Smell Smoke? by Miles Bonny

" -Joe Good

"I've been fortunate enough to "Smell Smoke?" and i immediately knew that Miles Bonny is on FIRE! Free, Ingenious, Revolutionary, Energetic." - JOC MAX

"'Smell Smoke?' is in the car, on the Bose... it refuses to leave the changer.. and for that matter.. it's hoggin up all the air-time... you gotta' little trouble-maker on yer hands there, bro :) It's a mad keeper!" - Lenny Hamilton

"Chances are you haven't heard of Miles Bonny yet, but you'll be hearing plenty for years to come. Repping Kansas City, Miles has spent years of perfecting his production, and has already earned plenty of respect amongst his peers (he's already worked with Sage Francis, Oh No, J. Rawls, Joc Max, and others). His first solo release "Smell Smoke" shows an incredibly diverse range, with its headlining act producing, rapping, singing, playing instruments, and doing all kinds of things that sound good in your speaker. Don't sleep." - FATBEATS.com

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Once again, Miles proves that you can listen to hip hop and not cringe while doing it.

"Smell Smoke" is the latest in what i believe is probably an endless cannon of beats from his repotoire (did i spell that correctly?), but this time, he's sangin'!

Well i'm not sure where to start except to say that Miles' mind is a playground, where beats, melodies, vibes, vibraphones, electronica, loops, obscure samples, feelgood messages, and all interpretations of funk and soul all bleed into each other, making for an interesting listening experience.

Highlights for me are:

"Cans Ass City Waltz" -He knows how much i dig this track! Imagine Koop, sped up a tad to an uptempo lounge type beat, interrupted by those odd samples...this is when he's at his absolute best.

"Stampede"- "Everybody stampede on the dance floor" says Miles, and with that one clarion call, a catchy hook is born, complimented by some awesome flute work (not sure if it's a sample or not, since Bonny DOES actually play Trumpet). This is some sleazy funk, made for big asses that know how to work it out!! Excellent!

"The Garden"-Another one of those "big booty" joints! Short in length (2:07), it's a jam that if you heard it in a club, you could not resist getting up to dance. A catchy chorus, and a rhyme by Miles, who slickly makes a reference to the "Feelsexy" night that he created and spins at in Kansas City, where he's from.

"Sing Your Song"-This is the last track on the cd that brilliantly holds everything together (along with "Cans Ass City Waltz"). Created with producer Joc Max (another of my Myspace friends). It's done extremely well, and could be a single, i think. "This is hooch music, it's made from home, can't you feel it right down to the bone?" sings Miles, in what is his finest vocal hour so far, at least to me. The jazzy swinging beat and Miles' steady verses keeps your feet tappin and soon after you find yourself singing along. Excellent production (surface static included)!

This is feel good music, get high music, music about being yourself, and embracing that self full throttle. It's fun, creative, and not weighty. The only track that stands out from this in a way, is "War Is The Enemy". Sonically, it's psychedelic and moody(think War's nugget "The World Is A Ghetto") with Miles' singing lyrics reflective of the times like "why do we have such issues with our government today? we all pay taxes, then we watch as they play...With war there is no winner"). It's kind of hard to make out what he's singing because of the echo and reverb going on, but the effects do work well in the song.

I would highly recommend this cd to anyone with an open ear who's into hip hop, soul, samples, loops, and fat beats!

Troy

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