Reviews (page 5 of 7)
Hard work. Couldn't finish it
Ugh.
Some hits, mostly misses
I wanted to like this because I typically dig this style, but I just didn’t. His voice and flow are mostly uninteresting. Neat jazzy instrumentals though. Favorites were Bladerunners, and The Animist.
I kept waiting for this album to rise high enough to be on par with MC 900 Ft. Jesus. But it ultimately fell flat. It lacks the cohesive, hypnotic brilliance found in the works of MC 900 Ft. Jesus, making the experimental production feel messy rather than visionary. The conceptual sci-fi themes felt forced and failed to engage me, and unlike MC 900 Ft. Jesus, who masterfully balanced abstract storytelling with infectious, jazz-fluid beats, Ladd's delivery felt disconnected from the somewhat chaotic music.
Kind of shit my uncle likes.
So obscure, not bad though. 2.5.
At times there were moments where I thought the album would take off, then it came crashing down in some mundane way.
There is soom good lyrics/rhyming on this but also very questionable instrumentals. “Red Eye to Jupiter” gets a particular frown… Quite weak overall 2/5
Mike’s flows are occasionally interesting, but the beats throughout the album are either forgettable or annoying, with nothing in between. The style hasn’t aged the best, and ultimately this album has very little to say and way too many points where it absolutely drags along.
Rap, no mi rollo
Uhh there's some Gorillaz stuff in here but it's so dense and garbled with other stuff. It's ok as a background album but this album definitely doesn't hold me. Top track: "Bladerunners"
it's fine.
--5000 Miles West of the Future...this is interesting. an off-kilter start/stop syncopation. nice, fat low end --Airwave Hysteria...not sure about Mike's flow (do the kids still use "flow" today?) but the production is cool --Planet 10...silky and sinister --Takes More Than 41...don't like this one. sluggish --Bladerunners...the vocals and the beat seem to be fighting each other --No. 1 St....more interesting production but I'm not really connecting with the vocals --To the Moon's Contractor...sound collage. after a rough start it becomes a groove --I Feel Like $100...another collage. interesting but whatever --The Animist...some nice after hours hip hop. the rattling effect is overused --Red Eye to Jupiter (Starship Nigga)...the rapping is actively fighting the beat again --Welcome to the Afterfuture...guh, the compact disc era really convinced artists to throw any random trash they had lying around to fill out the space --Wipe Out on the Wave of Armageddon...cool instrumental --Feb. 4 '99 (For All Those Killed by Cops)...powerful
I'm down for some underground hip hop, but this is pretty meh. Some weird cyberpunk-feeling lyrics over passable but not great futureclash production. A couple good bars here and there, but noting I'll remember. Nice to hear Company Flow in there. Was pretty bored by the instrumental, drum-n-bass-y tracks. Remember RJD2? No? Yeah, well, this is like that. Yeah, that wasn't very good either. The upside: this shuffled over into Cymande's "Dove," which I'd never heard before and absolutely loved.
2.5
Some high points, some low points... Where are we going indeed
I'll make this quick. Some of the tracks are okay if I turn to the experimental side of my brain and not the one that wants that heavy boom bap, but dude's flow is not my thing. For the love of god stop putting 2000s French-hop on this list. Final warning.
(36/100)
This is a tough one because I like what it's going for, but the execution isn't quite there (particularly in the vocals). There are other acts who do this kind of moody, experimental hip hop but they are so much better than this
This was a weird one. Started off pretty strong, but around the midpoint disappeared up its own arse (I'm looking at you, To The Moon's Contractor). I'd never heard of this artist nor the album - while that's not uncommon for this list, it is a bit more unexpected given this came out during a period I was listening to more new music than any time during my life. This album has a ridiculously low number of Spotify plays, and while that's not a surefire indicator of cultural relevance, it does suggest this album has been forgotten by most of those who ever knew it existed. Doesn't surprise me much.
Definitely not for me. I appreciate the experimentation and the boldness to put this music out there though. I feel like I appreciate the instrumentals more than the MC. On that same point, To The Moons Contractor was a vibe. Despite its length, I really enjoyed that track.
“If I was Catholic my name would be…Chris ” straight bars?
This just sounds like a rip off of Dr. Octagynacologist to me.
This album was interesting at times, but I never felt it was any good.
Wasn’t for me
Felt anonymous to me
Never heard of him before. When it started I thought "Oh this is different". However as it went on it just became more and more monotonous.
I liked this
2.5 beats are solid, the rapping stinks
Parts were interesting, but didn’t Rey like it.
Maybe this was really interesting in 2000...
It's been a while since I gave some actual longer review. It's been bugging me since. I mean, it's just more fun to give out real reviews, right? Most of my, heh, "reviews" were just random words I had in mind at that moment or some joke from a certain day or just some twist on the album title or the artist's name... And it's not fun. I've been a bit tired lately, didn't feel like giving out real reviews - and I am not gonna go back to do so. Also, if somoene's reading this in the reviews of this album: sorry, I use these reviews like a diary sometimes, my bad. Don't mind it. So, here I am, with another album. I did not like it that much. Quite frankly after first songs I wanted to give it a 1 star rating, and I am still very close to giving it that. But there were moments that were redeeming for this piece of music. Some less hip hopy, more electronic songs were a nice breath of fresh air between some slop... And yeah, it wasn't that good overall. A lot of it sounded quite shitty, a lot of very amatourish sounding stuff, a lot of weird bass sounds all over the place which hurt my ears. And let's keep in mind I am an experimental and avant-garde lover, for gods sake! But yeah, this one was... a miss. BUT. Uno, it gave me motivation to get back to reviewing albums, which I respect highly. And dos, as I mentioned already, it did have certain moments that I enjoyed a bit, so I am not gonna rate it a 1. Mikey, me boy, here's 2 out of 5 dabloons for you. For your effort and time, cause I am pretty sure you put a lot of it into this piece. It just ain't for me. But don't worry, I also make shit music, we're in this together. (I'd give myself also 2 star rating)... Okay that's all, I think. I am sleepy af. Goodnight.
Nottttt great tbh
Unfortunately meh. Can see on another listen really enjoying this, but when next to Dr octagon this pales a bit.
