Welcome to Ear 2 Da Sky! Each week, I will be going over topics within music culture and reviewing albums and EPs across genres, eras and artists that are submitted by readers and listeners of my radio show every Monday at 11 p.m. on WHUS 91.7 FM! For this week’s submission, I will be going over Juggaknot’s “Re:Release.”
Similarly to a few of the artists I have written about in my articles over the past few weeks, I am not extremely familiar with Juggaknots — only having heard the name in passing. Personally, I tally them as one of those artists that I “know” purely off of name recognition. But after spending some time with this album, I’ve come to find out a few things. Juggaknots are a New York-based rap and hip-hop group that consists of three siblings who rap under the following aliases: Queen Herawin, Breeze Brewin and Buddy Slim, the latter two taking over on this project.
Their 2003 album “Re:Release” is just what it suggests. It’s a re-release of their 1996 debut studio album, “Clear Blue Skies.” Seven years later, this compilation album clocks in at feature length film runtime, sitting at a hefty one hour and 27-minutes, which makes complete sense once you see the 23 tracks on the record.
Track one, “The Hunt Is On,” opens up the album with a short and smooth yet grainy instrumental — setting the precedent for the rest of the album — then jumping straight into track two, “Trouble Man.” The beat stays true to the sound and texture of its predecessor, with a smooth and grainy auditory balance. A few samples can be heard throughout this track, but one that sticks out the most to me is John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things.” It’s the main loop throughout the whole song and it’s a good one too.
“Watch Ya Head” is track four of the project. They follow along with this jazzy-sounding instrumental claiming and bragging about how they are truly some of the best (if not the best) rappers out. They also very funnily brag about their sex life and how they don’t discriminate. The hook also backs their claims of musical and verbal skill, making a reference to the United Negro College Fund’s motto “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” proclaiming that every other rapper out there is wasting their time and ultimately their mind as long as Juggaknots are out there.
Track 11, “Loosifa” is one of the most popular songs from the album. “Loosifa” is a five-minute story in which we follow the rollercoaster of a life that “Smokey” had lived. From robbing for survival, to working in the hospital’s maternity ward to provide for his future family, to visions of children on crack to a raging gunfight between him and a crack dealer out of fear of his soon-to-be-born-baby’s future.
With fall here, the leaves changing colors and falling, as well as the weather getting colder (although it’s been really up and down as of recent), Juggaknots’ re-release of their debut album, “Re:Release” is a great backing track. Whether it’s just background music for getting work done, walking to class or just while you stare at the aforementioned falling leaves; it really fits any occasion and clocking in at just under 90-minutes, it leaves you a whole lot of time to do a whole lot of things. This album is a real time capsule of the jazzy, grimy, sample and scratch heavy New York rap of the time; a great type of time capsule.
Rating: 3/5
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