So if you haven’t been able to tell yet, I am very big on underground hip-hop. I got into underground hip-hop about 5 years ago and ever since I was tricked into listening to it, hip-hop has become an obsession of mine. However, the further into the future we get, the less and less “underground” these artists have become, which I think is a very good thing. But for those of you who are as into hip hop as I am, you will probably know all about El-P because of his initial success in his first group, Company Flow. For those of you who don’t know Company Flow, they are considered one of the most influential hip hop groups of all time. Be sure to check them out, I will probably put their album on here in the near future, but for now I am doing just EL-P. So, onto the album. I’LL SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE DEAD is EL-P’s second solo album, and in my opinion, it is his best. El-P is short for El Producto, and the name says it all. El-P is hands down one of the best producers in hip hop today, and his production is so unique and one of a kind that you can always tell when it is an El-P beat. The first album that I suggested you listen to, Cannibal Ox, was all produced by El-P, but I’LL SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE DEAD is several years after Can Ox and El-P’s production has only gotten better. The first song on the album, Tasmanian Pain Coaster, is one of the best songs on the album and sets the entire tone of the album very well, especially it being a collaboration with The Mars Volta only makes the song even more outlandish for hip hop. El-P has always been very ahead of the game with his music and for those of you who are not too into hip hop, I think this might be the album for you. Because El-P made the beats for each song on his album, there is a connection that is felt throughout the album that very few hip hop albums have. It is not just an emcee rhyming over a beat, it is an emcee living through his own instrumentals. There is a much more melodic feeling throughout the album than most hip hop albums, and I really stand behind the fact that I liken it to any musician that writes their own music as well as their own lyrics. Also, for any of you that are into sci-fi or dystopian future, nobody in music brings this influence more into their music than El-P, it is a very common theme in all of his songs, and when you hear the instrumentals on this album, you will definitely feel the vibe I am trying to describe. This album gets a lot of rotation by me and a lot of my friends because we truly feel that as far as American underground hip hop goes, this is definitely the future of it. There is no other album out there that sounds anything like this, and no album that has as captivating a soundscape as I’LL SLEEP WHEN YOU’RE DEAD. From the first to the last song, it takes you on a ride unlike anything else. Each song flows flawlessly into the next, and has some of the best guest appearances from AESOP ROCK and CAGE that I’ve ever heard. Also for you NIN fans out there, Trent Reznor makes a guest appearance on the album as well. So if you haven’t been able to tell by now with my suggestions, I am really trying to capture the experience of each album without spoiling too much of what the album has to offer. I don’t want to ruin the experience of that first listen for any of you. So please, take each of these suggestions with an open mind and try not to let my rambling get in the way. I suggest this album to almost everyone I know, and so far no one has been disappointed. I hope that those of you out there checking out the blog have gone out and listened to each of these albums, please comment and let me know what you think of each one. Until next week, take care, and prepare to have you’re idea of what hip hop can be completely changed.

-Paul B.

Here is the first track from the album.

El-P – Tasmanian Pain Coaster