I forgot I listened to this
Honestly not the biggest fan. Yeah I like hip hop but this one sounded like the same song over and over.
bit of an unfortunate one, because this is a very interesting album that's just been swallowed by the legacies of its contemporaries. Apparently this was a very influential album for the underground at the time, but today listeners seem to dismiss it compared to other, better remembered rappers of this era eg. MF DOOM, El-P, Deltron 3030. Does it still sound as influential as it once apparently was? Not really, but to say it's aged like milk is just not true either. There's a lot of interesting stuff on here here, especially in terms of Ladd's production, which is notably more abstract and "clanky" than other underground/backpacker tapes from this era. The beats shift between skittering electronica, processed classical and jazz samples and some pretty interesting pop sample loops spun into something that resembles industrial rap, and even Warp-esque ambient. The main problem for me is the vocals, as well as the runtime. The lyrics are... fine. Kind of run of the mill semi-intelectual, overly conceptual and nerdy, but they flows and delivery stay mostly in the same lane across the whole tape with just a couple notable exceptions (Planet 10). For a runtime over 1 hour, it becomes hard to decipher one track from another. Still a very interesting piece of history for underground rap and industrial plunderphonics.
Fine I guess not sure it needs to be on this list.
Wait. What? Don't know what I was meant to take away, but it was something I didn't know I didn't need.
Seems quite a standard rap album, think I’m missing what makes it special/worthy of the list sadly
did not enjoy
This is alright, but from this time I was listening to a tonne of Anticon artists and people in the orbit of El-P and Company Flow that did it so much better. Not the most obvious or inspiring entry, but had it's moments, usually when there was a guest artist in the track.
This Hampshire grad wears his Hampshirean hat too tight & conspicuously to be taken seriously, but the real problem is that there's so much hip-hop out there that's in this vein but way better: Kool Keith, Aesop Rock, Del the Funky Homosapien, to rattle off a few. I actually wish it was more smoked-out than it is, b/c this isn't druggy, it's languor, apathy, & intellectualism of a bogus & tedious kind. Kerouac & Cervantes creep in inanely, just showing off rather than reading deep: 'Dharma bums, rolling drum work better than GIs'; 'I'm as good as Don Quixote, smokin' peyote.' I thought 'Bladerunners' was the best track, but then realized that the Company Flow feature made it bang. Once Ladd came back in, I was asleep again, literally knocked out.
Not very good, but I respect what it's trying to do. With a name like that I was expecting some techno electro beat from the tail end of the 90s, and to be fair there's definitely influence from that on the album. But it's not executed well enough to be good. That being said, the overall idea and cohesiveness of the album is pretty great and is saving it from a 1/5.
the beats were really good on here, but it was kind of all over the place lyrically and just with the overall sound. I like experimental most of the time but I feel like it just didn't work here on this album for the most part. 2.5/5 for me overall but some good tracks if they were just by themselves.
2,5/5
Hadn't ever heard of anything from this guy, it's unique and kind of interesting but I don't see a ton that makes this mandatory. I feel like if this clicks for you, you'd be all about it.
This didn't much for me. As I listened my thoughts would drift to the fact that I've heard better versions of what this is doing. It was fine though.
Meanders around and never goes anywhere.
Look, I’m all for an artist experimenting with form, genre, and style to create something more avant-garde. I tend to be more generous to artists who are clearly trying something different, even if it isn’t perfect. But, this just doesn’t do anything for me. The rapping might be okay, interesting lyrics at times (often obfuscated by a wash of reverb), but the beats are often dissonant and disjunct such that they sound weirdly amateurish. In contrast, I think of artists like Peter Gabriel or David Bowie who went pretty avant-garde, but still wrote great songs. And then there’s the final track, which I genuinely found brilliant. How do I weigh that against the rest of the album? I think I need to consider the album as a whole.
Starts off cool and exciting, but peters out into long-form noodling after five songs. Shoulda been an EP.
I certainly enjoy music like Welcome to the Afterfuture, but this is not it. The beats and production are decent, off-kilter, hip hop, but it's all just fine. Some tracks can stand on their own, but not money. Likewise when there is rapping or a vocalist, it isn't very inspired or interesting. I had never heard of Mike Ladd prior to this list, and now I understand why.
Overall Rating - 2.42/5 (4.85/10). Weird, vaguely unpleasant at times, but also decently fun at times.
Not my thing
This was painful to get through. There were a select few moments of experimental musicality that captured my attention, but lyrically, and overall, this stinks
What if hip-hop went to space? After listening to this, you’ll realise it’s a question nobody should have asked. I suppose we can praise the creativity of Ladd’s concept, but ultimately this sounds quite basic in the beat behind it and the rapping. It’s average lo-fi music paired with average hip-hop, so the result is predictably underwhelming. It wasn’t actively bad, so I’ll keep it at 2.
Mike Ladd for the most part does a just about passable job with this album’s electronic-infused hip hop sound and space-themed concept. It (mostly) wasn’t horrible, but I enjoyed it only sporadically. It was also much longer than necessary and rather tedious. ‘To the Moon’s Contractor’ certainly did not need to be over 10 minutes long, but other tracks were much worse, featuring a variety of irritating, awful falsetto vocals and electronic noises. ‘Bladerunners’ was probably the best track, thanks to Company Flow’s feature more than Mike Ladd, whose rapping is bang average. Just barely enough to escape 1-star ignominy.
The music is a vibe, with chill beats, but I wasn't in the right mood to listen to it. It's not grabbing me today.
What the? Some of this is decent, but then some is terrible OUT OF SPACE MOTHEFUCKER.
03/04/2026 Got to agree with everyone else here, 2 stars max, and that's me being generous. Spotify listeners: 37.7k
Its.... OK
Lyrically very interesting, musically not my bag. The last song was really good, though.
Nothing really stood out to me as very good. There were some annoying parts with some terrible singing
He certainly wants to express something. I did not get him. 2,4
This isn’t as bad as people are saying. There is something that’s not bad with this. The lyrics and beats are decent. There’s a bit of Speech from Arrested Development or Eminem in here, even if it never approaches anything that good. It all just never adds up to something incredibly amazing or terribly interesting. 2 1/2 stars, but rounding down to 2 because it’s a little bit less than average. Hey, I guess this is as bad as people are saying.
