Surprising. Unexpected.

I did not know what to expect from this album. Album cover? Made Out Of Babies? Metal that’s “not metal”?

Well, turns out, it’s pretty darn good. Or at least, so far, it’s more accessible than expected. Good!

The first track, “Cooker,” definitely starts the album off on a good note. Or rather, some good pushed-to-its-limits guitar. “Cooker” is the most original track, musically, on the album. If Made Out Of Babies can be defined by “Cooker,” they’ve done well.

Going through the album, vocalist Julie Christmas both worries us and captivates us. She does quite the good job at her screams and the other sounds required for being the best metal singer you can be. Christmas a sinister drive at the wheel of her vocals. Christmas works expertly with the music of Made Out Of Babies (what a name, right?). Vocals at the front, or the stuff mixed in the background, it all works out well.

The fault shouldn’t entirely rest on Christmas, but possibly because of the female vocals, The Ruiner begins to sound somewhat derivative of other female-fronted “metal” projects. Least names be mentioned, let’s just say that’s not good. But Christmas is fine, just the haunted memories the music + her voice bring out are bad. In all likelihood, we need more confident female vocalists like Christmas doing right on hard rocking music.

As previously discussed, the music of Made Out Of Babies is most out-there/experimental on “Cooker.” Elsewhere, the band crafts well-made metal, trying to escape the restrictiveness such a label can have on a band. Traditional metal chugs are coupled with the crystal-clear guitar work sometimes found in the modern metal landscape (see: “The Major”). The drums are often the most distinctive part of The Ruiner. Drummer Matthew Egan pounds when needed and drops the sticks on a remote drum when it sounds good. Complaints are hard to make.

The Ruiner reaches a nice plateau of easily-accessible metal with enough uniqueness and originality to justify it’s existence. It’s not pop-metal, nor [anything close to] art-metal, but…there certainly are a few good pop songs on the record.

First Impressions…by R.H.

…was awesome.

Awesome show. Great, great show. Completely different from the night before. Amazing. Absolutely great.

The band opened with “That Man I Shot.” They played “Bob,” “Steve McQueen,” and “18 Wheels of Love” (!!!). DBT played “18 Wheels of Love” with the start-the-song story intact and then followed it up by concluding the story with the present-day tales of Chester and Patterson’s mother. DBT also played a righteous version of Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen.”

They ended the set (before the mind-blowing encore) with a take on “Let There Be Rock” that was completely different from the night before. While the song was an emotional power-punch of a glorious rock’n'roll anthem on Friday night, Saturday transformed the song into a joyous celebration of a song. Shonna Tucker did not sing any songs for Saturday’s show.

Remember those Cadillacs that Patterson Hood parked in between without a scratch? Well, what made the performance of “Let There Be Rock” even more special was that the friend’s who’s parents owned those Cadillacs was at the show, in the VIP balcony above stage right. Even the man’s life-saving sister DD was there.

The biggest difference between Friday and Saturday’s shows was that there was more stage banter at Saturday’s show. Patterson gave a telling introduction to “Puttin’ People On The Moon” and he told of how he twisted his ankle on stage the night before. Plus, they played “18 Wheels of Love” (!!!).

Openers the Dexateens again rocked the house. It looked like most of the sold out show’s crowd showed up before DBT, in time to see some of the Dexateens, and the applause the band received was something close to uproarious. They did their Southern-tinged rock and played well. They too talked more than they did the night before, although the Dexateens’ setlist was basically the same.

Both bands reunited for another closeout jam in the encore, playing “Buttholeville,” “State Trooper,” (Bruce Springsteen) and “People Who Died” (Jim Carroll). (same as Friday)

These two nights have provided the most euphoric rock shows ever.

Thank you, Drive-By Truckers. Thank you.

- R.H.

It’s f__kin’ great to be alive!!

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What a great, great show. The Truckers gave it their all. Every ounce of their energy for one of the best rock shows I have ever seen.

You can put the Drive-By Truckers into whatever country subgenre you want, but when it comes down to it, they are just pure rock ‘n’ roll. They are, without a doubt, one of the best present-day rock bands in America, if not the world. Heck, they’re even better than some old classic rockers. These guys are good.

