New Christos
Less than a year after releasing The Guerilla Movement, KC rapper James Christos is back with The Coup: A 21-Day Revolution Within.
Two men figure strongest on The Coup, Christos, of course, and Jaz Brewer of 64111 Studios, a good place to have a soda and make a rap album. I haven’t had much of a chance to listen to this yet, but a cursory skimming turns up mainly bangers, chock full of inspiring, self-esteem-boosting rhymes, good turns-of-urban-dictionary-phrase and catchy choruses, like on “Opus 2,” with its mighty chant: Act ignint, here to get ya lifted!
James Christos: “Opus 2” MP3
By the way, none of the songs on The Coup have actual titles. They’re just Opus 1, Op. 2, Op. 3, through all nine tracks. And there’s lots of good morsels among these opi. Though definitely not gangsta, Christos is gruff enough to avoid backpacker characterization, and Brewer’s production is full of hard, street-level beats. It’s bravado for the well-behaved hustler.
See the energetic MC perform songs from The Coup this Sunday, October 28, at the Peanut Downtown. Cover is $3, and the show starts at 9. (Upstairs at the venue, pianist John Brewer, DJ Leonard D Stroy and percussionist Brandan Draper perform live jazz-soul-funk-world-turntable jams.)
