The above shot is from the “Black & Yellow (G-Mix)” video, as seen on BET, MTV, etc. We guess that’s what Wiz meant by “no keys, push to start”. Heh…. Five Deez/3582 producer Fat Jon checks in, letting us know that new music is on the way. Via his website, he tells us “beautiful killing machine is preparing new material along with brand new rebel clique music. big shouts to sonic brown and miss molinari. maurice galactica is ready to make his appearance so get ready…..”…. Drake will return to acting in a new film called “Arbitrage”, directed by Nicholas Jarecki, while Beyonce will appear in a Clint Eastwood directed version of “A Star Is Born”. Meanwhile, Willow Smith is rumored to be the lead in a remake of “Annie”, with Jay-Z in talks to produce music for the film. It’s a hard knock life…..

    The album begins with the catchy “Acid Rain Robot Repair”, a perfectly executed between the two artists, where Jon rhymes over the up-tempo spaced-out electro-funk, as Foam lends softly song indie rock vocals, complete with vocoder. A pair of cooled out, dark, new wave influenced tracks come in the form of “Bleed” and “Runnin’ Circles”, which again find the two artists trading verses back and forth. “Upgrade” packs hard hitting funk drums, as Jon raps about changing technologies and Foam lends his breezy vocals. “Scream It Out” instead packs a more cosmic slop influence, with sticky baselines and computerized sound effects, finding the two exchanging random vocals that lend more the music itself, rather than worrying about making any sense.  

     But it’s not all pulled off so perfectly. The cheesy “Space Gangsta” might be the most marketable song on the record - at least as a single - however it comes off as something like a bad Dr. Octagon…*Two*…. leftover. Secondly, the last arc of the 12-track album spends way too much time exploring the meditative qualities of the two artists’ styles. Each “The Middle”, “Generic Genes”, and “Upgrade (Remix)” combine for a sleep inducing seventeen minute closing of the LP. By the time it’s over, you either want to drift off to dreamland, or are so frustrated that you badly need some M.O.P. or Lil’ Jon.   

    This post-Gorillaz-but-not-quite-Daft-Punk collaboration is kind of like what people in the 80′s imagined rap would be like in the future - and that’s a good thing, even if that’s not really the case. It’s definitely creative and forward thinking, and good for listeners who think they’ve heard it all, despite it’s minor missteps.

    While each of his previous instrumental releases have had a recurring theme, Lightweight Heavy is no different, with Jon injecting his own personal philosophies on life into each track. While each track is almost all strictly instrumental, Jon pens liner notes explaining the “deeper meaning” behind each song (also translated in Japanese as this is a Japan-only release). However, while the lack of vocals will leave you with room to ponder Jon’s theories, most will instead enjoy getting high or making love while his heavy-drum beats bang over somber pianos and relaxing horns. 

    The first half of the album is excellent, starting from the opener “Talk To Me”, where you can truly feel the sadness of the lonely female begging forgiveness in the songs only 3-word lyric. The hard-hitting cymbals and jazzy bassline of “Dreamers”; the uptempo rolling summer breeze of pianos on “Day”; the dug-up, 30-year old two-line stanza propelling the sample collage of “Everywhere” are each elements trademarking Fat Jon’s sound, making for a pleasurable listening experience.      

    Lightweight Heavy is not Jon’s best release to date (peep Five Deez Koolmotor for some truly devastating production), its damn good and certainly another strong addition to his catalog. Fans of artists like DJ Shadow and fellow Ohio superstar RJD2 will find this right up their alley. However unlike them, Fat Jon’s sound does at times fall into realms of monotony, and he does deliver a few passable joints, such as the redundant “Point A 2 B”, or the Gregorian-Monk chanting of “Her” (too ‘Enigma’ for this critic), Jon is right there as one of the strongest instrumentalists of the moment, and currently underground hip-hop’s best kept secret.

The reason for the secret identity is obviously due to the fact that the production on the Humanoid Erotica differs from that on his Five Deez stuff. Strictly instrumental, the beats here are as usual suitable for late-night love movements, but this LP plays much more like an acid jazz record than a hip-hop album. While conceptual in nature, at times, the randomness of jazz influence of Jon’s instrumental production seems like it doesn’t work, with horns that sound off key or sound effects that seem out of place, but continual listens prove it to be every bit intentional.

Minor beefs aside, there’s no denying the beauty of Jon’s mellow tracks, as “14 Years”, “I.Dee”, or “Rain Dance Instrumental” will easily set the mood in your favorite coffee house or living room. Even technically, Jon still shows his knack as a producer with joints like “No”, “Backseat Anonymous” and “The Queen and I”, hollow sequencing and killer drums that would make Jay Dee proud. Closing out is “Pretty Pussy Kitty Kat” (feat. Five Deez), showing where is true loyalties lie, providing sonic foundations for the crew (and the ultimate resurgence of hip-house – don’t front!)

While a well produced project, sure to get many spins from headwrap chicks and lonely, sensitive, incense-burning males equally, it isn’t Fat Jon’s best project to date, but still serves as a nice introduction for one of hip-hop’s greatest new producers. It may have a tougher time comparing to Koolmotor, but still hangs in there with little fault at all.