One of those “75% of these words are about the featured artist” bits…
[Video][Website]
[4.57]
Sonya Nicholson: I saw Killer Mike at South by Southwest this year. The event organizers were smart enough to give him his own venue at the end of the night: no half-hour SXSW teaser set for Killer Mike! Even if he had more time than others, though, he didn’t have so much time that he could do his whole show, unedited. So did he choose to cut back on his usual political rabble-rousing? Hell no! It wouldn’t be a Killer Mike show without the political stage patter. (And not-so-political: “That was the end of the angry portion of the show. Coming up we have the hookers-and-coke portion”) Instead, he performed only the first verse and first chorus of each song. This reminds me, a bit, of Killer Mike’s set. At 3:07, it’s pretty short for a song built around a dreamy, laid-back stoner loop with a nice, hooky snare drum beat. After Killer Mike’s intro hook, we only get one (great) verse from him and then, just as the track was building momentum, it ends. Before that, though, Saints Go Machine provide two perfectly pleasant, atmospheric interludes between the Killer Mike bits. Even if “Love and Respect” doesn’t especially go anywhere, I’m giving it one point above average for that snare drum beat, and another for Saints Go Machine’s excellent taste in collaborators.
[7]
Alfred Soto: This track faffs around before the guest appearance. Mike’s rap, unfortunately, comes too late and is no big deal.
[3]
Patrick St. Michel: Simple formula – the longer Killer Mike raps over this = higher score. Way way too little of him here, and this just sounds like 3/4ths a demo beat.
[5]
Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: The beat is a musty update of something that could have appeared on a Lords of the Underground album with added affected vocals; it holds Killer Mike back but forgets to apply the tenets of suspense, angling for a reason to keep us at bay with a “love and respect for my peers” hook. It’s irritating. Killer Kill from the Ville destroys this the moment he is set loose, despite a muddily-recorded vocal: “wise, intelligent/the devil is irrelevant/sand of benevolent/elegant elephant”.
[5]
Anthony Easton: The production of this is beautiful, especially where the vocals sort of fall apart, letting the atmospheric qualities of the sound emerge as the central point. How similar sounds bubble up but do not overwhelm throughout the rest makes me more curious than the lyrics.
[7]
Brad Shoup: Little bit of Art Russell drag, little bit of Limp Bizkit-style downtempo hip-hop. Perfect for Hollywood depictions of goth clubs.
[3]
David Lee: But isn’t this a Killer Mike track?
[2]