Synes det lyder som MF DOOM light
This is such a weird album to me, not just for its inclusion but kinda just in general. It's not bad perse, but it's obsolete at this point, and one look at the Wikipedia page suggests it was obsolete then. I don't know who wrote this into the book, it might've been Mr. Ladd himself. It's not even like bad really, but I can think of a number of albums that belong here instead. I could probably even think of rap albums from 2000 that belong here instead if you gave me enough time. Just a baffling inclusion. Favorites: Airwave Hysteria, The Animist, Feb. 4 '99 (For All Those Killed by Cops)
Not something I'll revisit but didn't completely hate it.
Blah
Struggled to really get into this one
Similar to a lot of the def jux albums of the time. verbose interesting beats, but sometimes too much.
Avant garde, experimental hip hop
some cool stuff but nothing done really well imo
I was surprised this was a hip hop album as Mike Ladd doesn’t sound like a rapper name. After listening to it, I’m still not sure he sounds like a rapper - the production is more interesting than his flow.
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Bladerunners Reminds me a LOT of Kool Keith's alter ego Doctor Octagon, and a bit of Deltron 3030 insofar the subject matter and lyrical content, but it's also a bit too tryhard. There are some okay beats, but none of the songs were particularly noteworthy or mind-blowing.
Not sure what to say about this album, but I just didn’t enjoy it.
OK but not for me.
idk dude, sure
A very vibey experimental rap album, kind of cool in places, when it works it really works. I like the lofi feel to it all.
It wasn't bad just wandering around. It had a vision and a mission but, since Deltron 3030, exists it's just kind of difficult to hear this and not immediately wish to be listening to that. Sounds mean but I found myself being reminded of that particular album about every other track and how I'd rather be listening to it?
Correcto
2 out of 5. I liked how trippy this album gets at times.
¿Me estás diciendo que esto es parte de los 1001 álbumes que tengo que oír antes de que muera? Este álbum fue tan bueno, revolucionario o impresionante para un grupo de personas que decidieron integrarlo en este proyecto. Te voy a dar el beneficio de la duda. Tengo gustos musicales simples y mainstream. Si estas son las tan aclamadas “buenas canciones” según los críticos. Puta madre, deja me pongo a escuchar a Taylor Swift hablando de su ex y Sexyy Red hablando de su concha. No me voy a perder de mucho. Acerca del álbum, los beats me dan un derrame cerebral, el ritmo de la voz no sincroniza con la melodía. The Animist me hizo sentir como si un agente de la cia me estuviera haciendo waterboarding por 6 minutos. Escuche algunas otras canciones de otros álbumes suyos y mientras no diga una sola palabra. Lo podría escuchar. No soy el público del spoken word, quiero algo simple y que suene bien, desde mi punto de vista, esto es malo o más que malo, es un gusto adquirido.
I feel like this is one I gotta register to in a year or two. But after first listen I’m not into it.
Not really my cup of tea. Majority of the album I didn’t connect with but some of the ambient songs touched a space I can enjoy. Never been one for this high brow hip hop, but the sampling is definitely futuristic and influential on a style of hip hop that is critically acclaimed. I struggled to get through this though and won’t come back to it
Why listen to this when you can listen to Funcrusher Plus?
Get the concept, just not for me.
I really only vibed with To The Moon's Contractor, but I did really vibe with it.
Good, but too long.
handful of moments that catch my attention but this is over an hour and is very samey. Doesn't really ever hold onto me and feels a bit one-note
if this didn't overstay its welcome so hard i would probably be more into it. highlight of the listening experience was identifying a sample in "Airwave Hysteria" so i guess that was my favorite. fun experimentation but the kind of thing i've heard done with more competency and coherence elsewhere. "The Animist" really makes clear the valuable distinction between stream-of-consciousness rap and spoken word. I like that there's some urgency in the ending track but then it sort of loses the plot lol.
Interesting album, not really connecting for me beyond being interesting and general competent but I do feel like it makes sense that this is on the list. Also regrettably too long
Deltron 3030 did it better. Some of the songs with a solid beat were alright for me (Airwave Hysteria, Bladerunners). The spoke word was pretty awful. Not a whole lot here for me.
This kind of y2k “futuristic” sci-fi inspired stuff feels very tired and dated. This bores me and the lyrics are not particularly inspired.
I’ve heard worse hiphop- but I’ve heard much better. The choice was give it 2 stars or 3 so slept on it. The next day, I really couldn’t come up with what any of the songs sounded like so that’s why it gets the 2 stars.
Some good ideas buried among the mess.
1.5/5
moody rap, speaks to some out there
IT was only OK. Would not listen again.
I love obscure hip hop but this bored me constantly. Mediocre flows over average beats.
I don't want to live in the Afterfuture!
The production is on point, but I spent the entire record wishing that literally anyone else was rapping. As a fan of the genre and early 00's hip hop, this is anything but essential. Listen to MF Doom or Aesop Rock instead.
Didn't really enjoy, and loses a point because the weird noises upset my dog.
Honestly, this is a head scratcher. It’s pretty cool in some spots, but I just don’t find it very mind blowing. I didn’t find much to keep me engaged for most this record.
Very interesting concept album, I didn't not enjoy it. It worked really well for me as background while working on something else. I don't think I would reach for this again.
Do not recommend unless you like to listen to weird sounds and music that is supposed to seem "futuristic" but instead sounds like a toddler decided to play on a keyboard with random sound bites and then someone high on acid remixed it. (side note: "To the Moon's Contractor" Kinda sounds like a remixed version of the robot song from Spongebob where Spongebob thought Mr. Krabs was a robot and that is the only reason I am giving this 2 stars.)
if i was jewish my name would be jared favorite song: the animist
Some interesting moments with the production and creative mixing but the spacey digital effects were overused. Interesting listen. Not something I need to revisit.
Decent enough hip hop but nothing I'll remember in a week or two.
Not my taste.
I appreciate what this is going for, but I really don’t think it succeeds all that often. The more atmospheric touches just feel kind of tacked on and not all that creative
I don't know, I feel like I would appreciate this album more if it wasn't on this list. What merits this hip album to be on here over the countless other hip hop records I can think of in the last couple of decade that aren't on this list and deserve to be? It's not that it's bad, it's that there's plenty that is much much better, and frankly, more significant to the underground genre.
