Slakah The Beatchild represents the evolution of the enigmatic
producer. Five years ago the urban landscape was ruled by the super
production gods. Names like Dre, The Neptunes, Timbaland and Dilla
(R.I.P.) conjure up visions of walking celestial beings blessing us
with musical gems. Then the internet came and completely changed the
producer paradigm. In the past the artist/producer title was a choice,
now it's a prerequisite as musicians struggle to stay relevant in the
hearts and minds of 'gimme, gimme', attention-deficient listeners. If
an artist is going to get by in '08 they have to be a musical
multi-tasker and Slakah fits perfectly into that lane. He's a musical
chameleon whose gifts are only truly realized in the presence of other
talented artists and musicians. This is why The Soul Movement Vol. 1 is
such an effective introduction to this kid's budding abilities.
Featuring collaborations from the cream of Canada's burgeoning talent
(Drake, Tona, Divine Brown, Shad, Melanie Durrant, Ray Robinson,
Ebrahim and so many others) the album is feel-good new soul with enough
of a world-inflected influence to keep it fresh.
It's an ALBUM! Meaning the songs are built to complement and augment
each other so grabbing one or two songs and popping them into your
I-pod won't do this soulful effort justice. Standout tracks are Enjoy
Ya Self, Get Down Right, The Answer, Crate Love, B-boy Beef, I'll Be
Alright & Bad Meaning Good. The album's six featured interludes are
of the Shit-I-wish-this-was-a-full-song variety so when you add those
to the aforementioned songs you realize The Soul Movement Vol.1 is
really worth enjoying in its entirety (sorry attention-deficient
kids!).
If you come from the 'Go to the store, buy the album, go home, sit back
and listen while reading the liner notes' era then The Soul Movement
Vol. 1 is an album you'll readily add to your collection. If you're
from the 'Go to the internet, find new music and throw it into my I-pod
blender' era, then this album is a great introduction to a different
(some may even say better) soul-listening experience.
- Ty Harper (OTA Live/Flow 93.5 Toronto)
Bridging the underground hip-hop sound of
J Dilla and
Pete Rock with the neo-soul of artists like
Dwele and
Raphael Saadiq,
Toronto-based producer/singer Slakah the Beatchild first appeared
around 2007, producing Canadian R&B and hip-hop artists like
Arabesque,
Ayah, and
G. Stokes. Entering the business through audio engineering,
Slakah
earned respect with his hard work ethic, gaining the trust of artists
along the way. Suggesting a lyric here and there at first led to his
becoming a songwriter, but he kept some songs for himself. The best of
these numbers appeared on
Soul Movement, Vol. 1, his debut album released by the BBE label in 2008. With the lyrics mentioning artists like
De La Soul and
A Tribe Called Quest, the album's soulful single "What's This Feeling" explained the old-school spirit
Slakah was striving to capture. Digital versions of the album came with a 22-minute interview with
Slakah dubbed "Producer Commentary."
- David Jeffries (allmusic.com)