“Baby every bone in my body’s gone to jumping/like they’re gonna come through my skin/If they could get along without the rest of me, it wouldn’t matter if they did,” sang Mike Cooley on “A Ghost To Most,” one of the many great tracks on 2008’s superb Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. The set list spanned their entire career and contained hit after hit. Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is such a charming record, that songs off of it were often highlights. But every song was a highlight tonight.

When Cooley finished playing “Checkout Time In Vegas,” (from BTCD) the band then played the three following songs on the record straight afterward. “You And Your Crystal Meth” was brilliant and even darker live. “Goode’s Field Road” proved just why it’s an excellent song, and everyone already knew that “A Ghost To Most” is a classic.

As the Drive-By Truckers played, it was hard for me to see any effect pedals on the stage for their guitars. Then I realized, they don’t need any pedals. The only effect they need is “Southern Fried.”

I did see some pedals toward the back of the stage, but they were scarce and that was just fine. The guitars were in fine, fine form.

Touring member on the keys, John Neff on pedal steel and a third guitar, Brad Morgan on drums, Patterson Hood on guitar and vocals, Mike Cooley on guitar and vocals, and Shonna Tucker played bass with an endearing enthusiasm. Shonna sang one song during the show, her best one off the last record, “I’m Sorry Huston.”

Morgan is a very talented drummer. This was obvious right away with rockin’ opener “Puttin’ People On the Moon.”

The Truckers put so much energy out on the stage. I don’t know how they can top it tonight (as in the tenth) (two dates at the 9:30 Club this time around, the ninth and tenth of May). I’m sure they will, but last night was pure rock awesomeness. Great setlist, great energy, great, great rock music. I really cannot use the word “great” enough. Or the word “rock.”

DBT classic “Let There Be Rock” had a shining moment as the third to last song in the righteous encore. The best song I have ever seen performed live. Absolutely amazing.

And the final rock-out jam of the encore had DBT pull openers the Dexateens (who played a well-received and joyously country-rockin’ set to start the late night off (doors at 9)) back on stage (along with another guitarist friend) to play “Buttholeville” and whatever other song I could not tell by ear (thanks to the mass of instruments pervading the sound system) (the vocals were inaudible at this point. Throughout the night, the vocals were hard to hear in the club). It wasn’t pure rock fury. It was pure rock soul.

The musicians traded swigs from the Jack Daniels bottle all bitter and clean, and the show ended with one hell of bang. Patterson Hood lying on the stage, 10 other people playing music around him. And then he popped up for another round of soul revealin’ rock.

Great show. Great band.

- R.H.

Openers White Denim were energetic, fun, and interesting.

Tapes’n'Tapes were dull’n'dumb.

Not really too dumb, but it was definitely one of the more boring shows I have ever been to. They are not very good live performers. No encore. Not captivating. Very, very limited audience interaction (from the band) (basically none at all). The bass was good, but man, was it loud (blame it on the 9:30 Club, whose sound system always manages to mess up at least one aspect of the live sound. Tonight there were multiple maladies…). The vocals and guitar were very hard to hear. Many, if not all, of the songs sounded the same. Not many people looked too into it. It was alright. Really not that great.

But you need shows like this to bring you back down. Not every show is going to be amazing.

White Denim were really terrific, though. A lot of fun. (Barely anyone was there to see them, however.)

Tapes’n'Tapes…not so much.

- R.H.

Dead Meadow at the Black Cat, backstage. With Ancient Sky.

The Red Room is a nice place. That’s where we wait before former local (D.C.) band Dead Meadow put on their show at the tiny backstage venue of the Black Cat.

The backstage is very intimate and small and comfortable and the sound system is pretty great. We get right up next to the stage.

Brooklyn (by way of Richmond, VA and surrounding towns) rockers Ancient Sky set up and play. The band plays some type of stoner-ish psychedelic rock. The have a guitarist/singer; a bassist; a drummer; and a man on horns, keys, noise, and other assorted sound-making devices (all musically based). They are a good band and I was excited to see them.

They played with a controlled gusto. The bassist was a bit too into just his instrument but the singer/guitarist worked well, as did the other players. As performers they reminded me of a subdued (in fierce, rockin’ energy) Howlin’ Rain. The singer’s passionate yelps also recalled My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, as weird as that sounds. Ancient Sky sounds nothing like either of those two bands. But the vocal performance is definitely reminiscent of that of live Howlin’ Rain (a great live band).

Ancient Sky played their experimental rock and it was terrific. A superb performance from an up-and-coming (they just finished recording their debut album in D.C.) band with solid songs. Ancient Sky is indeed a band to watch.

