You might have caught our writeup on local producer JUST PLAIN ANT in our last issue (below the break). Well for those of you wanting to catch on to his music, Just Plain Ant and friends have released two full sets to download for FREE. Chill, hip-hop inspired beats and a B-side compilation of the best MCs RVA has to offer in one spot? You gotta cop this and find out what going on under the radar in the RVA.
CLICK HERE FOR "FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE 1"
CLICK HERE FOR "FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE 2"
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For Anthony Gillison, better known to the river city as the eclectic beat maestro Just Plain Ant, 2010 has been an especially prolific year. Gillison has kept his sound fresh with each changing season, dropping his third release of the year, See What Eye See, this fall. JPA’s past efforts have featured a formidable collection of some of the best MCs in the game, from both within Richmond and beyond its borders. He even managed to attract the legendary talent of Public Enemy front man Chuck D, who lent his voice to this summer’s sensational full length Rumble, Young Man, Rumble. The legendary MC’s presence and musical ethic stand as a touchstone for Just Plain Ant’s boundary-pushing music, which combines elements of jazz, electronica, and classic old-school hip hop, always keeping the emphasis on intellect.
Gillison’s journey began in 2009 when he joined with like minded talents from around the region to form the Just Plain Sounds collective. The group formed in an effort to bring a scattered group of collaborators within the Richmond hip hop scene together into a unified front. By combining the forces of artists including Joey Ripps, OhBliv, Sleaze, and Draztiq, Just Plain Sounds--along with acts like the Chocolate Milk beat collective, and freestyle champion Nikelus F--fostered a renewed scene for positivist hip hop in Richmond.
Just Plain Ant’s work goes far beyond mere creation of backing tracks for MCs to drop verses over. His heavily varied sound spans the spectrum of beat culture. He’s capable of producing sample heavy bangers like Rumble Young Man, Rumble’s “This is Madness (featuring Black Liquid),” but by juxtaposing them with digitally dripping original compositions that would feel more at home on a Radiohead album than a typical hip hop release, he creates an entirely new context for both kinds of composition. See What Eye See’s first single, “Singing To Myself (feat. Caits Messner),” steps even farther into left field. It combines the cool contemplation of early 90’s lounge music with an abstract collage of spoken word and seductive coos, which dissolve amongst the haunting, reverberating jazz piano chords. Gillison describes See What Eye See as his best and most introspective work to date. He uses fewer samples in favor of working with more original melodies and sound sources that reflect his current temperament and full artistic range. However, he still retains his strong connections with the roots of hip-hop, placing these new explorations in sound alongside rhymes from the members of the Just Plain Sounds crew.
As if two full-length albums and an EP weren’t enough for one year, Ant claims to be working on a fourth release: a top secret project of a more experimental nature that will soon be completed, but may or may not ever be revealed to the general public. In a year that could always use more of the amazing new hip-hop music that Just Plain Ant continually provides, we can only hope that we all get to hear it, and soon.