Lexington + Whatevski

This is an audio interview available at http://www.ugsmag.com - Ugsmag,com

Lexington and Whatevksi's Customer Appreciation Day is one of the best albums I picked up in 2008, and because it was a free album, well... that only made it better. In fact, this is such a solid piece of work I find it almost unfair that I didn't pay for it. Released on Hand'Solo Records, the album first caught my eye because of the provocative cover, which displays the title of the album sharpied onto a woman's bare chest. I figured, Canadian Hip Hop has been treating me well, why not give it a try. I like what Hand'Solo's been putting out and I was desperate for some new music on my Zune so I downloaded it.
Little did I know this album would change my perception of hip hop. Honestly, I haven't heard anything like this before and it really blew me away. From the opening track's intro with a man crying out for "spange" for a Lexington + Whatevski show to the closing ad for their full-length album Preggers Can't Be Choosers, it was perfect. These guys do to hip hop what Bird did to basketball... they took something that everybody can take a shot at and kinged their pawns. That is to say, they not only did something different, but they raised the bar doing it.

The album progresses with some of the best beats I've ever heard, dirty and dark, a stinky carnival full of drunks kind of sound, mixed with some hard-hitting drums. I'm dying to hear an instrumental version of this album if they ever release that, actually. The production is some of my favorite I've ever heard and I can only describe it as a magical experience. Wherever they're digging up samples from... well, I wish I had access to what they're listening to and the skill to arrange in such a way. Every chorus is catchy, and the layering of sounds is almost too intense, though never overwhelming... if that makes sense.

Lyrically, Lex and Evski kill it. From serious tracks like Back When to hilarious tracks like Dick in Ya Drink, it's all over the place. Vulgarity aside, the lyrics are fantastic. It's a great balance between philosophical and comical, and all the flow is solid throughout.

Speaking of the flow, the album is littered with guest rappers who absolutely rip it up. Planit, Touch, Hollohan aka G.O.D., B-Money, Ryan Crack the Dirt Dogg, and Mr. Grim make appearances, and all of them do justice. Aside from the extreme weirdness of the first half of Planit's verse on Dead and Famous. It's all solid, though, and Planit's verse has grown on me. I guess I was just weirded out about that kind of flow when I first heard it.

All in all, I give this album a 10 out of 10 because since I've downloaded it, I've listened to it all the way through at least once a week and still it surprises me. Most of the tracks have made it onto my bicycling/traveling playlist, almost every track is fantastic, and I am left in awe at how well-done this all is, especially for a free release.

Lexington and Whatevski are without a doubt in my top 10 favorite hip hop artists/groups, and solely because this album is so perfect. If you don't download it, you're a damned fool, it's a fantastic album all the way through and goddammit, it's free!

Best track? I can't even name one. Good People and Back When are probably my favorites. Don't forget to check back for the release of Preggers Can't Be Choosers, their new album. You can find more information at the following locations.

- Legendatyhiphop.com

With titles like “An Hour of Horror,” “Lesbian Vampire Slayer” and “Bride of Frankenstein,” the latter being the controversial first single already censored by YouTube, there can be no doubt that Preggers Can’t Be Choosers contains a heavy dose of b-movie horrorcore that is once again presented in the Calgary duo’s over the top, tongue in cheek style. Think Kool Keith’s Dr Dooom or Jedi Mind Tricks if Vinnie Paz lightened up – a lot! Having already excised the “dead weight” for their gritty, underground pre-release of b-sides, the proper follow-up to their Over It debut ends up with Lexington and Whatevski’s experimental melding of their dirty, black humour to a commercial formula. Amongst the expected dark synth beats are female-sung hooks, sped-up soul samples and even auto-tune singing, as well as love ballads (“My Girlfriend is Odd” and “Lesbian Vampire Slayer”), club jams (“Fireworks in a Lightening Storm” and “Bird Bath”) and unintentional frat party anthems (second single “Shotgun a Beer” and probably the ridiculing irony of “Captain of the Football Team”). There are even a couple of Wu-type bangers with “Lexington’s Brain” and instrumental “An Hour of Horror.” The sound quality of this album is high, the music is the duo’s most accessible so far, and the flows and concepts are unique and interesting, but the dirty sex raps, a reliance on profanities, and a continued flirtation with horrorcore will likely keep Preggers an underground gem. [Thomas Quinlan] - Urbnet.com

Former Jonny Sootentai members Lexington and Whatevski have linked to form OverIt. For their debut — a lo-fi album named after the duo’s two members — Whatevski provides a grim, gritty beatscape that favours various up-tempo combinations of drums and strings. It’s a great match for the egotistical boasts and raspy raps of both Lexington and Whatevski, as well as for their handful of guests that includes Cam the Wizard, Planit, and others. However, Whatevski isn’t the only one providing the music: Lexington lends some production support with a short, jazz/blues interlude and the horn-y “Trixxxie,” as does label-mate Decline with a constantly morphing instrumental for “Chubbies + Uglies,” and Imaginations Treetrunk’s Aalo Guha with a minimal, flute-looped beat unsuitable for the rappers on the posse cut “Alberta Pupps.” That last beat and Whatevski’s slow, mellow production for “Cruisin’” are the only moments that seem out of place and counter to the black humour, punch lines, and battle raps on this album. Still, dark rap anthems like “Real Emcees,” “Everyday Rhymes,” “Sucker Ducks” and the title track make Lexington + Whatevski a formidable debut from a seasoned duo. (Palette) - Exclaim Magazine

Imagine being 19 years old and starting up your own record label while promoting your own shows. It requires a lot of dedication and hard-work, and Calgary's own hip-hop crew Jonny Sootentai is up for the challenge. With four emcees and one producer under the name of Top Shelf Records, the group is determined to animate the local underground scene with their enthusiasm and talent.

