What do Film Noir and hip-hop have in common? According to Chicago rapper Apoc and producer Rel – everything. Debuting as The Ritz, Apoc and Rel create a cinematic musical masterpiece with their debut album The Night of Day from Lab-Oratory Records.
The Night of Day singlehandedly creates a new genre for the Postmodern Era, bringing the two artful elements together so closely, coloring in and outside timelines, allowing no room for division between where one ends and one begins. This alone lends to an amazingly effective picture of what it means to be a creature of the 21st century, let alone an American.
Writers place characters in extraordinary circumstances, and Film Noir, a 1940s and 50s silver screen phenomenon, has never been an exception. It explored the darkest of human experiences emotions, motives, fears, luck and decisions. Even those characters that saw the light at the end of these films were most often far too late to stop the undeniably karmic consequences of their actions.
Incredibly, The Ritz takes all these things and dances with them. Classic lines drift in and out of the production, weaving a tapestry of beats, dramatic strings and punchy rhymes.
"The bottle is my better half," Apoc sings in "Gotta Be," the album’s second track. "It’s hard to breed patience in these places I stay in," he says next in "It’s The."
Rel only emphasizes these sentiments with carefully selected clips, coupling the line "Why don’t you quit your cryin’ and get me some bourbon?" from the 1950 film The Asphalt Jungle with "Tell me how you hate me with one breath / Next it’s up to your place and you’re undressed," from Apoc in the track "Too Late for Tears."
The combined experience from both artists, along with a Pandora’s box of creative juice, allows the pair to crackle and shine on this record.
Rel evolved on the boards while producing for fellow Chi-town acts Elfamail and Moodswangz, as well as Pace Won and Raekwon, to name a few. As for Apoc, he’s previously put out three solo records, and spent much of the time in-between touring. Apoc has shed his words alongside countless respected visionaries, including Lyrics Born, Living Legends and Mix Master Mike.
Much more than the sum of its parts, The Ritz puts it on in this album. To sample the sound, visit Lab-Oh! online at www.myspace.com/laborecords, and don’t forget to check the top eight for links to Apoc’s music, as well as Rel’s, at myspace.com/apocmusic. Proceed with caution, though these tracks contain highly addictive stimulants, and nothing else out right now can touch them.
