Houston's history is dotted with albums that, fairly or not, have been swept aside. We'll examine them here. Have an album that you think nobody knows about but should? Email [email protected].
Thurogood Wordsmith The Appetizer EP (Self-released, 2010)
The noodle-voiced Thurogood Wordsmith came into sight - for us, anyway - after delivering a strong verse on a Dustin Prestige record ("Channel 2") about a year and a half ago. This here, The Appetizer, is his pre-album EP.
Naturally, his forthcoming full-length, which is due in March, is titled Brass Knuckle Sandwich. You see what he did there? Appetizer, food, precursor. Neat, right?
Y'allmustaforgotability: 97 percent
There is little chance that anyone that Thuro has not touched hands with will take the time to actually listen to this EP. You can't see it, but we're totally shaking our head and pursuing our lips right now.
Read what Y'allmustaforgotability means.
Best Song on the Album: Ignoring the obvious appeal of the "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" sample of "1-2-3," the best song here is the morning fresh "A.M." It's not as eye-opening as the emotive "Otherside," nor is it as commanding as the Mos Def-ian "Dream Chaser," but in totality it stands taller than both.
Also noteworthy here is Cristolph of The Niceguys. We've seen him, at times, push his will onto songs that he produces, but here he calls forth just the right amount of intuition.
Best Line on the Album: "Damn it feels good to be a man that can do things."
Clever.
What this line, adapted from the Geto Boys' "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta," appears to do is 1) acknowledge the fact that, yes, Thurogood is a rapper who lives in Houston; and 2) imply that the preceding point will not be the crux of his lyricism, a treatise the entire new class of Houston underground rappers has embraced.
We suppose it also not so subtly let's it be known that, should a fight break out at one of his shows, he will not be handling himself in a very gangsterly manner. He will, though, likely write a strongly worded Facebook post about the decivilization of this generation's rap fans afterwards.