Album of the Day: Flash Bang Grenada - 10 Haters

A collaboration between Busdriver and Nocando. The last song that I know of that they did together was 'Least Favorite Rapper' from Jhelli Beam, but that's by no means a precursor for what's going on here. I swear, if they're voices weren't different, I would think that these two were just one person on a continuous flow, they play off of each other so smoothly and seamlessly. The beats beat you over the head, and most of the lyrics take a couple of listens just to comprehend, but when you do, it's amazing. I'm actually surprised, because Busdriver is one of those rappers whose songs I could listen to ten times in a row, and still not get even half of what I'm listening to. 'Beat My Bitch,' an awesome song to begin with, ends with a pure, no beats flow by Busdriver that just blew my mind. 'Aphrodite' features confusingly straightforward lyrics, with each rapper waxing poetic about women and love (although Busdriver still manages to mix in a little of the weird - “Bringing home niggas that made your legal guardians scream/And they followed you but there's a lump in your breast/You're young and distressed cause they want you to come and undress/But you're like 'nah' on the hundredth request/Well I'm sending you advice to have hummus and crepes”), which would be really heartfelt if not for the heavy bass line that runs throughout. 'In a Perfect World' shows off their self awareness (“I'm the shit/In a perfect world/I'm independently wealthy/In a perfect world.” Also“Mrs. Obama keeps it shaved but what's a world without a Bush?” There's really no reason to include that, other than I think it's funny.). 'Hyperbolic' uses similar elements, playing off of the seriousness of disses and battle raps, which was great, but then Del tha Funky Homosapien appears and rips off a ridiculous verse and just puts the song over the top, as they feed off each other's verses like basketball players throwing up lobs. They play off one another, while at the same time trying to one up each other, and you can just tell that this a fun project, rather than a forced one. It's an interesting mix: Nocando flows continuously, and Busdriver uses his usual “crazy verse-hook-crazy verse” format, and each blends their style with the other. It descends into dubstep territory at times, with tracks like 'Moisturizer,' but I really don't mind here. I rocked out for a good 45 minutes here. Nocando provides an amazing flow, and Busdriver brings his trademark off-the-wall, 90 miles an hour lyrics and nasal voice. I am seriously angry at myself for not having heard about this sooner.