DJ Z-Trip
Shifting Gear
Hollywood Records
· As he tries shifting gears, DJ Z-Trip grinds the clutch a few times along the way.
DJ Z-Trip was a mash-up master long before hipsters anywhere knew what mash-ups were. The Arizona-based DJ is one of the most talented, original, hard-working and underappreciated around. For years his insane, genre-bending mixtapes have remained mostly underground because sampling The Beatles can be pretty hard on the bank account (or so I’m told). He managed to rise above ground when his skilful chopping of Rush’s "Tom Sawyer" with some heavy breakbeats ended up on the soundtrack for Small Soldiers. It seemed his credibility had gone AWOL.
Shifting Gears is obviously a change of pace for Z-Trip – it’s not a mixtape, it’s an album. Unfortunately for him, he’s much more proficient when working on the former. The album pounds with Z-Trip’s typically tight production featuring classic-rock guitar riffs and lots of drums. As Z-Trip shifts gears and races through three somewhat distinct styles and eras of hip hop, he picks up both well- and lesser-known MCs along the way, including Soup of Jurassic 5, Lyrics Born, Supernatural, Murs, Aceyalone and Chuck D.
But while the appearances by the MCs are by no means terrible, it’s the musical interludes where Z-Trip is in top gear. On "About Face" and "Furious," he flashes his inventiveness in constructing complex drum structures (here comparable to DJ Shadow), while at the same time displaying a subtle but powerful antiwar message.
DJ Z-Trip’s love for all types of music comes through on Shifting Gears, but to get a real sense of his talent and ability to rock any type of party it’s worth listening to any and all of his mixes, especially Uneasy Listening.
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