From the depths of New York City basements comes Babbletron. Comprised of emcees Cool Calm Pete and Jaymanilla with production provided by DJ Pre, Babbletron embodies the sound of Def Jux and conceives its own impression. With this being the second release from the Jukie affiliated Embedded imprint (the first being The Bedford Files) Babbletron comes foward with something to prove and goes for broke.

Emcees Cool Calm Pete and Jaymanilla strong-arm the integrity of the album. Their contrasting styles compliment each other very well,  Cool Calm Pete’s name says it all,  while Jaymanilla lends his signature animated flow to the recipe. The two emcees are no slouches on the mic either, as evident on the intro track “I Need To Be”.  They are able to tackle a number of subjects effortlessly, such as on “Birds”, where Cool Calm Pete performs his best Slick Rick  rendition while Jaymanilla accompanies his partner in rhyme with a humorous ode to all the beautiful women out there. However, when divided, the two still hold their own almost as if the other never existed. On Jaymanilla’s solo “A.C.W.A.L.L. (Akward Conversations With A Lovely Lady”) he administers laugh out loud lines and slick wordplay such as “She said you can’t pick me up/I said you’re right you’re too heavy/But I’ll slap you on your bottom and give you a thong wedgie”  and “are you a lesbian?/ yo then les-be-out!!!”. Cool Calm Pete delivers as well on “One Shot” with one liners like “ladies love to dance and the bitches act picky/they from a different world like Jalisa and Whitley”

The other component that keeps the album together is the dirty snare boom bap compliments of producer DJ Pre. Pre levels the listener with his production on tracks like the aforementioned “I Need to Be” and “Chop”, which comes together so aestheticly, as diminutive guitar licks unite with scratches and a slinky baseline that wraps itself around both emcees enticing vocals, while the listener is treated to a dope instrumental at the end of the track. Pre can also smooth the edges with joints like the lighthearted “Birds” and Jaymanilla’s “A.C.W.A.L.L.”   But when the listener gets a taste of the theatrical production on “Broke Down” the listener gets a sense that Pre is not going to be one of those producers who is going to vanish anytime soon. And while DJ Pre’s Def Jukkie-ish boom bap works to a tee, guest producers RJD2 and MF Doom sprinkle a little of their essence on top to very amiable results. RJ’s production floats beautifully behind both emcees styles on the outstanding “The Clock Song”, while Doom’s all over the place production compliments the numerous references to sci-fi programming on “Space Tech Banana Clip” (check the references to Transformers: The Movie and Captain EO). 

All in all the album comes together remarkably well. With each element of Babbletron holding more than his own weight. From the stylings of both emcees to the filthy yet smooth production from Pre you end up with a rather dope debut. While some may think it could end up as the poor man’s Cold Vein, Babbletron is definitely out to make a statement and stand their ground, no doubt resulting in appreciation.