Kev Brown Resurfaces

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Martín Caballero

While digging through the used CDs section at Newbury Comics, I came across a gem: Raydar Ellis’s Late Pass for $3.99. The only thing was it was still in its original packaging. That means that for whatever reason, the store is now selling a CD that used to go for at least ten bucks for a fraction of that price, seemingly for no other reason that they think it won’t sell for that much anymore. Just goes to show how quick artists can slide into anonymity (at least in the eyes of some record stores). It’s a reminder that a) there still isn’t any replacement for the satisfaction of digging through racks of CDs for a great find and b) we should continue to support dope music with dollars.

It also brought to mind another producer/rapper who’s just as criminally underrated and overlooked as Raydar: Kev Brown. When he dropped I Do What I Do a couple years ago, all indicators tipped Kev for lasting greatness. At his best–”Allways,” “Say Something,” the entire Brown Album of Jay-Z remixes–he mastered the understated touch of jazz and hip-hop that Dilla and Pete Rock turned into an art much better than more heralded producers like 9th Wonder or arguably even No ID. Lots of producers have come and gone as heirs to the throne left by those two, but Kev was one of the more legitimate contender in my eyes.

But since then, he’s been relatively quiet. He did release an album collaboration with rapper LMNO called Selective Hearing (which I haven’t heard) and he recorded a track that leaked last year with Busta Rhymes called “Packin Them Things,” which easily could have been one of the better tracks on Busta’s Back on my B.S. album released earlier this year had it been included in the final cut. At the moment there’s no indication that a proper sequel to I Do What I Do is on the way, but lo and behold, I found that he actually dropped an iTunes-only album at the end of July called Random Joints, which is a fitting description. I’ve only heard a few cuts, but the ones I have are buttery sweet grooves that carry on in the same vein as his first album (”The Hennessey Joint” most auspiciously). So for all the other heads who were wondering where Kev’s been at, peep the selections from Random Joints below. Hopefully it’s a sign of more to come; despite my thin pockets, I don’t want to find his next album in the discounted section a couple years after it dropped.