"We started in [junior high] with freestyling," says J.S.'s Phasma. "Our songs were pretty shitty back then, but some people liked them. We kept going and got more serious. After being more involved with the Calgary scene, we see a lot of problems with the local shows."

The local scene seems to lack both organization and effective promotion. Often times, even popular underground artists suffer small audiences in local venues.

"We're putting things on our own hands now and trying to give ourselves our own name," explains Lingo, another of J.S.'s emcees. "We started hanging out with Planit last year and decided to start up Top Shelf Records."

Collaborating with an older and more experienced hip-hop emcee Planit, Top Shelf Records was born earlier this year in the basement of a house shared by members of J.S. There they developed a studio with top-quality sound equipment and a range of musical instruments. With the transformation completed, many local artists like Cam the Wizard, Dragon Fli Empire, and Virtue have already dropped by for recordings.

In a matter of months, J.S.'s reputation skyrocketed as they accomplished more. Last month, J.S. and Planit shared the mic for an opening act for Swollen Members at the Sun Centre. Planit and J.S. will come together again for a double CD release party at the Den on Sat., Sept. 4.

"We'll have all the elements [of hip-hop]," say Phasma and Lingo. "There will b-boys, graffiti art and all the cream-of-the-crop rappers from Calgary."

While hip-hop related music continues to top the charts, Top Shelf Records hopes put out songs that are more experimental in production and conscious in lyrics.

"Many of our influences are local [artists]!" Lingo exclaims. "We're also influenced by people like Josh Martinez, Pigeon John, and even K-os."

"We've definitely explored the more melodic side of hip-hop," adds Phasma. "But we still do the old hard-core rapping. Hip-hop is a mish-mash of many genres, and we draw our inspiration from everything."

The Top Shelf Records CD release party will be a lot of fun, as new university Rez students come in on that same day to explore the wonders of the Den. Hopefully, the show will promote the local scene by showcasing it to a more diverse crowd. - Gauntlet

Refusing to embody the sometimes shallow aspects of teenage musical impulses, five young hip-hop visionaries of Calgary – collectively known as Jonny Sootentai – have reshaped their record label into a launching machine for more mature and complex local contents.

The new name for the label is Olive Hour – a homophone to "all of our" and a tribute to clear sailing moments with martinis in hand. Between happy hours and sleep, the boys are working hard in the basement studio of their co-owned home, where sober talent and raw energy are squeezed from all sorts of instruments, and samples mash into unpredictable sounds. Jonny Sootentai is cultivating the products of their individual talents, and with at least six projects currently on the go, Olive Hour could be the most happening thing in Calgary's hip-hop scene.

"I think that business-wise, we are the most together and have the most going on," says Lingo of Jonny Sootentai and Olive Hour. "We have the experience and now we're just setting up the proper infrastructure for the city's scene."

As experimental rappers and producers themselves, the members of Jonny Sootentai are comfortable with new challenges that come with a new label. Dealing with Canadian talents ranging from the 15-year-old hip-hop prodigy Virtue to the ever eccentric rapper Alter One, Olive Hour looks for several traits in their artists – honesty, aptitude and character. Being able to regurgitate tedious sequences of rhyming words over a drum loop doesn't quite cut it, but the greatest crime, according to the label's executives, is being pretentious.

"We are the kind of real rappers who know where we're from," says Lexington. "We're from Calgary. We're not afraid to pronounce our Rs because we're down with who we are. We aren't going to put on a phony American rap accent. Olive Hour's music is meant to cross over that status quo."

"The scene seems very divided at the moment," says Lingo. "A lot of Calgary guys are still stuck in the golden era of hip hop. We're not trying to be Brooklyn rappers. It's 2005 and the only people who come to your show are white kids – sometimes with tight pants and a faux hawk."

Olive Hour's members are currently occupied with the productions of several albums. Aptitude, Phasma and Lingo (all members of Jonny Sootentai) will individually put out solo records and Lexington and Whatevski (formerly known as Gumshoe the Friendly Neighbour) are also collaborating under the name Overit. On top of diverging projects that embrace everything from Nine Inch Nails-influenced industrial music to organic creole instrumentation, Olive Hour will also produce the upcoming Virtue, Planit and Alter One albums.

"The amount of talent we get to work with is so great," Lexington says. "Olive Hour will embody everything that is best in Calgary. We all have our own affiliates; we're all involved in different crews."

The guys from Olive Hour also serve happily as relaxed and humble motivational speakers for underground artists. Letting out-of-town performers crash at their house for free is just one of the many brotherly acts that come with the friendly nature of the label. Uplifting the morales of struggling artists can help recharge local talents, and so Olive Hour sustains the cycle of musical inspiration and fatigue through confident trust and encouragement.

"Money is not the main issue when you're an underground artist," Whatevski says. "Promotion is most important and we respect underground artists who have come to terms with the fact."

"We know there are rappers in Calgary who are trying to get paid $500 for a show," Lexington says. "We know that this isn't reality for underground artists like us."

Profit aside, Olive Hour’s main goal is to genuinely contribute to music – period. The days of demeaning East-versus-West lyricism and poser bling bling, hip-hop should give way to something more meaningful as long as the unconventional samples, well-crafted words and quality production allow it.

Following in the footsteps of other successful Canadian underground labels like Peanuts and Corn and Low Pressure, Olive Hour aspires to be a studio of high calibre.

"We aren't trying to shoot out as many albums as possible," Lexington says. "Each and every production will be slaved over." - FFWD Weekly