Track Listing
- Intro (The Safety's Off)
- Aww Shucks
- Celebrity Nudes (Timskin Moon Mix)
- So! Much! Fun! (Unh!)
- Verba Volant featuring Johnny Hardcore and ginzuintriplicate
- Get Fresh (Fresh Kils' Electrocrunk Embellishment)
- Butchershop Quartet featuring Toolshed
- The Day's Arc featuring Rez Villain and Don Brownrigg
- Naming Names
- Safe No More featuring Wordburglar, Apt and More Or Les
| label | Backburner |
| copyright | © J. McDonald |
| publisher | J. McDonald, A. Kilgour, T. Wallace |
| producer | Andrew Kilgour |
technical notes
Recorded by Andrew Kilgour, Tim Wallace, Darrell Bernard, Dave Richards and a friend of John's in Newfoundland. Mixed by Andrew Kilgour and Dexter Doolittle. Mastered by Dexter Doolittle. Scratches by Uncle Fester.
my description
Nova Scotian indie rap stalwart Jesse Dangerously returns once again with a new record of ear-baffling raps, Verba Volant, featuring just all kinds of slamming beats and adroit guest raps from Canada's indomitable Backburner crew... and a few other friends!
Although the album's ten tracks feature vocal appearances from Johnny Hardcore (Newfoundland), ginzuintriplicate (Dartmouth/Osaka), Toolshed (London, ON), Don Brownrigg (Newfoundland again!), Rez Villain (Membertou, Cape Breton), Wordburglar (Halifax), Apt (Halifax) and More or Les (Toronto), as well as scratches from Uncle Fester, the guests are concentrated onto four songs of reasonable lengths and with the scratch intro, the remaining five tracks are all Jesse! New raps and new rap styles, more intelligible than ever (or have you just gotten used to him?) and yet his tempos more dynamic than ever as well. Some of the raps are almost slow, but the title of this album is Verba Volant, meaning "words fly" in Latin, and the main thing is they certainly do when Jesse D's commanding them.
Also there is a song with feelings.
Keeping in tradition with the previous Inter Alia EP, the beats are provided half and half by two of Jesse's Backburner posse-mates: Fresh Kils, who has also produced tracks for Aristo, Spesh K, DL Incognito, Jay Bizzy and other big rap stars, and Timbuktu of London's Toolshed, whose best known work has been with that group and also for other Backburner artists like Thesis Sahib. The musicality is out of control this time around, with both producers revered by those in the know for their attention to detail and progression. Dexter Doolittle also steps in to pinch-hit the Fresh Kils' produced The Day's Arc firmly into dub territory, with Don Brownrigg's mournful, folksy hook reverberating in every corner.
Despite Dangerously's tenuous and oft-strained affiliation with what's known as Nerdcore hip-hop, this is not a nerdy record. This is a brilliant record. And yeah, I wrote that myself in the third person. I really hope you like it!
what the press says...
A genius who is more than prepared for the forthcoming mission
author: John Book, booksmusic.com
Even though much of hip-hop these days is homogenized, there is a greater awareness of the diversity this music can offer if you know where to look. Canadian hip-hop comes and goes within the consciousness of hip-hop fans in the U.S., although people want to know who is doing great work from up there.
I've known Jesse Dangerously for what seems like ages, although we've never met, always been a mailing list here, some e-mails there, a "how about we collaborate on a few tracks?" here, a "how about you add more bass to this?" there. In the last few years he has been putting a lot of work into his musical career, and the rest of North America has yet to discover what he's about. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, sit down and make yourself at home while I pop in Jesse's new album, Verba Volta.
The thing about white rappers is that by default, people are out to look for more stereotypes from what people in some circles call a stereotype to begin with. What I will say is that his style and flows have developed and continue to evolve, he doesn't seem like someone who wants to remain comfortable in his own clothes, even though his trademark tie is what impresses the ladies.
Away from the hype, Jesse has a sense of wit that is very much a part of his character, not only as Mr. Dangerously but him as a person. He puts a lot of himself into his music, and when he's about being crafty, articulate, snappy, cranky, or touches on a few topics he holds close to his heart, he puts his all into it. He's not a notebook rapper, he's someone who is like the "Liquid Swords" video, where lyrics seem to pour out endlessly, and if he's not feeling it, he'll toss it out. Others are hungry for that wit and creativity, but Jesse will point to that piece of paper and it will burn.
There's a great energy on this album, and even if you've heard his previous work, he goes beyond that and comes off with songs about friendships, love, honor, and respect. Yeah, it might sound corny in text form but then again if that truly reads as corny, you really haven't been listening to any hip-hop in the last few... well, ever. Jesse is a scholar of the music, and if there's a reference that might be too obscure, he has producers Fresh Kils and Timbuktu to back him up and take him to the next verse with ease.
Can he be quriky? Sure, but again that's another white MC stereotype. Can he be "out of touch"? It depends on what you're touching. Look at the surface, then look and dig deeper. What you will find is Jesse Dangerously, one of the more original voices not only in Canadian hip-hop, but hip-hop as a whole. He's not afraid to be funny (and yes, you will laugh), and yet this isn't a joke. Again, if energetic hip-hop is what you seek, this is it.