Dead Meadow came on. Guitarist/singer, drummer, bassist. They were awesome. A very slow melt of the face. They completely blew me away. They played a great show.

Admittedly, the three-piece has a strong catalogue, but it’s littered with songs that sound the same. That showed during the show, when I thought one song was being played but then they actually played that song later in the night. This happened several times. Oh, well.

Guitarist Jason Simon’s vocals are obscured and hard-to-hear on their records. Same goes for their live shows. But did the lyrics really matter when the music was this great?

Bassist Steve Kille did some jumping and played well. Drummer Stephen McCarty showcased his strong playing. Jason’s solos and the band’s jams that extended the songs well past the pop-music minute mark made for an awesome spectacle. Just pure rock ‘n’ roll in a great, small venue.

The crowd interacted well with the band and there were some really dedicated fans in the audience. Before Dead Meadow began their encore, they brought one of the audience members on stage. He had some kind of connection with the band (his uncle or something…). In the words of a 21st Century Camus: It was funny. It was cool.

Steve told the onstage fan to introduce the band as “Black Mountain.” That got some laughs. (Has anyone listened to “Angels,” from Black Mountain’s latest, In The Future? Sounds similar to Dead Meadow’s “At Her Open Door,” from Feathers) After the show, Steve explained that the band was friends with Black Mountain and that they were “really nice guys” (the L.A. transplants and the Canadians have toured together).

The encore continued the pleasurable face-melting. Mind, this was not face-melting in the “I’m gonna rock your socks off” vein or pure rock fury vein, but the “Oh my gosh, this is pretty dang awesome. Mind-blowing even. What good music” vein.

Dead Meadow rocked. Plain and simple.

A great show.

- R.H.

Hello Friendly Readers,

We here at Two Silenced Voices like music. Heck, you could even say we love music. Matter of fact, we’re passionate about music. So passionate that it easily distracts us from updating this blog 24/7.

And being passionate music lovers, we enjoy our share of live music. And, what the heck, we might as well report on some of the concerts that we go to. So today begins the chronicling of our live music ventures. We probably will not report on every show we see and we may not report too often, but every once in awhile, expect a review/recap of a show. These ‘reviews’ might not be entirely strict music journalism reviews, but they might be peppered with unique-to-blog insights about the crowd, the personal adventure to get to the venue, etc.

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Don’t be afraid to go back to posts. Sometimes, Vman will write a post and sometime later, I will contribute to that post. It’s like a two-for-one deal. Pretty great, no? You’ve just got to be sure to check back and see if the post has been updated. Same goes for me when I post, and then Vman contributes. Get twice the perspective at double the bargain!

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On April 13, 2008 Two Silenced Voices reached 1,000 views! Thank you! We apologize for the only-so-often posting, but we hope you enjoy what you find!

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Thank you for reading.

- R.H.

This may be a month late. But here it is.

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The Bordeoms are one of the weirdest bands you might ever see live. Not really too weird, but their shows are as interesting as any other show you’ve seen. They’re just so…different.

While the Boredoms may not make the greatest music or put on the greatest show in the live setting, their live performances are so different from the typical rock show: don’t pass up an opportunity to see them.

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We arrive at the venue a little past the 7:30 time of doors being open. I thought the show would be sold out by doors. Nope. Buy tickets and head inside.

- On a side note: Why does the 9:30 Club (Nightclub 9:30 for those concerned with details) box office charge a service charge on advance tickets? At the box office. This makes absolutely no sense and is completely ridiculous. Day-of-show tickets have no service charge, but advance tickets at the venue box office carry a one dollar service charge per ticket. That’s not a lot, no, but the reason I buy tickets at the box office of a venue is to avoid service charges. The lady selling the tickets said, “We use their envelopes and their system, we’ve gotta charge.” Wow. Makes a lot of sense. And I thought Ticketmaster was cruel. (9:30 Club uses tickets.com) -

Black Pus

Black Pus gets on stage in a little corner at the front of the stage, stage left. Black Pus gets settled at his drum kit and puts on a mask that houses a microphone (for hands free vocal stuff). The mask is frightening. And his music doesn’t ease the tension.

