Album Tue May 06 2008

Neighborhood Suicide

I tried to express that true Chicago soul sound, and natural feeling. Just giving thanks to being from the south side and Chicago overall.” ~ Radius

When everyone was talking about this coast or that coast, Chicago hip-hop was brewing deep in the basements and warehouses, surround by house and jazz and blues. Waiting for the day that the world would finally allow them a moment to explain where they come from. Even though the roots of Chicago hip-hop date back to the early ‘80’s with acts like OZ & the D.V.S. Crew, Sugar Ray Dinki, Cassius D, and Shakespeare, and on into the ‘90’s with Twista, Kinetic Order, Common, The Molemen, and so on, it took someone like Kayne West to allow the casual fan to dig through crates, both past and present, of Chicago hip-hop. There is a rich history in this city, but more then just hip-hop, Chicago has soul. Deep in the walls and sidewalks, in every neighborhood, at every El stop, there is an ever-present soul that vibrates the windows and moves the youth.

One man who obliviously feels this soul is sample-based producer Ramon Norwood (a.k.a Radius). One his latest album, Neighborhood Suicide, he takes the listener on journey both through his life and through the city he loves. He does all by using his MPC digital sampler, and his respect to the downtempo pioneers like J Dilla and Madlib. Radius set out to create an album that was a tribute to the city he loves by visiting several of the locations he had lived in. With song titles like “Logan Square (Rents Due)”, “Hyde Park “(I Miss You)”, and Rogers Park (North Pole Bakery), you feel that he has seen the city from angels that most might miss. For each instrumental track there is a story or explanation given in the liner as to what this part of the city means and why it is on the album.

Sonically this album is both gorgeous and densely funky at the same time. Radius says he is bringing the “univerSoul boom bap 4th dimension sounds”, but all I hear is a constant groove and a dream to repay a city that has given him so much joy.

“I felt my city even with all the recent progression within various types of media, still wasn’t receiving the shine it so deserved. So, I decided to make an album for Chicago, and all the elements that make it up."

[mp3] Radius - Englewood (Necessary Growth)

For more information on Radius visit his myspace page. Neighborhood Suicide is being released today, order you copy here.

— Jason Behrends / Comments (0)