North America only

Album: Spirit of Apollo
Label: Anti-
Release Date: February 17, 2009
Stars: 3.5
Skippable tracks: 4 of 17

I was unable to find the rap CD that I was going to review, but I did listen to the N.A.S.A. album released earlier last month. I went into this with an open mind, and found myself enjoying a lot of the tracks on this album. As always, I do have a few issues with it. One: N.A.S.A, in this case, does not stand for National Aeronautics and Space Administration, but rather North America South America. So what..? All you have to do is listen to the CD to realize that there is VERY little to do with South America or North America. It’s mostly a sound that has already been heard, using funk tracks as well as some Brazilian song samples. My understanding of the album was that it was going to be a fusion of all kinds of music from all of the Americas; what came out was a CD for The United States of America. Two: They tossed in as many names as possible into the mix to try and attract as many people as possible into buying the album. Three: They played it too safe.
That’s my only beef.

As mentioned above there are a whole lot of really funky tracks that make this a very enjoyable listen. There is also a rock-based song with John Frusciante, an incredibly weird song with Tom Waits, and a song that sounds exactly like anything M.I.A. would put out on her own. Instead of commenting on all the collaborators, I’ll just post them below. Maybe one of the names will attract you into listening to the album. Peace! I’m out! ...Yo!

N.A.S.A. Feat:
David Byrne,Chali 2na, Gift Of Gab & Z-Trip, David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge & Z-Trip, Method Man, E-40 & DJ Swamp, RZA, Barbie Hatch & John Frusciante, KRS-One, Fatlip, Slim Kid Tre, Karen O, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Tom Waits & Kool Keith, Kanye West, Santogold & Lykke L, Sizzla, Amanda Blank & Lovefoxxx, George Clinton, Spank Rock, M.I.A., Nick Zinne, Kool Kojak & DJ Babao, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien & DJ Qbert, The Cool Kids, Ghostface Killah, Scarface & DJ AM.

NOTE: If you like Hip-Hop this would be a 4/5.


Sweet song with KRS-One! My favorite.