Horrible flow, chunky production, not influential or popular at all. No idea why this is on the list other than the guy who made this list consistently exhibits an awful taste when it comes to hip hop. There’s a couple tracks I don’t mind here, mostly the instrumentals (lol), so I’m not giving it the full 1. But come on, man.
Not bad, I was able to finish it.
some parts of this are actually good and i wish there was more stuff like that but this just doesnt catch my attention that much when u have so many parts that just sound repetitive and uninspired
Some of it was kinda mediocre and I have listened to way better, but I genuinely liked the tracks with more experimental and jazzy vibes. I feel like the N word usage by a white rapper aged like fucking milk tho :').
2/5 I liked the experimental part, but I've heard better 2000s hip-hop. There were a few songs I liked, but it was overall very meh. Don't know why this is on the list.
This is.... wordy. I mean, there are SO MANY FUCKING WORDS. Like, this guy, what does he do? He talks and talks and talks and talks and talks. I can't fucking keep up. And the beats can't either. It's kind of instructive to listen to this just after Odelay. Beck has a lot of words, too, and many of them are nonsense. But they're backed up by some great music. This album? Nope. The music is secondary, maybe tertiary: it's dim, muddy, uninteresting and, ultimately, buried under just un-fucking-bearable amounts of blathering about whatthefuckever. 2.
2/5 - I liked the first 5000 miles track. I lost the thread soon after, and didn’t care to pick it up. It was kind of exhausting to listen to, but I bet reading the lyrics would be worth a run through.
Not sure if this is for me. Seems to be a little all over the place with it’s sound.
ehhhh not for me - ended after track 5
I listened patiently waiting for the moment to come where my mind opened to this one. It did not arrive.
meh
Reminds me a bit of a Fatboy Slim album, which is not a good thing.
I really wasn’t feeling this album at all. His style of hip hop just isn’t for me.
First Listen; 2; Wanted to like this given the aesthetic it was going for, but just didn't do anything for me. No real memorable hooks, music sounds flat as well. And if you're going for this lo-fi production style, I feel like you need to have clever lyrics, which this really doesn't either. Favorite Track: To the Moon's Contractor
oh jeez. oh JEEZ. that was atrocious.
this experimental hip-hop album didn't grab me, though i'm not sure it was really trying to. mike ladd definitely tries a bunch of different sounds, ideas, production techniques, etc. on this album, but they don't combine to a cohesive whole. whenever i'd start to enjoy a track i was listening to, some annoying pitch-shifted voice or other annoyance would snap me out of it. i'm glad he's trying something new but this didn't need to be on the list. 1.5 stars. favorites: bladerunners
2.5 stars
Didn't really care for this
Bonus points for rhyming teepee with peepee
Better than the average hip hop album, but the average hip hop album sucks.
like, i can tell its good just not my cup of tea at all
Didn't really enjoy this. It felt boring.
3.5/10
Я в абстрактному хіп-хопі не дуже шарю. Цей альбом послухав і нічого не запам'ятав.
This was kind of mediocre, not a fan
Genre: Abstract Hip Hop This one of these picks from the book that makes you think one of their brothers/sisters was an editor. This is not by any means a total stinker, but it seems out of place. It doesn’t seem to have been any sort of forerunner or leading light in any way. The internet barely knows it. Listening to the whole thing, it’s certainly made by a talented fella, but it’s just totally okay. Experimental and quirky, but not very re-listenable, and certainly not “before you die” type material. 2/5
Futuristic Hip Hop. Unfortunately, it sounds rather unpleasant. It's like expecting cool, sophisticated cyberpunk futurism, but getting a tattered, scrap-metal post-apocalypse instead. Probably enjoyable for a select few. 2.5/5
This started out quite well but I lost interest after a few tracks and then it became background music. Maybe not the ideal day to catch me on, sorry Mikey Ladd!
Sounds like Temu El-P
I had no idea who Mike Ladd was and was unaware of the music he was creating. Turns out he’s a rapper. A French rapper at that. I’m not the biggest hip-hop fan, even for “real” music, it’s never really been about the lyrics for me. I’m more about the music or the groove, or the riff. So, hip-hop is pretty low on my list of music to listen to for pleasure. As I was preparing my dishes for the church Thanksgiving potluck, I listened to the album. I got a sense of it. Did I finish it? One might say, no. I might say I was really busy this weekend, so give me a break. However, what I did hear of the album was fine. It wasn’t something that blew me away. The opening track 5000 Miles West of the Future has a killer groove. EL-P, of Run the Jewels, pops up on track 5, Bladerunners. I do love me some Run The Jewels. I’m sure a hip-hop head could find much more to like. So, if you're into hip-hop, this album will definitely mean more to you. If you’re not a hip-hop fan, you can live your life never hearing this album and be just fine.
this album reminded me so much of a grand dont come for free by the streets. this one takes the edge slightly because the beats don't sound like they were made in the basement of the guys house and the delivery is slightly better(though not by much). i also appreciate the socially conscious lyrics
I thought I knew every obscure rap album back in the day; this one slipped by me. All the magazines I’ve read, message boards I’ve lurked, documentaries I’ve watched - this album was never mentioned. Experimental, jazzy type hiphop with average to below average lyrics and flow. I might have liked this when I was younger, but now it just feels awkward to listen to.
Blind album and artist. If the afterfuture sounds like this, I dont wanna live in it.
Some of it was good, but a lot of it did nothing for me. It was also long and had me zoning out at times. I appreciate getting something different, I'm just not sure what makes this deserving of the list. Overall: 2/5
Favorite track(s): 5000 Miles West of the Future, Red Eye to Jupiter
Look, it's not that it's bad, it's that it's really bad... To be fair to it, it has some okay tracks but come on it's pretty shit overall. 1.7
Have never heard of this artist before. There were some good ideas on this album, but he attempts too much overall. I think it would have been better if it was more focused. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again
Not a fan
Not really my thing. I think it would be good for a really chill evening so I may not have been in the mood. I'll need to revisit.