We go upstairs to check out the show from a different perspective. The second level was probably the best choice for the Boredoms show considering the stage set up. (more on that later)

Black Pus pounds on his kit while making noises with his vocal chords. The man (Black Pus is just one guy on the drums, with extra effects) using feedback like a madman. Black Pus, who used to/still does drum for Lightning Bolt, also takes time out to perform the most bizarre air guitar solos you will ever pay witness to. He vocalizes weird noises while pretending to play guitar (thus, air guitar).

He continues to bash away on the drums while forcing out loud noises no shoegazer can attest to. He proves to be a talented drummer. For me, his performance was loud, intense, and overall, kind of scary. Black Pus makes noise music. It’s clear to see why he’s on this bill.

Soft Circle

Next up, Soft Circle. Soft Circle is also one man and his drums. This time though, the man has a microphone via headset (no scary mask to be found in this set), a guitar, a single electronic drum that provides a variety of effects, and one heck of a looper.

Soft Circle taps out a beat on the electronic drum. Loops it. Taps out another beat. Loops it. Plays a few notes on the guitar. Loops it. Drums a new rhythm. Repeat.

That was Soft Circle’s process for each song. But it was good. The songs were relatively different each time. His second song started with a beat that could’ve been that of Radiohead’s “15 Step,” if your ears blinked.

Soft Circle was nice to have between Black Pus and the Boredoms because he provided a lull. His music is not nearly as intense as the other two acts on the bill.

I moved to the beat with Soft Circle’s music. As opposed to Black Pus, Soft Circle actually had music with a melody and all that good stuff. The kind of technical stuff considered frivolous at a show like tonight. My immediate feeling was, “That was great.” Not great as in grand, or innovative, but great as in, “Hey! I enjoyed that!”

Concert companions complained that Soft Circle was a bad drummer. At least compared to Black Pus. I agree with that essentially, but Soft Circle had some good beats and good music. It’s a good sign when music makes you move, and that’s what the music of Soft Circle did. Some of his songs did sound a bit the same, though. Good set, overall.

As they crew finalizes the stage set up for the Boredoms, I take a look around. The first thing I noticed when I entered the club tonight was that I was way out-hipped (not that that’s at all hard to do). This was the most bohemian crowd I have ever been around at a show. One of the inspirations for going upstairs to watch the show was the fact that as Black Pus started, one guy already had run into me. Okay…why so aggressive so early? The crowd was definitely hip to the max.

Boredoms

The stage has three drum sets, a keyboard, a big ‘ol bass drum, the “sevena” (a seven neck guitar), what appears to be a synthesizer and some other electronic music equipment. Two drum sets face away from the audience. Longtime Boredoms member Yoshimi (sound familiar?) will have her back to the audience while drumming, but will turn around to focus on the keyboard.

The lights in the venue darken. After a little wait, three drummers, dreadlocked leader Eye, some guy working electronics, and the-guy-who-picks-up-drum-sticks-and-that-kind-of-thing appear on stage.

Eye is holding these two light bulb-like things that he moves and it creates the image that he’s making some feedback-crazy, electronic sound with them. The light’s probably don’t make any noise, but Eye moves convincingly. He also screams. The whole effect ends up looking like he’s trying to live out some kind of “Dragonball Z” fantasy. It’s cool, though. He looks like a superhero (albeit, a deranged one).

And thus (the) Boredoms begin their set. They do not play songs from their records. They play noise music. And huge songs that’ll confuse you if you try to keep track (with anything). It feels like the Boredoms play a kind of improvised “jam,” but it seems clear that some parts are rehearsed. The drums are wonderfully coordinated and Eye takes his time to scream things in babble-language and perhaps Japanese. Eye does electronic things, as does some guy in the back.

Eye bangs the sevena with some huge rods, reverberating notes wherever he wants. Pure noise fury.

At some points, the sevena sounds pretty coordinated, almost like Eye is playing out a scale as he plays the giant guitar with drumsticks.

They pause. It looks like the Boredoms have played their first song! That only took over half the set! Cool! The band begins its second and final song of the main set.

Yoshimi sings nicely and plays some keyboard. The two other drummers continue to bash away with much skill. Eye continues his screaming and other shenanigans, among them, banging on the standing bass drum.

Some of the audience members on the floor dance in frightening fashion. I was worried 9:30 employees would have to go in there and take some kids out because of seizure troubles. It was that erratic kind of violent dancing/moving.

