In the strange wake of music's digital rebirth, vinyl has experienced a modest boom in popularity, seen by many as a replacement for the awkward middleman that is the compact disc. INCHES reviews the output of L.A.'s healthy vinyl community, believing that good music deserves much more than a handful of ones and zeros.
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Artist: CX Kidtronik
Title: “Black Girl White Girl” b/w “Wild Kingdom”
Label: Stones Throw (Highland Park)
Format: 12-inch picture disc (plus CD), 1000 pressed
Perhaps introductions are in order. According to Stones Throw, CX Kidtronik “is obsessed with the female butt crack, […] makes explosively danceable hip-hop, meshed with electro, metal and other genres, [and is] a new member of the recently re-formed Atari Teenage Riot.” But to those already in the know, he's the cracked genius behind the sorely overlooked 2006 full-length ode to ass, Krak Attack, a hilarious punk-crunk masterpiece that included an appearance from “Screamin' Howard Dean.”
Well, this must-own platter is the Brooklyn emcee/producer's Stones Throw debut, and precursor to Krak Attack 2: Ballad Of Elli Skiff. Side one (displayed en craque above) features “Black Girl White Girl,” a reprise of his earlier hit “Big Girl Skinny Girl” that finds rapper Tchaka Diallo demystifying race relations with such, er, witty observations as: “Black girl got an attitude / White girl like, 'Gnarly dude' / […] / Black girl smoke a little weed / White girl love that coke-aye-een.” We know what you're thinking — instant classic.
But there's more. The B-side, whose art features a three-headed dragon flying over the Mohawk'ed head of CX, sports a grimy rap track called “Wild Kingdom.” Here, MF DOOM appears in his King Geedorah guise, trading aggro verses with Diallo. Instrumentals are offered up as well, and the 7-track CD includes a couple of bonus cuts to boot.
Oh, and Elli Skiff actually exists.
DOWNLOAD: CX Kidtronik ft. Diallo – “Black Girl White Girl” [MP3]
Purchase at your local independent record vendor (INCHES recommends Origami or Vacation), or right now via the Stones Throw web store.
Vacation Vinyl's Top Ten Best-Sellers: April 26 – May 10
01. Jodis – Secret House (Hydra Head)
02. 1349 – Demonoir picture disc (Prosthetic)
03. Burzum – Belus (Byelobog Productions)
04. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffitti – “Round & Round” 7-inch (4AD)
05. Arthur Russell – Calling Out Of Context (Rough Trade)
06. Red Sparowes – The Fear is Excruciating… (Sargent House)
07. various – Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 1 (Stones Throw)
08. Best Coast – “Something In The Way” 7-inch (PPM)
09. Pocahaunted – Make It Real (Not Not Fun)
10. ISIS – Live V (Viva Hate)
Vacation Vinyl is located at 4679 Hollywood Blvd., 90027 (323.666.2111).
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