Sam Spiegel and Ze Gonzales, aka Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon of the hip-hop collective N.A.S.A., must have one hell of a little black book; their newest album, Spirit of the Apollo is busting at the seams with an impressive range of musical artists and influences. Guests include David Byrne, Lovefoxxx from CSS, Karen O. from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Method Man, Ghostface Killah and Rza from the Wu-Tang Clan, Seu Jorge, Tom Waits, Fatlip, M.I.A., Santogold, and KRS-One.
My first impulse when listening to Spirit of the Apollo was to dismiss the album as a name-dropping showcase of crowded hip-hop, and to claim that to shove so many household names into one moniker seems like little more than a block party gone awry. After all, while the postmodern implications of collaboration have their intellectual credibility, to booty call your way through an album does not necessarily guarantee that its driving force has any "real" talent to showcase.
Thus I was nervous that N.A.S.A.’s Spirit of the Apollo had the potential to fall flat. Yet, after a few listens, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the album actually has relevance, both as a legitimate hip-hop act and a collaborative success. Spirit of the Apollo demonstrates N.A.S.A.’s talent to produce, layer, juxtapose, and reconcile a staggering array of musical ideologies without coming off like a joke. Not to mention that, in the collaborative process, the album finds an excellent middle ground between relatively abrasive rap and, to put it bluntly, Chris-Brown-Top-40-hip-hop bullshit.
Following a minute-long intro, Spirit of the Apollo begins with “The People Tree” and “Money,” featuring David Byrne and a slew of hip-hop, rap, and Brazilian artists for backup. The lead singer of The Talking Heads layered over Brazilian singer Seu Jorge feels like an odd combination, but the risk pays off as a solid, absorbing start for the album.
“Strange Enough” features Karen O. from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, rapper Ol’ Dirty Bastard from the Wu-Tang Clan, and Fatlip from the hip-hop band Pharcyde. Karen O. has a growling couple backed up by a Ratatat-esque guitar and keyboards, making room for straightforward rhymes from Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and then for Fatlip to wrap up the track.
Probably the best dance songs of the album are “A Volta,” featuring Jamaican reggae musician Sizzla, female rapper Amanda Blank, along with Lovefoxxx from the Brazilian group Cansei de Ser Sexy, and “Whachadoin?”, featuring Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santogold, and Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Despite the numerous Brazilian artists featured throughout Spirit of the Apollo, “Whachadoin?” is the only track that sounds like a legitimate Brazilian funk song. M.I.A. seems to have a penchant for the genre; she appropriated it in her three “Baile Funk” tracks from the album Piracy Funds Terrorism and the more popular track “Bucky Done Gun” from Arular. Now, she takes part in the song with the best funk beats of Spirit of the Apollo.
Another excellent track is “Spacious Thoughts,” featuring Tom Waits and rapper Kool Keith. Waits is easily the most unusual guest appearance of the album, yet, surprisingly, the most appropriate. He sounds eerily like voodoo jive pioneer Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and, when layered over Kool Keith’s unpretentious lyrics, the song has the most maturity and grit of Spirit of the Apollo.
The album closes with “N.A.S.A. Anthem,” where it sounds like Spiegel and Gonzales shoved every featured artist on the album into a school auditorium with a giant box of doughnuts and asked them to start a chorus line. Can they do that without any major clashes in such a crowd of badass attitudes?
If you wait long enough, or if you’re like me and like to cheat with iTunes, you can hear the hidden track at the end of the fifteen-minute long “N.A.S.A. Anthem,” featuring Nina Persson of The Cardigans (remember that super super catchy “Lovefool”?). By this point, KUDOS TO YOU if you can recall every artist off Spirit of the Apollo without referencing the track list.
Overall, the album has enough going on to keep its listeners fascinated; it embraces the bustling aesthetics of collaboration, yet keeps a slickness and control so as not to stumble into ostentatious disarray. So, whether hip-hop happens to be your genre or not, Spirit of the Apollo has something for everyone, proving we can all get along like one big happy musical family.
Track List
01. Intro
02. The People Tree (feat. David Byrne, Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab & Z-Trip)
03. Money (feat. David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge, & Z-Trip)
04. N.A.S.A. Music (feat. Method Man, E-40, & DJ Swamp)
05. Way Down (feat. RZA, Barbie Hatch, & John Frusciante)
06. Hip Hop (feat. KRS-One, Fatlip, & Slim Kid Tre)
07. Four Rooms, Earth View
08. Strange Enough (feat. Karen O, Ol' Dirty Bastard, & Fatlip)
09. Spacious Thoughts (feat. Tom Waits & Kool Keith)
10. Gifted (feat. Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke Li)
11. A Volta (feat. Sizzla, Amanda Blank, & Lovefoxxx)
12. There's A Party (feat. George Clinton & Chali 2na)
13. Whachadoin? (feat. Spank Rock, M.I.A., Santo Gold, & Nick Zinner)
14. O Pato (feat. Kool Kojak & DJ Babão)
15. Samba Soul (feat. Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert)
16. The Mayor (feat. The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, Scarface & DJ AM)
17. N.A.S.A. Anthem
