooks, synth voices, but these guys also bring something with their flows, with a gripping, velvet and dynamic style, instead of spitting bars on murders for an hour with the usual semi-mumble delivery.
Created in 1994 on reel-to-reel tape, it arrived on cassette (then on CD) in 2006 and in 2021 was again released on cassette by Trill Hill: it combines surprising rhythms with dope rap that focuses on the narration of dark and violent themes. Despite being an imperfect effort of 75 minutes, with a few missteps ("Playa 1's Theme" freestyle, for example), it's a fresh and fluid record. It deserves a couple of spins.
Rating: 8.5/10.
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