I did not enjoy this at all - too many beep boops.
Album had some track with some nice beats…album was ok. 2.5 stars
I feel like I see the idea, but they failed on the execution.
Diet-wu-tang beats and a laid back flow. Chill and fun to listen to but extremely forgettable.
Quite a mixed bag. The poetry slam on the last track is alright. Some of the groovy, synth lounge parts aren't half bad, either. Unfortunately, the rap parts are pretty terrible and drag down the overall experience. Still, it's better than Kanye. But really, what isn't?
There is something about a British accent and rapping that instantly makes me want to skip an album. I did listen but felt it to be a chore.
Is there any mf doom on this list? If not what are we doing with this? Bizarre pick, pretty bad.
Meh
Interesting
I was not impressed with this sadly. beats weren't very interesting, rhymes were fine, but overall this was a miss for me.
Pretty forgettable
Starts off sounding like a Backstreet Boys song with the synth. Kinda boring. The second song starts off with a sample of Barry White's Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe. This isn't good.
Meh.
meh
It’s hard to remember now given that rap/hip hop basically IS what people think music is today, but for a stretch there in the late 90s rap was kinda...wack. You had some older heavyweights still doing work (Beastie Boys), newly arrived virtuosos (Em, Jay), but the median group/MC pushed had more in common with late 80s hair metal artists: girls, cars, houses, fleeting displays of ostentatious wealth (everything rented for the video shoot). Nice surprises like Stankonia were around the corner, but as a forward-looking genre, hip hop was feeling if not dead, certainly on life support. I personally was consumed with trip hop, the downbeat or instrumental sampling music adjacent to hip hop, mostly without MCs. As a DJ, I was an outlier in my appreciation of hip hop, happy to drop in golden era favs, but contemporaries seldom made it through - backpack and whatnot was fine, but lacked vibrancy, focusing on unique (often offputtingly nasal) deliveries. Lots to admire, but hard to find a lot to love. Like some instrumental hip hop, Mike Ladd had atmosphere going for him - there’s something mysterious, threatening out there, but we can’t put our finger on quite what it is. Pynchon as producer. The beats are fine and range from 4/4 boom bap to a more acoustic, live feel. I’m not sure I would’ve loved this at the time, such was my resistance to MCs then, but there’s a spare quality to his work that lets a sample fill the bars, instead of the turntablist need to always move on. The Gorecki flip would’ve almost certainly made many a mixtape. But...there’s a casting about here, a lot of songs without lyrical hooks, just...incidental ruminating that seems obviously important to Ladd, less so to the listener. I see he later got into soundtrack work and that tracks.
Just when I thought I was doing okay with hip-hop, which isn’t one my usual genres to listen to, this album comes along and ruins everything. It’s really not good. It’s like trying to listen to Oxygene while your flatmate is ranting about totalitarianism. The beats are fine but the lyrics are poor. The album sprawls, and when you think you’ve got a handle on where it’s trying to go, it doesn’t even try to get there. It’s far too long and there is no way this is essential listening before you die.
Annoying songs
Why does every hiphop album need to be an hour long? Is it just too easy to produce compared to other styles, so you may as well add more songs while you're in the studio? Is it too many bedroom producers not getting notes? Because the result is albums like this, and its ok, but I feel like if it was half as long, it would be twice as interesting and its commentary would hit twice as hard.
BAD
I listened to this album twice through... at least I think I did. It's quite amazing how bland this is. It's so bland I have no idea what to give it. I didn't hate it, or find it annoying, nor did I like it or notice any stand out tracks. I've gained absolutely nothing from listening to this and lost nothing. Best Tracks? 5000 Miles West of the Future (it's the opening song); Planet 10 (maybe?); Bladerunners (I guess)
Disclaimer: The last song is excellent There is really something off with this list and how it views hip hop music. Arguably hip hop is the most influential and successful form of popular music for at least the past 25 years yet it is under represented by this list. When there are hip hop albums on the list they are either extremely obvious or too obscure. This album is an example of the latter. Were this a list of alt hip hop that was not as well done as Company Flow/ Def Jux/ hip hop releases in the late 90s early 2000s then this should be on that list. This album is not that great or interesting . Some of the production is ok. There are trip hop elements on a few songs and the instrumentals are solid. The rapping is so average especially for this type of album that it detracts from the parts of the album that work. If anyone reads this and likes this album please listen to Cannibal Ox, Company Flow, and Google alt backpack rap and you'll find many better examples.
Some of the beats are good, but man this guy has no flow. Sounds like a cheap copy of MF Doom (who, by the way, isn't even on this list)
If MF Doom didn't know how to rap Best Song: Bladerunner Rating: 3/10 Stars: 2
Interesting listen 2/5
It is kind of interesting but I don't like it at all. 2 stars or D+.
I don't know why but there's loads of hip-hop in this list, and the bar seems to be quite low. This album has few OK moments but it's generally quite weak I think.
Just plain bland
Not really my think. Some ok bits but overall didn’t do it for me.
interesting listen, not for me
"There's nothing more middle class than dying of applesauce"...... huh?? 3/10
Not a fan of this, it got trashy real quick and was way too long.
The vast majority of albums that are "critically acclaimed" and praised by music "critics" but don't sell at all or make their way into the public consciousness whatsoever, are complete trash and hard to listen to. This album is a great example of this. Like most hip-hop/rap albums, it's entirely too long. It drags a bunch in places. Also, this dude sucks at rapping. His lyrics make no sense. This isn't special. Only reason it's not a 1 is cause some of the musical parts are interesting.
Para el hip hop tengo un limite y creo que este álbum lo ilustra claramente. Mira que empieza prometedor, pero según avanza se me van quitando las ganas de volverlo a escuchar. En la parte positiva, ese intento de mezclar hip-hop con música alternativa. Para mi gusto, no funciona.
I dislike more songs on this album than I like songs on it
It wasn't bad, just not my vibe. Felt like the songs sounded the same throughout
I didn't hate it but I could have definitely not heard it before I died and wouldn't have overly cared.
I don’t get it. Nothing special.
