Nickodemus
Sun People
ESL Music
The concept album is not dead. DJ Nickodemus has put together a nicely mixed collection of songs revolving around people who love the sun. The result pastes together hip-hop, world beat, salsa, and a few dozen other influences I can’t quite pin down. Track 2 is a particular favorite, “Sun Children – featuring Real Live Show” lays a snaky Klezmer clarinet over a hip-hop bassline and fills in with two rapping vocals that make you feel you’re in a storefront Baptist church in the Bowery. You’ll never know if you’re in Jamaica, the Bronx, or Bensonhurst. Nearly every song on this project is a collaboration with musicians from around the world. The samba-filled “La Lluvia” pair Nickodemus with Richard Shepard, The New York Gypsy All-Stars provide more clarinets with “weRISEweFALLweRISE,” and my favorite name on the cover is Brain J from The Pimps of Joytime on “The Love Feeling.” I’m unclear who all these musicians are, but the result is a delightful disk you’ll find much more listenable than the sullen rap that pounds out of automotive subwoofers at the intersection.
