Cactus Records, Hooking It Up Again. Or, If I Had One Million Dollars, I Would Probably Still Be Broke.

Yeah, you steal music off the internet. A lot of people do, and sometimes you get a virus because you don't always know where that album has been. For those of us still buying CDs and Vinyl (tapes when worth it and eight-tracks for a little nostalgia) Cactus Records holds it down again. I skipped out this morning with a glide in my stride to scoop the newest Dennis Coffey (self-titled, shred-your-face-off funk guitar that few mortals deserve) and laser-scanned the used section for lo, something just. Like. This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGm_LI-mtEg

First off, lets get something straight: online, this album is $8.99 to download, in Cactus I got it for $9.00. When my computer fecalizes the mattress (in progress,) which albums will I have then? Which albums will I have  in ten years? That's right, the tangible ones. Also, the online hard copies are $17.00 used, unacceptable.

I hope nerd-haggling with the internet has built enough suspense for this album, or has it?

Azeem is a bay-area heavyweight poet/lyrical arsonist. Having paired ingenuously with almost every underground rapper and dj around, he rocks flows and imagery worth every second on the tracks, even when he appears to be intentionally wack.

Production and lyrical cadence run the gauntlet from bumping through experimental to downright stoned at some points. The diversity of djs on production is simply astounding. Meat Beat manifesto, Bassnectar, DJ Quest, DJ Zeph, Z-Trip and the list goes on. Check it all out and get your mind spread across the strange like pistachio butter on rye. That being said, this album is not the best introduction to the MC himself coming from a non rap-nerd perspective. The album Rise Up with DJ Zeph is a bit more accessible and dancealicious than Air Cartoons, but diversity brings out the flavor. We all like flavor, even vanilla has an essence. I have below for your enjoypleasing. I leave you with evidence of the first 40 poured.

"Then I threw everything open to the four winds, I made a sacrifice and poured out a libation on the mountain top." -Untapishtim, Gilgamesh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnfBr-602bI

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cactus-Records-Gifts/187489536826