Hip-Hop Listening Club of the Week #251: L*Roneous Da'Versifier - Imaginarium - HipHop | HipHop Channel

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Hip-Hop Listening Club of the Week #251: L*Roneous Da'Versifier - Imaginarium - HipHop

Hip-Hop Listening Club of the Week #251: L*Roneous Da'Versifier - Imaginarium - HipHop

Hip-Hop Listening Club of the Week #251: L*Roneous Da'Versifier - Imaginarium

Posted: 18 May 2018 09:20 AM PDT

Welcome to HHH Listening Club!

Today we'll be listening to Imaginarium by L*Roneous Da'Versifier

This album was selected by /u/GaryTheJerk

Background via AllMusic:

Being a free-thinking musician in the 21st century world of highly overexposed hip-hop sometimes equated to being a persona non grata. While many of hip-hop's respected luminaries chose not to rock the boat when industry battle lines were drawn, some artists chose to forego the mainstream altogether. This was the decision of many a talented underground MC/producer who stuck to their guns and made their own brand of music on smaller labels that would not force them to kowtow to the demands of the market.

The Bay Area's L*Roneous is one such artist that chose to paddle his way upstream with an abstract style reminiscent of fellow North Coast forerunners Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Souls of Mischief and Los Angeles' the Pharcyde and Freestyle Fellowship. L*Ron's limited-release debut, Imaginarium, originally surfaced in 1998 on Ocean Floor Records, but the MC's microphone mastery was only witnessed by a small circle. The style was lucid yet leaked with hallucinogenic abstraction and tongue-twisting flights of fancy. L*Ron's metaphorical madness was a perfect fit for young producer DJ Zeph's acidic B-boy beats. The chosen few who were able to place L*Ron's name and verbal template into their memory banks hoped for the sake of hip-hop that he would be heard from again. In the late '90s, the MC went on to establish connections with a number of the Golden State's underground mainstays (Project Blowed, Living Legends) and worked with such artists as Freestyle Fellowship's Mikah9 and Abstract Rude. But in terms of heavy studio work, the cryptic MC kept things mostly on the hush, releasing only a few singles in Japan and on underground outposts in the States here and there. Fledgling Bay Area label 6months Distribution got wind of L*Ron's bona fide talents and made concerted efforts to give the artist his due exposure. Feeling that L*Ron's avant-garde style of 1998 had found its ripple in time and that the underground needed to reclaim some of its plundered principalities, the label reissued the artist's Imaginarium album in June of 2002.

Notes from selector /u/GaryTheJerk:

Imaginarium by L'Roneous is widely considered a classic among the very limited number of people who have actually heard the album. The album wasn't pushed by the label at the time it was released, plus Napster was booming at the time, so the album never really received the recognition it deserved outside of hip-hop fans up familiar with the Bay Area and Los Angeles underground hip-hop scenes.

Before his critically-acclaimed debut Imaginarium, L'Roneous honed his skills with the band Last 2 Serve, a group of jazz musicians (one of whom was a founding member of Haiku D'etat) under the tutelage of acid jazz trio The Broun Fellinis that featured emcees L'Roneous and Queue as the frontmen. While less experimental than the music of Last 2 Serve, a heavy jazz influence can be heard in the production by DJ Zeph (who produced the album in its entirety,) which is a perfect match for L-Ron's effortless and abstract delivery. L'Ron's unique vocabulary and vivid storytelling make Imaginarium a compelling listen and one of my favorite albums of all-time.

Artist: L*Roneous Da'Versifier

Album: Imaginarium

Label: Ocean Floor Records

Producer(s): DJ Zeph

Streaming Sources:

Guidelines:

  • This is an open thread to share your thoughts on the album. Avoid vague statements of praise or criticism. This is your chance to be a critic.

  • Please keep any top level comments to 140+ characters. Why do you like this album? What are the best tracks? Did it meet your expectations? Have you listened to this tape before? What is your first impression? Explain why you like it or why you don't.

  • Remember, people who participate in the discussion in a meaningful way are entered into a drawing to select next week's album (if I don't forget to ask in time)

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Posted: 18 May 2018 12:20 PM PDT

Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread!

This thread is for:

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