Category:
Hip-Hop

Try if you like:
Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Jurassic 5

•   Spacious Thoughts

N.A.S.A. is the acronym for North America South America and it is the project of Squeek E. Clean and DJ Zegon. The guest list for their debut album The Spirit of Apollo just goes on and on. Now some may think that having a guest list this long you would get some disconnect: David Byrne, Tom Waits, M.I.A., Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O and Nick Zinner, RZA, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Kool Keith, CSS’ Lovefoxxx, Spank Rock, John Frusciante, Fatlip and Slim Kid Tre from the Pharcyde, E-40, Gift of Gab, Chali 2na, KRS-One, George Clinton, Seu Jorge, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, the Cardigans’ Nina Persson, Amanda Blank, Z-Trip, and DJ Qbert. The official opening track, "The People Tree", features David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab & Z-Trip. The thing I would like to know is if all of these people were in the studio at the same time. Mr. Byrne sticks around for the next track as well, "Money". It's almost as if these two tracks were at one time one. Method Man is present on the heavy hitting "N.A.S.A. Music". 

"Way Down" features a female vocalist called Barbie Hatch and the eclectic guitar styling of John Frusciante, mix in RZA and it's just another N.A.S.A. song. Some of the neatest collaborations were Karen O and Ol' Dirty Bastard on "Strange Enough", or "Spacious Thoughts" with Tom Waits and Cool Keith. Not really a far stretch is Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li on "Gifted", a track that is prime picking for a single.

I can see how a lot of people would have a hard time with the scattered array of influences at play but think of The Spirit of Apollo more as a mixtape rather than an album and you might just be able to wrap your head around. I really enjoyed it.