4/10 There are some decent ideas scattered around on this album, but overall I don’t think things clicked very often and often sounded like disparate ideas thrown together in quite a haphazard way and then not mixed particularly well. It kind of feels like a home demo of something that could end up being pretty decent with the right producer at the wheel. But no. There are about 10 featured musicians on the credits and two producers (including Mike himself), so this isn’t just a home studio effort. I hear a lot of what artists like cLOUDDEAD, Boom Bip and Prefuse 73 were doing at a similar (perhaps slightly later) time, but their work is far more conherent. What those artists manage to achieve is a general through line in their music that tends to tie the variety of their musical stylings together in a satisfactory way. Mike Ladd seems to have had a thousand ideas and then not considered how to balance, blend and distribute them in a way that is ultimately musically satisfying. That being said, I could see the promise in this and there were moments when things did click into place, like elements of Airwave Hysteria, some of the parts of To the Moon’s Contractor (although that didn’t justify it’s runtime) and the later stages of Feb. 4 ’99 as a few examples. But ultimately, this didn’t manage to engage in a sustained way, despite the scatterings of interest that appeared here and there, which is a shame. 5000 Miles West of the Future - I can hear what this is trying to do. It doesn’t quite blend together that well though. The bass line hints at something more robust, but never really delivers and there’s a couple of odd note choices in there that ruin the flow. It all just feels a bit disjointed. I think the vibe is ok, but musically it just doesn’t really come together very well. Airwave Hysteria - This sample used in the intro and in a few places just doesn’t fit with the rest of the track. I actually think the verse is decent. It reminds me a little of cLOUDDEAD, but not as good. The scratching bit is quite nice too, but it’s all a bit of a jumble. Quite a few ideas that again don’t blend all that well together. And there’s a sample that is quite disonnant against the bass which doesn’t work. Planet 10 - Again, the vibe of this is decent. The beats are nice and subtle, but the singing doesn’t work. He’s tried to make it ‘alien sounding’ but he’s not succeeded in a musically satisfying way. It just shits on the rest of the track, unfortunately. Takes More Than 41 - Now this is shit. Discordant, badly mixed, and terribly sung. Bladerunner’s - Another disjointed intro, but when it kicks in it’s got a nice groove. I like the bass too. There’s a guest rapper who’s better than Mike is. Not a great look. Again, the different sections feel really disconnected acted from one another and don’t flow. It’s like he’s made a bunch of ideas and jammed them together. There are some interesting changes as the track grows, but it starts getting cluttered, which is ultimately unsatisfying. No. 1 Street - This isn’t bad to begin with, but it gets tired. The mix is bad and there’s a big resonance on the bass that’s horrible. His delivery doesn’t seem particularly considered either. To the Moon’s Contractor - There’s some interesting stuff in here, although there’s not enough development or variation to justify a ten minute runtime. There’s some nice bass playing in there though, and some of the harmonic elements brought Air to mind. It is just a bit on the bland side though. I Feel Like $100 - This kind of sound collage in hip hop is wonderful when it’s done right. It’s not done right here. The mix is terrible and things just jar against one another, but not in a satisfactory way. If you can feel some thread of continuity pulling through things like this, they can work well, but this is just too crowded and muddled. The Animist - This has a nice groove to it. The lyrics are not good though. Overall, not that bad, but there’s probably not enough to grip me and not any real hook to engage. The beats were nice and head-bobbing though. Red Eye to Jupiter (Starship Nigga) - I quite like the energy of this one, but again, the chorus lyrics are a bit try hard. It’s quite noisy, but I think that’s part of the charm of this. Things actually blend reasonably well. Not bad. Welcome to the Afterfuture - This one isn’t bad either. The beat has a nice bit of groove and drive to it. But it just never really goes anywhere. Another odd sample to finish it off, Wipe Out on the Wave of Armageddon - This starts really nicely. The swelling pad sounds are nice, as are some of the synth tones and pitch sweeps. There’s a weird and jarring shift at about 3 minutes that doesn’t flow and things start to fall apart from there. Feb. 4 ’99 (For All Those Killed by Cops) - This isn’t bad either. Nice to see some proper fire in his delivery. Another jarring turn at about 3 minutes in that doesn’t flow with everything else and then we drift away again. Some nice elements, though. The beat is lo-fi and crispy and the pulsing bass is nice, as is the melodic line. Decent finish.
This did nothing for me at all. The only track I remember is the one where he's listing what his name would be if he were Jewish, Catholic...
Yeah, this isn't very good. I suppose there might be some irony in some of the rhymes, but if you aren't in tune with his sense of humor, they come off as being lame. The instrumentation isn't bad, hence the two stars.
This is a tricky one. It’s ok, good and bad. Lyrically original, but muddy.
Didn’t understand this one.
Didn’t really like it to be honest. Geezer only got 47k monthly listeners ….
surprising.... not a hip hop fan, but this is pretty listenable.
Interesting sound mix combined with hiphop, feels a little sci-fi. I feel it's a little lacking in some spaces, needing a bit more power. Also don't think the whole album flows as a whole.
ummmmm it’s okay?
I just couldn’t get into this one.
I feel like this is good for an experimental album or a mixtape, but I found it too weird in my opinion. I just feels like a rap album made by an alien or something not from Earth. It also feels as though this album is trying to take cues off of MF Doom but just can't nail down what made MF Doom so iconic. Favorite Tracks: Airwave Hysteria Rating: 2.5/5
puuuh nöd so ready ufes stündigs album de beat isch aber na cool! s sample ahfang vo airwave hysteria kenni iwie? aso d beats findi bis jz echt geil! und ruhiger als ich erwartet han SUM 41 jaa jz verlürts mich chli, es isch immerno iwie na cool aber nüt berauschends to the moons contractor isch sochli verträumt, denn wird de beat schneller...na cool! aaaaaber vill z lang weiss nöd es isch efengs eifach langwilig red eye to jupiter HAHAHAHAA jo würkli wiso isch das album so lang und bestaht zu 70% us iwelchne beats wo vlt einzeln na cool chönnd sii aber eso als album rifach nur LANGWILIG jo het mich zerst positiv überrascht bis ich gmerkt han, dass alles chli glich und langwilig isch vlt es knapps 3 oder suscht 2
Some rappers say a lot by saying a little; others say little but talk a lot. Mike Ladd is the later kind of rapper. He's a man with a microphone and the space to express every thought he's ever had. I like experimentation, but I also gravitate towards coherence. This album, to me, lacks it (coherence) and that devitalises the experimentation.
