DJ Shadow's watershed 1996 LP, Endtroducing..., pretty much coined instrumental hiphop as a genre unto itself; while his forebears like Kurtis Mantronik and DJ Mark the 45 King had long been dropping ill, MC-free slabs of hiphop via 12-inch, Shadow's official debut was the first time it was widely accepted as its own music, and not just "beats without rappers." In crafting his intricately layered, largely vocal-less album—culled entirely from vinyl during jiggy rap's heyday—Shadow (AKA Josh Davis) quickly established himself as a strident, if silent, advocate for the emerging underground of the late '90s.
As Shadow's SoleSides cohorts Blackalicious and Latryx emerged with their own critically hailed projects, it became clear he stayed closely aligned with some of the Bay Area's best talent. The left-field placement of Shadow's solo work to follow (The Private Press and Preemptive Strike, a bootlegger-besting collection of previously released material), as well as his many collaborations (including UNKLE's bombastic Psyence Fiction), however, soon hung a big sign around Shadow's rep that crudely read "triphop," or perhaps more candidly, "hiphop for people who don't like hiphop."
Such a perception, however, is a long way from the heart of this lifelong rap aficionado, who first made his bones in the studio with the militant Frisco rapper Paris, and who came up on electro jams from World Class Wreckin' Cru and Egyptian Lover, as well as N.W.A. and the Geto Boys. Which is exactly why you shouldn't be surprised when a fitful Shadow finally ditches all that highbrow instrumental shit, shelves his MPC, switches out his sounds, and drops a brash new record, the aptly named The Outsider. Among other things, the disc pairs Shadow's tripped-out sonic sensibilities with the cream of the Yay Area's most beloved hardcore rappers.
Likely to piss off legions of Mo'Wax fans, Outsider is an extremely varied, but far more straight-ahead project than Davis has ever delivered before. If you're looking for that vintage Shadow feel, look no further than the manic workout "Artifact"—but nowhere else. It's the most surprising stuff delivered—namely, the hyphy songs—that is also the most successful on The Outsider; the frenetic slap of tracks like "Turf Dancin'" (which features scene vets the Federation and young-blood rap/dance troupe the Animaniaks) and "3 Freaks" (featuring rhymes from Turf Talk and Keak Da Sneak, the rapper who named the Bay's signature "hyper/fly" sound) stutter, groan, and squelch like a wicked case of robot gastroenteritis.
While it may be blasphemy to say he gives hyphy's production godfather Rick Rock a run for his money (which he kinda does), Shadow hedges his bets with cred-bracing appearances from the Bay ambassador E-40 (who perfectly laces the carnival crunch of "Dats My Part") and even 40's son Droop-E, one of the Bay's hottest young beatmakers.
Never comfortable settling into any given genre, Shadow has such tracks amicably sharing space with the airy, mission-statement opener "This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)," the dense, dreamy Radiohead-ache "The Tiger" (with Kasabian's Sergio Pizzorno), and the meditative strum of "Broken Levee Blues," which offer truly delightful juxtapositions. A weak spot like the overlong blues-rock number "Backstage Girl," which sports a couple verses from Little Brother's Phonte Coleman, is entirely forgivable when balanced out by the superb David Banner–helmed "Seein' Thangs"; its evil bayou bounce and synthy banshee wails underpin the Mississippi MC's grim ain't-a-damn-thang-changed assessments ("crack is cotton/it grows up from the concrete"), with barbed verses recorded before and after Katrina. Banner, in fact, echoes what I was thinking on the track's intro: "Shadow, you got some nuts for this one, baby!"
Whether longtime fans will like The Outsider or lump it is moot, really; it's clear Shadow felt like he'd done all he could in the realm of atmospheric instrumentals, and perhaps was motivated by the glut of like-minded producers who have sprung up since Endtroducing.... "There's songs on this album that I think blow away almost anything else I've ever done," Shadow said recently. "I think song for song it's the best album I've ever made."
Of course, many will debate that statement, but for the first time, DJ Shadow singles are getting spun on mainstream rap radio (in the Bay, at least); hiphop may still suck in '06, but this time around, someone is actually taking that bitch head-on. 
