Yes, it’s called ‘Lady Parts’, and yes that is the artwork. With the sounds of placards being painted in the distance and effigies being dressed, Fudge is rhymer Michael Christmas and producer Prefuse73, both in the business of making hard work out of the easy sounding, and giving hip-hop complexities an ain’t-nothing shrug.
MC’s Boston flow can’t be hassled or deal with hassle, coming up with zingers when the time’s right or when’s he looking up from his phone. Naturally off-the-wall, Christmas’s spitballs want it all and can’t be arsed at once, with his flow never getting lazy. ‘These Saturdays’ tries on a God complex, with a stilted, crooner’s flow.
Prefuse73’s established experimentation is actually his first MC-producer project, despite putting on the likes of Ghostface and Gza on albums way back. Of jarring overlaps that won’t befuddle, knots are put in all the right/wrong places; the mixture of the smooth and the choppy is Scott Herren knowing where he’s going with his electronic undercuts and re-routes. ‘Circuit Breaker’ is of an even keel, and overall his soldering iron probably precedes him, though the rash of detuned church bells that introduce ‘Kids Kill’ upholds preconceptions. R&B turn ‘In My Shoes’ particularly stands up, with a fine link with Alex Mali and MC sounding at his most Mac Miller-ish (who incidentally appeared on Christmas’ last album ‘What a Weird Day’).
Fudge negate any odd couple billing by proving to be very good for one another. There are times when you feel Christmas is running away and Herren is trying to keep up — “Prefuse, I refuse to be proper” — and it can infuriate, though that’s probably just leftfield hip-hop’s natural inclinations to do so (Christmas shouting “Lady Parts in this bitch” doesn’t help either). At 40 minutes long it’s probably just the right length, and both beats and rhymes will have you reaching for the microscope to appreciate the layers and nuances of each, listen on listen.
7/10
Words: Matt Oliver
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