The White Shadow- Untouchable

By: R.M. London

((3.18.2008))

After his highly touted debut release from 2006, Renegades, which featured well known independent hip hop acts such as: J-Zone, Celph Titled, Wordsworth, and more, The White Shadow of Norway is back with another energetic compilation boasting a lineup full of rising stars and well known mic masters. The Producer/Turntablist from the far North has worked with a lot more artists than you might know, producing records for hip hop heavyweights like The Roots, Army of the Pharoahs, Supastition, and Celph Titled. On his new release, Untouchable, White Shadow features a heavy roster of more unknown MCs mixed with a grab bag of grimy lyrical wizards that the seasoned indie fan would instantly recognize.

During my first trip through the record one of the first things I noticed right off the bat was the versatility of The White Shadow's production-- quirky electronic funk on minute, gritty battle sounds (a la Stoupe) the next. Unlike producer compilations in the past like Marco Polo's "Port Authority" and the Molemen's "Killing Fields," the Shadow's beats do not focus on one sound or style, but a waterfall of influences and patterns. In the first portion of the album Shadow shows his funky side with a Demigodz like track with the Pizdamen in "Without a Shadow of a Doubt," switches to a hyper-energetic battle laced banger with "Sick Rhymes" with Reef the Lost Cauze and Mr. Malchau, shows off his quirkyness with the electronica inspired "Robots," and even pays homage to the G-funked West Coast style on "LA California" with The Alkaholiks' own Tash at his side. While his sounds bounce all over the hip hop map, White Shadow still manages to keep the album cohesive and the wide range of noise will instantly snatch your attention and make you wonder what's going to pop on next. Which was usually a dope surprise one right after the other.

As the record continued I found myself rewinding numerous tracks to let the metaphors and colorful lyricism embed and bloom in my ears. While unfamiliar names like Strange Brew, IDE, Clokworx, Knuxx, amongst others bared their teeth and proved worthy of a listen, veterans like Esoteric, Reef the Lost Cauze, Tash, Nabo Rawk, and Slaine anchored the ship with their power presence and iron fist vocals. As the record came to a hault I felt replenished. For a hungry hip hop fan that is always craving more hip hop from all different directions "Untouchable" is a feast of furious rhymes, elastic beats, and spotlights a tray of rap finger foods that various hip hop fans can eat right up.

With a tight LP consisting of 14 tracks with various ingredients from all over the rap world "Untouchable" is a perfect album for a new independent hip hop listener, or one who is looking for a sampler platter of gritty indie hip hop. But, whichever category you might fall under-- it's all tastes good.

Favorite Tracks: Sick Rhymes, Playtime's Over
What to do (Buy/Try/Frisbee): Buy.
Digits:7.5 // 10