MC Eyedea, DJ Abilities reunite for 'E&A'
Fans of the rapper Eyedea
and his record-spinning pal
Abilities can check out the
duo Saturday at WOW Hall
By Ryan Murphey
Freelance Reporter
There are few things more disap
pointing than a poor follow-up to
an excellent album, especially when
bum" would have never existed,
Misfits would have broken up when
Glenn Danzig quit and Alice Coop
er would have died of an overdose
long before having the chance to
reinvent himself.
REVIEW
you have to
wait a long
time for it.
In a perfect
world,
Weezer's
"Green Al
"First Born," the 2001 collabora
tion between MC Eyedea and DJ
Abilities, caused quite a stir in the
hip-hop community and left a lot of
listeners eager to hear what was next.
Fans of "First Born" will be pleased
to find that the latest album from
the childhood friends — who re
lease their collaborations under the
"Eyedea & Abilities" moniker 'E&A,'
is far from disappointing.
To say that "E&A" is a progression
would be an understatement. When
Eyedea & Abilities released "First
Born," the two "battle-rap" heavy
weights surprised listeners with an
album that was far more studio than
street. "E&A" takes the two musi
cians even further away from their
battle-rap beginnings, aiming at the
kind of uncompromising main
stream success achieved by bands
like Outkast and Radiohead.
The symbiotic relationship be
tween DJ Abilities' devastatingly
technical scratching and Eyedea's
lyrical acrobatics is reminiscent of
the call-and-response solos of Miles
Davis and John Coltrane. Following
every step of Abilities' moody beats,
Eyedea's flow varies from a lazy
drawl to a frantic pace — enough to
make an experienced auctioneer's
head spin.
Like label mates Atmosphere and
Sage Francis, Eyedea & Abilities are
part of a new era in hip-hop that is
becoming increasingly visible to the
mainstream. Despite the growing at
tention, Eyedea & Abilities' commit
ment to the avant-garde is clear. In
"Reintroducing," the appropriately
titled first track of "E&A," Eyedea
lyrically draws a line in the sand be
tween himself and the mainstream,
letting a little of his battle-rap cocki
ness shine through.
"Your candy-coated, condom-fla
vored karaoke cover songs are no
longer accepted, so I suggest you
••• f -:
of everything yt
inanaduftstoi
•TOYS-Lll
•MAG AZINL
•VIDEOS*
•DVDs*
exclusively
exit," spits Eyedea, denouncing the
marginalized hip-hop culture that
dominates the mainstream today.
This album not only delivers some
thing new, but demands other artists
do so as well.
As an emerging white lyricist, it
has been impossible for Eyedea to es
cape comparisons to Eminem, but
after listening to "E&A," it's clear that
if the two were to go head-to-head,
Eyedea would send Slim back to 8
Mile in a body bag.
Eyedea & Abilities will perform at
WOW Hall Saturday with Blueprint,
Grayskul and Sapient. Tickets are
$12 in advance and $14 at the door,
and are available at CD & Game Ex
change, CD World, Face the Music,
House of Records, Taco Loco, the
UO Ticket Office and WOW Hall.
Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and the
show begins at 9 p.m.
Ryan Murphey is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
Mike Averill
and Max
Keltgen will
perform
Saturday as
Eyedea &
Abilities at
WOW Hall to
promote their
new album,
“E&A.”
Courtesy
J
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both in form and content."
Andy Gurevich, dtheatre.com
"A Provocative Blast of Fresh Air"
Diane de la Paz, Tacoma News Tribune
"...triumphs with humor, quiet beauty,
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Brian Braii The Portland Mercury
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