2.5
ehh
Aside from the two more enjoyable tracks "Bladerunners" and "Animist", this album was just a bizarre experiment in rap/hip-hop and did not make for a good listen, especially when committing listeners to 60+ mins. This would have to receive a 1.5/5 but be bumped up to 2 as it doesn't entirely belong in the realms of a 1.
Great taste but poor execution
Ah while experimental hip hop would normally be right up my street I just didn’t click with this
Terrible, awkward rapping. Completely uninspiring beats. This wouldn’t make a list of 10,001 albums you must hear before you die. The ten minute instrumental in the middle was alright but not near enough to make up for the rest of this mediocre non-entity of an album.
Been playing too much Cyberpunk lately. This sounds like rollin the streets of Night City. Outside of that, I can't really access this.
One or two moments of this I really liked, but overall I just wanted to go put on MF Doom.
Not for me, maybe for thee
OK.
Expectation: Electronica or trip-hop. Reality: Hip-hop-electronic-jazz fusion. Too weird and experimental for me. Maybe I'm getting old, but this seems like music is evolving past its definition, experimentation becoming the mainstream, being pushed further and further until it's totally incomprehensible, complication for its own sake. All that to say, the main thing I felt when listening to this was extreme irritation. The final track, Feb 4 99, basically a spoken word poem was the best and simplest thing on the album and added an extra star by itself.
Interesting melange of sounds. Fundamentally, the flow is good, and some of the tracks really hit. But I'm not all-in on the avant-garde hip-hop sound. And as it went on it dragged for me. Feels like 2 stars.
There are some interesting beats on this album.
Apesar de não ser o meu estilo gostei de várias músicas
meh
Fine, just not my thing.
MF Doom/Madvilliany vibes. Appreciate the art but I won’t be seeking out more
No me convence nada que tenga que ver con hip hop sofisticado que mezcla sonidos vanguardistas o generos como el jazz.
Lidt alternative 00’er hiphop beats, ikke så fedt igen
++: Bladerunners, No. 1 St., I Feel Like $100, Feb. 4 '99 (For All Those Killed by Cops) +: 5000 Miles West of the Future, To the Moon's Contractor, The Animist, Red Eye to Jupiter (Starship Nigga), Wipe Out on the Wave of Armageddon +-: Airwave Hysteria, Planet 10, Takes More Than 41, Welcome to the Afterfuture 4,6/10
yeah this wasn't that good. There were some cool and interesting production parts to it at times, but overall not great. I think this is a really weak 2.
Rap de corte lo-fi, ambiental y bastante experimental, con un bajo, una percusión y (a veces) unos vientos muy de jazz acompañando a bases llenas de efectos electrónicos retro-futuristas. Las canciones ambientales (y las bases en general), aunque repetitivas, me han gustado mucho. Son de un estilo complejo que no se deja escuchar fácilmente a pesar de ser minimalista, aunque no dejan de ser interesantes. A veces las bases se vuelven totalmente free jazz, otras son más lo-fi. Las letras son muy poéticas, también bastante complejas y extrañas, mezclando temática de ciencia ficción con partes muy políticas. Dicho esto, no sé muy bien cómo valorarlo. No creo que sea un álbum que merezca pertenecer a esta lista y se me ha hecho algo pesado, así que voy a dejarlo en dos. Aunque tiene pinta de ser un álbum que mejora conforme se va escuchando más veces.
Another "experimental" album. This time at least it's weirdly different. The number of times I've used the words weird and experimental in these reviews is way more than I thought I would ever need, and I'm only 20 albums in. This time sci-fi hip hop. That's new. The first few tracks had a decent beat at times, but nothing else good. Then I zoned out and the rest of the tracks blurred together. I guess that means nothing was terrible enough to stand out.
não me pegou não é bom ainda por cima
I really see what this album was going for, and there's a great dynamic mix of genres and styles present, but it's jut held back by really bad production and as great as the diversity is, it's messy as hell and genuinely has awful pacing.
Stream of conciousness rap. Not good, but some good beats and obvious talent. Won't listen to album/artist again.
Lacking in attitude and generally not very inspiring. I’m not going to be listening to this again.
Different, still didn't like it.
Another hour of hiphop... :-(
There’s a lot of nonsense lyrics on here, but at least the music is interesting and different, at times almost enjoyable.
Noh olihan siellä kaikenlaista jännää. Vähän liikaa spoken wordia mun makuun, ja toi ysäri/nollanolla-junkka ei ihan sytytä, mutta toisaalta yllätyin siitä vähän (vaikka kannen perusteella ei olis tarvinnut). Hmmmm jos jaksaisin kiinnostua, vois olla kolmonen.
Not for me. Felt like it lacked structure; no consistency of theme or sound.
Basic beats, low level flows, just not hitting on any level.
This was kind of cool. I don't see myself revisiting it, though
Für HipHop noch ok. Ist aber einfach nicht meine Musikrichtung. 2/5
Meh. This never really grabbed me. 2.3
I have no idea what to make of this. The songs didn’t really have any story to tell or thing to say, and they kind of meandered and didn’t get anywhere. It was… odd
Crap, with no redeeming entertainment value.
This was not great. I mean some of the vibes are pleasant but there is nothing memorable about it. Genuinely don’t know why this is here, never heard of him before
Really does drag on. I want to give it a decent rating because it's at least trying to do something interesting, but it's just not doing a great job at it. Made sense to see Company Flow on here, it's that style of hip-hop, just with much lesser beats/rapping/everything.
Is psychedelic-trip-hip-hop recognized as an official genre? This is the impression I get from "Welcome to the Afterfuture," particularly in tracks such as "5000 Mile West of the Future" and "I Feel Like $100," which are blended with more conventional hip-hop pieces like "Bladerunners" and "No 1St." The songs that impressed me the most were the techno-infused funk and jazz of "The Animist" and the otherworldly experimental nature of "Planet 10." In general, I admire Mike Ladd's incorporation of unconventional instrumentation and sampling alongside his socially aware lyrics, which lend a fresh and unique quality to the album's tracks (at least from my listening experience). However, I do find the album occasionally lacks consistency and may be too sonically diverse or experimental to provide a complete cohesive listening experience. This album was an interesting discovery, but it is not something I would listen to again.
