Speaking in tongues

RJD2, the Ohio-born beat junkie, has just released a new album, Since We Last Spoke, on über-backpack label Def Jux that ain’t just hip hop, but something more than that.

But first a quick re-cap. RJ Kohen released his gritty, sample-heavy debut Deadringer some two years ago to instant acclaim from the hip hop community and, in time, equal praise from the more clued-in mainstream press. A DJ Shadow it was OK for the ‘serious’ heads to like (the curse of Mo’Wax – always too trendy for its own good), expectations for his second album were something approaching high.
Did he deliver? Yes, definitely – but just not in the way his Def Jux-loving fans might have expected. Since We Last Spoke is not a hip-hop album – and devoted hip hop fan RJ has no problem with this.
“It’s a subjective thing,” he reflects. “You know, it’s easy in rap to play the ‘consistency’ game all the time. It makes sense to – you find a formula and stick to it. Look at Gangstarr – now I have so much respect for Gangstarr… I love them… but with each album I feel they become less and less relevant, you know? But look at Outkast – with each album, they move things on.”
Since We Last Spoke is a warmer, more mature offering than Deadringer. Gone is the chaotic grit and MCs, in comes songs, live instruments and vocalists. It’s an altogether different prospect, but still retains that unique sound.
“I think one of the main differences on this one – apart from the fact there’s no MCs – is the composition of the songs,” he says. “They are more worked out this time where, before, they were kind of meandering. This time I feel they have a beginning, middle and end. The last album was made up entirely of samples, but this one has 30 to 40 per cent live instruments and live vocals. It wasn’t necessarily a conscious thing, but I felt that I wanted to move things on with this record.”
Why are there no MCs on the album? “Because I hate MCs!”
Kohen has spoke previously about the process of making music – and his crate-digging ethos will hearten his doubting b-boy fans.
“I’ll have a running tally of drum breaks that I haven’t used. They’ll be there with basslines and whatever. I’ve catalogued all my records – well not all my records, but everything that I use for sample fodder. Using sticky-tabs I just wrote out what’s on what and then I’d go back to it. This made things easier; instead of listening to something all the way through every time I was looking for something, I can just look through the sticky tabs. I’d say that 99 per cent of things start from the combination of two things.”

Since We Last Spoke is out now on Def Jux