Sadistik & Kid Called Computer - The Art of Dying (2010)

Listening to this EP makes me realize how stupid I am. Not because it's so intelligent and I don't understand any of it or anything like that, but because the guy who has nearly my exact taste in hip hop hyped it up as amazing, and I still put off on listening to it until the following month. As you've probably realized, I like this EP. A lot. The first person who comes to mind when you hear Sadistik rap is Slug, but the only things they have in common is a very similar voice and a lot of emotion. If there's one rapper Sadistik reminds me of though, it's Sleep of Oldiminion. Especially how they are both great at rapping double-time but are smart enough to only use it when it will truly benefit the song. Another thing that Sadistik has in common with Sleep (and further removes him from Slug) is his technical skill as an emcee. This dude has some of the craziest rhyme schemes and multis I've heard in awhile. The last couple of minutes of Save Yourself are especially ridiculous (if you're Canadian you may understand when I say that I was making Mindbender faces due to how great it was). Sadistik raps about serious topics with palpable emotion, and this mixed with his technical skill makes him a very well rounded emcee.

Kid Called Computer handles all the production, which goes without saying given you know he's a producer and not an emcee. Not that I did, I had never heard of him before listening to this. He's certainly unique, his production has a fine ambiance to it with use of hazy, soft noise and pianos. He provides a good fit to Sadistik, who apparently likes production that isn't totally rooted in hip hop seeing as his other album is produced by Emancipator.

All six songs here are fantastic, I'm not even sure what I'd refer to as the highlights. It far from overstays its welcome; I love the 30 minute length for modern hip hop releases, plus, the sound very well may have become a little much over the course of 40 minutes or longer. There is one guest spot on the EP, not by a rapper but by a singer, Louise Fraser, who stops by for Ghost in the Machine. The singing may be my least favorite part of the EP, (saying that that isn't saying a lot would be an understatement) it isn't bad by any means but it feels like it just seems kind of there. It's definitely recognizable and enjoyable but it seems like some truly great singing would have really knocked Ghost in the Machine out of the ballpark. Regardless, this is far from a major nuisance, and The Art of Dying remains one of, if not the, best hip hop releases this year.

Sadistik's official website (to buy the EP/listen to 'Bed of Flowers')
Mediafire