Los Angeles rapper Awol One is rumored to be over one thousand
years old and every single one of those years can be heard within the
cracks and subtleties of his voice and words. One may call
him a crude poet, a drunken rambler, or a voice for slackers but nobody
can deny that he's maintained an uncompromising level of honesty and
originality on the mic. As a solo act and a member of The Shape Shifters
for over 10 years Awol One has collaborated with everyone from Xzibit
and Cypress Hill to Aesop Rock and KRS-One. Back in the
early 2000s when journalists didn't quite know what to make of strange
indie hip hop, Spin magazine tried to pin him down as one of the
premiere voices of "emo-rap" while Vice Magazine and LA Weekly were
singing the praises of his working man's anthems. His 2001 collaboration with Daddy Kev, Souldoubt, quickly became seen as a Los Angeles underground hip hop classic and Awol hasn't slowed down a bit.
Since 2006 Awol has been making records with Canadian prairie
producer Factor who is known for his melodic psychedelic and folk
influenced hip hop beats. Over the years this duo has released Only Death Can Kill You and Owl Hours - two very different types of albums from the same team. If 2007's Only Death was their birth and 2009's Owl Hours was their celebration of life, then 2011's The Landmark is their return back to harsh reality. On The Landmark Awol's words embody the drunken grittiness of life as a touring musician. Between
mellow but catchy choruses and raw beautiful beats lie images of the
bright highs and deep lows of a musician's manic depression. On
the song "The Wasp" Awol sums it up perfectly when chanting "I lost my
self esteem such a very long time ago, but I got back my self esteem
just one rhyme ago." Over a thousand years later Awol One still manages
to splatter himself all over these Factor canvases with a level of
realism that very few other rappers have been able to capture on record.
TRACKLISTING
(01) Coming To Town
(02) Perfect Opposites
(03) Never Gonna Take Us Out (f. Ceschi)
(04) Frenemies
(05) The Wasp (f. Moka Only)
(06) Don’t Be Afraid
(07) People On Drugs
(08) Daze Go Bye (f. Buck 65)
(09) Rewind Yourself
(10) One Live Tape (f. Abstract Rude and Ahmad)
(11) Real Late
(12) Alive
Check out the video for "Never Gonna Take Us Out" featuring Ceschi!
