The Socalled Seder - A Hip-Hop Haggadah

Album Review

From avant-garde New York artist So Called comes a rather iconoclastic rendition of a Passover Seder dinner. The ceremonial songs sung during the night are represented and remixed. The style is somewhat reminiscent of Cut Chemist, with cuts of old, notably dated educational and cultural records intermixed with scratches and drum loops. What differentiates So Called from Cut Chemist though is less reliance on scratching, the obvious Jewish content of the samples, and a tendency for So Called to spend a fair amount of time letting guests freestyle over the top of the mix. The guests steal the show from time to time, with rising star and dancehall singer extraordinaire Matisyahu taking over on a piece related to the drinking of the third cup of wine, Wu-Tang's Killah Priest joining in on the Ten Plagues, and a handful of others from the hip-hop world as well as the cantorial traditions. There's some incredible newfangled fusion coming from the New York Jewish musical communities of late, and So Called is poised right near the top. Worth hearing even by those unconcerned with the religious content, but probably better for those interested in the religious-artistic fusion.