N.A.S.A.’s „Spirit of Apollo“ Is a Contender for Best Hip Hop Album of the Year

Mein jüngster Last.FM-Blog-Beitrag:

I’ve been lucky enough to be able to listen to an advance copy of N.A.S.A.’s album Spirit Of Apollo which will be released in the U.S. on February 17, 2009 (according to Amazon.com), and in Germany on February 13, 2009 (according to Amazon.de).

According to its label Anti, >> N.A.S.A is an ongoing creative collaboration between two lifelong music aficionados, Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon, and their friends, friends of friends and musical heroes. While N.A.S.A. stands for North America/South America and contains a number of superstar artists from both coasts of the US, it is about as far from a tension-building geographical showdown as a record can get.


Rather, their Anti debut The Spirit of Apollo was born with the righteous goal of bringing people together through music and art, and that is exactly what masterminds Sam Spiegel (Squeak E. Clean) and Ze Gonzales (DJ Zegon) have done. Brazilian funk provides the roots of the songs and binds them together into a cohesive whole, but from there, the imagination behind The Spirit of Apollo ranges far and wide.

Unexpected collaborations abound on the eighteen track release. Tom Waits growls over Kool Keith, Karen O taunts while Ol‘ Dirty Bastard gives shout-outs to Wu-Tang Clan and N.A.S.A from the grave, and David Byrne, Chuck D and others expound on the evils of „Money.“ In spite of the range of performers, the pairings seem organic, inspired and make perfect sense on the first listen, never coming off as ironic or impulsive. <<

As a P-Funk fan, I was happy to hear that George Clinton sounds great on his contribution There’s A Party (feat. George Clinton & Chali 2na).


The complete track list:

01): intro
02) Way Down (feat. RZA, Barbie Hatch & John Frusciante)
03) A Volta (feat. Sizzla, Amanda Blank & Lovefoxxx)
04) There’s A Party (feat. George Clinton & Chali 2na)
05) Strange Enough (feat. Karen O, Ol‘ Dirty Bastard & Fatlip)
06) Spacious Thoughts (feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith)
07) The People Tree (feat. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab & Z-Trip)
08) N.A.S.A. Music (Feat. Method Man, E-40 & DJ Swamp)
09) Money (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge & Z-Trip)
10) Hip Hop (feat. KRS-One, Fatlip & Slim Kid Tre)
11) Gifted (feat. Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke Li)
12) four rooms, earth view
13) Whachadoin? (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold & Nick Zinner)
14) Samba Soul (feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert)
15) O Pato (feat. Kool Kojak & DJ Babão)
16) N.A.S.A. Anthem
17) The Mayor (feat. The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, Scarface & DJ AM)

The project features the following individual artists:

RZA, Amanda Blank, Barbie Hatch, Chali 2na, Chuck D, David Byrne, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, dj am, Dj Babão, DJ QBert, DJ Swamp, E-40, Fatlip, George Clinton, Ghostface Killah, Gift Of Gab, John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame, Kanye West, Karen O, Kool Keith, Kool Kojak, KRS-One, Lovefoxxx, Lykke Li, M.I.A., Method Man, Nick Zinner, Ol‘ Dirty Bastard, Ras Congo, Santogold, Scarface, Seu Jorge, Sizzla, Slim Kid Tre, Spank Rock, The Cool Kids, Tom Waits, Z-Trip