Cannibal Ox "The Cold Vein" (May 15, 2001)

While it can be said that many underground crews have been floundering in the gray matter of indie hip-hop, Cannibal Ox filled that area in with 2001's The Cold Vein for El P's Def Jux imprint. The music press had been quick to point out that Vast Aire and Vordul Megilah's attack is at times highly derivative of the Wu Tang Clan, and the point is valid. Thankfully, El P (a serious candidate for producer of the year) lays out some of the most lushly intriguing sounds and beats that feel as herky-jerky as they sound gilded with silk. It's a bit misleading to harp on the Wu factor that The Cold Vein contains since this record's content is immensely original and the Wu references that seem present are in the enlightened gloomy flow and psychedelic backdrops -- not, (with all due respect) in the kitschy hooks and unfocused rhymes that Wu Tang are also known for. Aire and Megilah swirl around in b-boy posturing and obtuse nonsense as their innovation rears its head at every corner with scatter-shot lines like: "And I ain't dealin' with no minimum wage/I'd rather construct rhymes on a minimum page," and "You were a still-born baby, your mother didn't want you but you were still-born." While there's not a throwaway track per se, the album's length does run a bit long (at least they didn't make it into a double CD as a lot of rap acts have been known to do). To their immense credit, Cannibal Ox and El P have assembled one of the most listenable hip-hop albums in far too long. Headz be aware: Independent hip-hop has a new voice and this is your beat fix for 2001. - AllMusic. What an incredible album, revisit Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein album below...

One of the greatest albums in all of hip-hop... don't sleep on this one!

Canibal Ox "The Cold Vein" (CMJ, August 2001)

"The members of Harlem's Cannibal Ox not only relish the ol' school, but a time before ol' school. During "Ridiculoid," from the duo's debut Cold Vein, Vordul Mega offers a stream of consciousness recollection: "I still remember the age of Coleco, a daily struggle, but I hold onto the vision - hip-hop at its best when it lacked television." If you take away rap's broadcasted glamour and everything it bore - the gold chains and the stretch 4x4s - you return to the era of politically empowered street griots such as Harlem's Last Poets. The urgent cries and idealistic ponderings of Mega and his partner Vast Aire often recall their conscious rap forefathers, mixing references to Jackie Gleason, Sigmund Freud and the Kennedy Curse into anecdotes about welfare mothers and that "anorexic space between love and hate." (Updated) ... Check out video of the Cold Vein record release party: the performance features Cannibal Ox, El-P, and Mr. Lif in front of a sold out crowd. This amazing show took place on June 24, 2001 at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA. Cont'd below...

"Producer El-P (formerly of Company Flow) spill-paints the tracks with rocket engine swooshes, moody bass notes and fax-machine feedback. It's not always the most head-bopping combination, but it allows room for the rappers' philosophical squiggles, which simultaneously decry the era of soundbites while utilizing its most effective weapon. You may be able to find funkier hip-hop tracks, yet you'll be hard-pressed to find a more brilliant report on the mindstate of Harlem youth - one that remains reverent to that neighborhood's poetic past." - CMJ, August 2001. (Updated).

Canibal Ox Featured in CMJ New Music Monthly (August, 2001)

"For us, it's more than just a passion - it's self-therapy," says MC Vast Aire about the rhymes he writes with Vordul Mega, the other half of Canibal Ox. The new-school hip-hop duo formed at New York's Washington Irving High School around 1992, when the two Harlemites bonded over a shared love of rhymes and visual art: "We were definitely artists and poets when we met," Vast recalls. "We were doing comic books, we were doing graffiti." They freestyled at talent shows and open mics, and eventually found a fan in Company Flow's El-P, who produced their first full-length, The Cold Vein, and released it on his Def Jux imprint. "Your confidence gets up when other musicians you respect wanna do music with you," Vast Aire says. "That's what underground hip-hop is about." Cannibal Ox's music depicts an urban landscape wavering between beauty and decay, past and present, punk and funk, with fractured melodies, futuristic effects and illusory samples that create an Enter The Wu-Tang-like cinematic quality. And Vast and Vordul's rhymes seamlessly mix street roughness with introspection. On "Stress Rap," Vordul punctuates, "Walkin' through these odd days / Watchin' every snake breathin' / Ready to deface the heathen at night / I'm like just tryin' to reshape the meaning of life." "We don't mind goin' full blast," Vast asserts. "We're gonna be honest and we're gonna be highly creative." - CMJ New Music Monthly, August 2001. As a bonus, check out this 3-part series called "The Making of The Cold Vein," which was uploaded to their YT page...

Oh, and full feature in CMJ is available below if you'd like a copy...