This is like some proto gorillaz/cannibal ox stuff but not as good
The beats are cool but this album doesn’t stick well with me
Didn’t like this one too much, seemed pretty disjointed with what style he wanted to land on. Couple spots blossomed into something interesting, but just as quickly vanished. 2/5
Just a bit nothing really.
C’est un peu comme écouter de l’air provenant d’un tube connecté à l’usine à caca: ça pue la merde
🎧I’m Mike Ladd! Don’t act like u don’t know my name!
Not my cuppa. Way too "thin", most of the record only has two layers plus the raps and it sounds to empty and barren. Not to mention the weird style, I can appreciate the unique touch and personal feel the whole album has. Listening to this felt like an obligation and it's not a feeling I enjoy when going through this list I've noticed (way too often I might add, it's kind of worrying).
Not great but interesting underground hiphop record
Honestly I'm just wildly indifferent to this one. It's not bad, it's not amazing, it's mostly just boring.
I appreciate the interesting production, although a few of the tracks were quite annoying. I got to To the Moon's Contractor and thought a 10 minute instrumental was a bit of a flat way to end the album...then realized there was another 25 minutes to go. It's bloated and pretentious, but I made it through which gets it 2 stars (just).
Old school hip hop. Not that bad, but not really my type
A bit strange lyrical miracle kind of music. Not for me.
If you buy Kool Keith from Temu you get Mike Ladd.
Not quite the Captain Beefheart of rap, but close. Almost unlistenable
Fine for some background music (?) as I was knocking out some work tasks, but not anything I'll come back to
The beats aren't bad but I am not a fan of the lyrics and flow.
what on earth was that
silly
A very underground sound of hip hop, good flows that could get pretty deep, experimental beats, but I don't know, not something I think I'd come back to
Passable. Some decent moments. 2.5 stars.
Comes across to me as something some guy made in his basement.
More rap oh boy. Wasn’t terrible just not for me.
A little chaotic
Not sure who was working on their album first, but Deltron 3030 did a future trip-hop album so much better than this
Broke ass MF Doom, album was a mess but there were interesting glimpses, favorite song was No. 1 St
Random ass, some cool bits tbf and a good mood but overall kinda odd and disjointed
Not my style.
4/10
Very poetic. He's obviously well read. But I was bored.
I didn’t have to listen to this. Definitely not my thing.
More slam poetry than rap.
Seems a bit of a random inclusion. Mild mannered sci-fi rap with a curious backing. Seems to lack any passion. Bit baffled.
I can appreciate it it for what it is. It's certainly more interesting than some others in here but again I'm not a a fan
# Playlist track - Airwave Hysteria # Notes - One of those albums that really make you consider what the fuck whoever made this list had in their minds. - Not a *terrible* album, but a mostly forgettable, slow, repetitive and boring hip-hop that has no place amongst the other albums here. - I've insisted and ended up listening to it two or three times. - There are cool instrumentals and interesting samples sometimes, but they not warrant a full 1 hour listed of this. - Not recommended.
2.5 but rounding down
A couple groovy moments saved this from a worse score. It just wasn't for me, I guess.
Meh… the ambient stuff is uninteresting. The jazzy stuff is fine. The poem at the end is the biggest highlight.
not enough life to it. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
These beats were okay, but the rhymes certainly weren't. Atrocious.
Rap concept album. Tried to mix electronic with jazzy beats but just didnt cut it for me. Its well done but on the mixing you cant really hear the voices and lyrics cleanly. Ive heard better but Mike Ladd has been an established rapper not much of a top rapper or lyricist but conceptually its solid. Delivery was not the best to me thou. Personal opinion and preference.
Nah
Hip hop, but sounded different than what you’d expect. This sounded like hip hop for “intellectuals”. Some of the songs sounds like they were written with a thesaurus. It was ok.
Didn't enjoy this...sounded rather depressing
He sounds like he’s just doing it for his own fun. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t have to listen to it.
Never heard of Mike Ladd before this
Nah, this isn’t it
You listen to the first track then the rest is all kinda just what you expect except for a janky 10 minute track right in the middle that breaks up the tracklist horribly, 2/5
alltså det är något med det här som jag gillar, soundet t.ex. men det är några instrumentala låtar som man borde tagit väck. t.ex den 10 minuter långa triphop-låten. blir less på sånt. så därför får det bli en tvåa, en stark sådan.
Never heard of this artist. It was a strange mix of hip hop and I'm not sure what.
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Not the normal hip hop rap I normally hate. Don’t get me wrong not an album I could cherish or love in any way but some of the musical arrangements and assorted genres used or very interesting. These are spoilt of course by the vocals and lyrics. Glad I’ve heard it and can now associate something if Mike Ladd comes onto my radar again. But I’d prefer it if Mr Ladd left me in peace in future. 2/5 10/11/24
I tried this and I get that lyrically it's good and musically it's challenging enough but it was a slog
Would have been much better as an instrumental album. Mike Ladd obviously has good mic skills, but the subject matter is all over the shop. He ping pongs from conscious-rap, to sci-fi, to sex brags based on sci-fi - and as amazing as that sounds, it's not very fun. Album closer Feb 4. '99 is the odd one out. A moving spoken word about the death of an innocent man by the police full of religious imagery and post-rock backing.
Rap/hip hop
The first half was not too bad, the second half got hold quick.
Didn't hate it
It was ite.
Never heard of the guy, and I was listening to everything in 2000, so this one flew under my radar. I liked the intro vibe he was laying down, part hip hop, part year 2000 alt rock. I read up on him, he's got producer chops, you can tell since the music & mix is stronger than the MC'ing he's doing. I'm not a lyrics guy, so he may have been spitting knowledge but I focused on the music and found the overall combination lacking. No real standout tracks, no beats that destroy, nothing with a undeniable hook, just average but enjoyable. Not Top 1001 worthy... I don't feel the influence, no hits, no singalongs, no unforgettable moments. The production is good though, I liked the soundscapes he was creating.