Much of the crowd stood still and looked on at the band. Some did the normal head movements and foot taps, while those previously mentioned jiggled around the crowded floor without care for the people surrounding them.

The Boredoms’ show is quite hard to describe musically. Noise rock. Psych-noise-experimental, etc. They play noise music. They bash away. They drum. Fury. Fun. They scream. Feedback. Noise.

But just how unique their show is is not something to miss out on. They are far different from the typical rock show, so go and see them for the interesting experience that it is. Good music, but tough music.

The Boredoms end the set with (from what I can tell) their second song of the night. They say ‘thank you and goodnight.’

Expectedly, an encore is asked for. But this is the weakest encore applause I have ever heard. Everyone is so tired and drained from the hour-plus of chaos the Boredoms have played. Most of the nearly sold out crowd stays and claps softly, if at all. There’s clapping, but so little. People are just expecting an encore. They’re all tired.

The Boredoms do indeed come back out for some more madness. Their third and final song of the night.

They bash away again. It’s fun and interesting, but tiring. They’re a good band. They play for a long time. That about wraps it up.

The Boredoms say thank you once more and exit the stage. We leave the venue after a very interesting night of wild, experimental music.

- R.H.

P.S. It’s rumored that the Boredoms will repeat their “77Boardrum” experiment this year with 88 drummers (probably on August 8th, no?). Last year the Japanese noise heroes played beside the Hudson River in New York with 77 drummers on July 7. Reportedly, it was epic.

Cool.

If you haven’t noticed, it’s unlikely we will post any more detailed, comprehensive, elaborate posts about the media that appeared in 2007. But there’s this post. Which is slightly comprehensive (at least on the music side of things).

Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters by the Twilight Sad is the best album of 2007. Original, new, brilliant, meaningful, emotional, real, great. Great live performers, as well. Nice people, too.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is probably the best 2007 film I have seen. It is the most enjoyable film of the year.

Some of my favorite tracks of 2007 include (there are some covers here):

• “Furwinked The Lion/Bear Song” by Tereu Tereu, from Feline Ambition
• “Ed Is A Portal” by Akron/Family, from Love Is Simple
• “City Of Echoes” by Pelican, from City Of Echoes
• “The Opposite of Hallelujah” by Jens Lekman, from Night Falls Over Kortedala
• “We’re All From Barcelona” by I’m From Barcelona, from Let Me Introduce My Friends
  
• “I Love The Unknown” by Eef Barzelay, from the Rocket Science motion picture soundtrack
• “Grizzly Jive” by Georgie James, from Play
• “Pretty in Pink” by The National, from their Daytrotter Session
• “Pinklon” and “Ethiopians” by the Mountain Goats, from their Daytrotter Session at SXSW
  
• “Pom Pom” by Matthew Dear, from Asa Breed
  
• “Daughter” by Loudon Wainwright III, from Strange Weirdos…
• “Conqueror” by Jesu, from Conqueror
• “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver, from For Emma, Forever Ago
• “Brand New Kind Of Actress” by Jason Isbell, from Sirens Of The Ditch
• “Statues” by Foo Fighters, from Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
• “I Was Zapped By The Lucky Super Rainbow” by The Flaming Lips, from Good Luck Chuck Soundtrack
• “In Our Talons” by Bowerbirds, from Hymns For A Dark Horse
• “Not A Problem” by Black Lips, from Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo

And of course, the standard indie rock singles were all nice and fine:

• “The Underdog” by Spoon, from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
• “Keep The Car Running” and “Neon Bible” by Arcade Fire, from Neon Bible
  
• “Thrash Unreal” by Against Me!, from New Wave
  
• “Dashboard” by Modest Mouse, from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
  
• “D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice, from † (yes, it’s a catchy song)

Some of my favorite albums of 2007 include (key track/s. If no key tracks that means the album is really, really good.):

• Let’s Stay Friends by Les Savy Fav
• A Place To Bury Strangers by A Place To Bury Strangers
• In Rainbows by Radiohead
• Armchair Apocrypha by Andrew Bird
• Challengers by The New Pornographers ( “My Rights Versus Yours,” “Myriad Harbour”)
• Sing the Greys (2006) by Frightened Rabbit ( “Be Less Rude,” “The Greys”)
• Era Vulgaris by Queens of the Stone Age ( “Turnin’ On The Screw,” “I’m Designer,” “Misfit Love,” “3’s & 7’s”)
• Places by Georgie James ( “Cake Parade,” “Need Your Needs”)
• Casually Smashed To Pieces by the Six Parts Seven ( “Falling Over Evening” <great, great song)
• From Beale Street To Oblivion by Clutch ( “You Can’t Stop Progress,” “When Vegans Attack”)
• Graduation by Kanye West ( “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” “Stronger”)
• Mirrored by Battles
• It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s The Way You Land by Soulsavers ( “Revival,” “Paper Money,” “Kingdoms Of Rain”)
• In Our Nature by José González

