- Ken Lapworth
- "... when I asked for assistance I got Vox. He and I were destined to connect, so I don't even question the circumstances."
I asked RA if he was worried during this time. âWas I worried? No. I'm a man of faith and I trust in The Way; when I asked for guidance I got it, and when I asked for assistance I got Vox. He and I were destined to connect, so I don't even question the circumstances."
RAâs ability to take his own advice, to stand by what he raps despite all the troubles, puts a stamp of authenticity on his work that most records (hiphop or otherwise) lack. RA realized he retained copyright of the the vocals and writing part of his works, so not long after things fell apart he put out a call to producers to re-work those songs. Vox Mod was one of among many answering the call, and it didnât take long for the job of producer to become his entirely.
âI actually haven't heard the original album,â Vox Mod told me. âand in fact, I'm happy that's the case for the sole purpose of discovering the synergy between RA's aesthetics and my aestheticsâit resulted in something new. To me, it feels like a necessary and welcomed transformation. That also afforded me to pursue my own intuitions and not feel influenced/pressured in any other way. I'm thankful to work with a musician like RA who trusts our collaboration in creating a new language together.â
Vox Mod put the right spin on what RA Scion has been after: Sharper Tool; Bigger Weapon is a hip hop album which doesnât limit itself to prototypical hip-hop ideas.
RA Scion is a human thesaurus at this point in his rap career. There is a well-traveled open-mindedness about his dense rhyme schemes that escape typical trappings and establishes new landscapes. Vox Mod keeps a spacious, warm feeling that cultivates that landscape. Tracks like âOpalescent Jetsamâ grow into a positive barrier against all things captious, and Sharper Tool; Bigger Weapon âhowever incorporeal in spiritâ quickly becomes as incontrovertible as the dirt beneath your feet. Vox Mod is finding a good foothold in hip hop, blending his music with more genre-related beats in tracks like âPlush Portal Stylingsâ, and RA Scion shows some of his own vision using Blake Lewis (yeah, the dude that sang Bon Jovi on American Idol) in the stunning âVenus in Transitâ. Tracks like like âHolly & Oak (Again & Again)âstill have hooks after their original name, in this case Hoof x Horn, but with Vox Mod at the helm, the vocals fall back into the beat and it actually becomes a better song.
Itâs at this point in the album that RA Scion and Vox Mod realize a world of their own. Obbligato electronica dances fluidly with aggressive lyric delivery on âInterceptorâ, in which RA announces that by sickle or sword, heâs taking over. Vox coaxes the listener into a state of synesthesia, piano tones twinkle like stars, horns shout the color of the sunset, and RAâs raps stand solid, fibrous, and tough as trees in the forest. Another talent show contestant, Mark Shirtz, adds vocals on âForeberanceâ, harmonizing with Voxâs synthesizer; Royce The Choice makes a funky contribution on âPatina Greenâ, and by the time we arrive at the album's strongest track, âRun One Through,â RA and Vox are not just rapper and producer, but a music-making organism that defies both of their genres.
At the end of the album RA Scion puts on Romaro Franceswa (Yuk The World) and Greg Cypher (Kung-Foo-Grip). Listening to Sharper Tool; Bigger Weapon, I thought of the last time I saw RA Scion captivate a crowd with just a microphone and DJ Indica Jones. I asked him about his plans to perform the new work: âI do plan to play this new material liveâfor the release party, that's all we're performing are songs from the album,â he said âafter that I'll be adding some of this new stuff into the rotationâ. The album will see digital distribution (iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify) Tuesday, and the release party will be this Thursday, March 20th at Neumo's. He adds: âThe live show has always been the reason I make musicâI wouldn't ever bother with studio time if it didn't result in stage time. I get hella excited about debuting new materialâThursday's gonna be dopeâ.