Finding Inspiration In Unusual Places

Roc C and Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 recently released the albumR.I.D.S. under the moniker Ron Artiste which is a play on words of the NBA star Ron Artest whom the album is based upon. What started off as a one-off collaboration between the two spawns an album that many full time duos couldn’t duplicate. Rock C and Chali 2na play off each other so eloquently that you would have thought they have been doing this together for years.

The album starts out with “Ron’s Theme” featuring Boston artist Ed OG stating, “What we are is not a group. It’s a mind state.” That state of mind is carried on throughout the remainder of the album. The next track “Trapped In” keeps up the hype with tight flows between the two along with both an amazing tongue twisting chorus and a bombastic bass line.

One thing about the album is the hilarity of the snippets of interviews, news updates and sound bites about Ron Artest sprinkled throughout the album.  These moments give the audience further insight to the gospel of Mr. Metta World Peace, Ron Artest.

The track “NoPlaceToHide” is based around a catchy soul sample with sparse drum beats slowing the pace down a bit. Big Pooh lays down a guest spot on this joint. Ironically enough, in his down time he is known for serving as a guest writer on a basketball blog. The soul samples show up again on “High Enuff“ which as the name suggest, is an homage to smoking weed and the age-old debate of whether or not to continue smoking until there’s nothing left or if you should just smoke until your “high enough.”

R.I.D.S. is a good album that demonstrates the intense level of skill these two emcee’s possess. There’s nothing ground breaking or new added to the equation it’s just hip hop done right. This duo went out with that specific goal making this album and they succeeded.