Notable Albums of 2007 include (they range from good/okay to excellent):

• Friend Opportunity by Deerhoof ( “+81,” “Believe E.S.P.”)
• Holy F**k by Holy F**k
• Nothing Is Underrated by Joe Lally
• Myth Takes by !!! ( “Must Be The Moon,” “Heart Of Hearts”)
• HEALTH by HEALTH
• U.F.O.s At The Zoo - The Legendary Concert In Oklahoma City by The Flaming Lips
• VI by The F**king Champs
• All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone by Explosions In The Sky
• Legendary Demo by Clouds
• Play Drums + Bass by C.O.C.O.
• Here Come The Waterworks by Big Business
• Adrian Orange & Her Friends by Adrian Orange & Her Friends
• Good Bad Not Evil by Black Lips
• The Last Days of Rome by Snog
• Harmonic Tremors by Zozobra
• Tears of the Valedictorian by Frog Eyes

- R.H.

Rick Ross once said, “My presence is my presence.” One of the most intelligent quotes a cool person can make. And Ross is right again, proving all haters wrong with the release of his second solo album, Trilla. His magnum opus is, without a doubt, the best album that has been and ever will be released in the 2000s, perhaps the 21st century. Certainly, it is the greatest album of all time.

The rhymes are tight and the beats are heavy as we traverse thug life/luxury livin’ with Ross, a master of the studio.

It is worth mentioning that Rick Ross is also known as Rick Ro$$. This man has authentic street cred.

As I listen to the honeysuckle wrapped beats of “This Is The Life” (featuring flute mastermind Trey Songz) I analysis the heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics of Ross. The “yeahs” float around like celestial dust settling after a supernova. Beautiful, beautiful.

And a couple of tracks down the line, TSV hero Jay-Z appears. “Maybach Music” is inspired by its namesake (Bach) and its renditions of his classical repertoire are astoundingly touching. It’s official: I have not been this moved since Jennifer Garner’s performance in Juno.

Jay-Z turns in his part well, but yet, he cannot out-rhyme the master. With Trilla, Ross has surpassed his apprentices, achieving a height not seen in Hip-Hop since Hell Rell’s genre-spanning collaboration with the girls from Evanescence.

“DJ Khaled Interlude” is definitely the best track of this exquisite record, though. The guitar parts aren’t just mailed in from Ross. They are nailed in. That’s how good this guy is. Khaled gives a boring performance on the track, but Ro$$’s presence eliminates any of the listener’s worry. It is his presence, after all.

Released on March 11, 2008, Trilla is the only album I have come across that actually deserves the italics. It is a stellar piece of art that will have lithograph artists in tears over the amount of requests they’ll have for reproduction of the album cover.

The cover is the one thing I take offense to with Trilla. It has a “Parental Advisory” sticker. The man is just expressing himself. He needs words like “[expletive]” and “[expletive]” to get across the positive message of being able to own multiple Rolexes. Or maybe Ross will stop and wax on the days in his youth when he dealt with a dirty inner city life, cleaning pools at the YMCA. The youth needs to hear his words, as they are truth and they are real.

Listening to Trilla can have two positive effects on the youth that listens. It can either prepare them for the evils and dangers of gang life, or alternatively, for the thrills and luxuries of life as a rap mogul who signs incredibly talented “singers” time and time again to various recording arts labels found in America and beyond.

So fine readers, rest assured, Ross is an up-and-coming star who will BLOW UP on the scene in the coming months or years. He is a force to be reckoned with and no one can deny his formidable talent.

Two Silenced Voices gives this album a rating of “Perfect.”

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Happy April Fools’ Day.

We do not think Trilla is the greatest album of all time. In fact, we’re pretty sure it is one of the worst pieces of recorded audio to ever debut on the marketplace.

We do not recommend Trilla or any other works by Mr. Ro$$.