Definitive Jux
2004
Collecting The Kid
About This Album
Gathering El-P's whims and whatnots, Collecting the Kid is a surprisingly purposeful full-length that hangs together despite its pedigree. Instrumentals that were rejected by rappers, raw tracks that haven't found a home, and bits of El-P's soundtrack to the Bomb the System film are the three main sources for these moody sounds, but only the revolving door of more guests than usual hints these cinematic tones are orphans. Maybe it's the arc of the album, which starts with a building tidal wave of sound and ends on a sleepy track from Central Services -- El-P's group with Camu Tao from S.A. Smash. More likely, it's the fact El-P is starting to balance his instrumental albums, where the music wanders, with his rap albums, where things are more to the point. "Telemundo" is the two-worlds-in-one track with the help of film dialogue and a changing song structure that resembles a suite. The throbbing bass on "Constellation" verifies the producer's Can influence while the man himself gives props to Art of Noise in the liner notes. These insights into the man's taste outside of rap are interesting, and you could call this El-P's least hip-hop album if it weren't for the jazz-based High Water.
Track List (try tracks 2,4,5,7,8 and 9)

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