Customer Reviews

Being Ridden

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's a sad thing that this record will not make it to the top ten lists of the bajillions of critics out there. It's a sad thing that the people that really need this record will never get to hear it. It is not a sad thing, though, that I own it. I've seen this cat live twice, and each time he worked the crowd like it was a reunion show. He puts on the best live show I've ever seen, and even that can't do justice to the subtle nuances of the record. Every voice crack, every nervous whisper, every sign of weakness is planned and careful, almost as if to lull the pop world into a false sense of security, but don't be fooled. Watch out, this record is taking over your ears soon, and if you don't let it then you've made a huge mistake. Warning in advance, though: you will not like it the first time through. You won't like it until you pay attention. This is not Tall, Dark, and Handcuffed. This is the hangover from it.

I ain't here to clear a path, I came to clog it up with corpses." Cex, the Baltimore, MD laptop emcee/folk artist/exhibitionist, lays down this appropriate mission statement on "Working." Cex makes glitchy folk for Timbaland heads, and Timbaland tracks for Wes Craven. The record is equally divided between music-industry critique and personal confession, between tongue-in-cheek radio raps and threadbare dirges ("Being Ridden," according to Rjyan Kidwell, the man behind the Cex persona, means "full of ghosts," or "Ridden with Beings").

Being Ridden has been released both with and without vocals, and the instrumental version puts Cex's ambition in the spotlight. The subtraction of his schizophrenic flow highlights how incongruous those rhymes often are in relation to the layered programming and warm guitars of tracks like "You Kiss like You Were Dead" and "Dead Bodies." Surprisingly, the elimination of the vocal track makes for a less coherent, though possibly more accessible, listen. Cex's precise efforts behind the boards are stripped naked when he steps to the mic, exposing the madness behind the method.

For hip-hop purists and those less tolerant of the current wave of "experimental" rap artists, like those in the Anticon camp, Cex's emcee-cleverness will likely grow tiresome after a while, but there are some gems for even the most stubborn anti-backpacker. On "Stamina," Kidwell takes Missy Elliott's "Gossip Folks" to the porn-shop slaughterhouse, and "Earth-Shaking Event" collectively disses indie rock, the hip-hop underground and MTV over his version of radio-friendly funk production. Unfortunately, such mock-ups always fail to emulate the catchiness of a hot Neptunes beat, but it's hard to outdo the masters of Hot-97 irony on their own turf.

Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren co-produces and lends backing vocals on Being Ridden, bringing out Cex's more emotive side on "Cex at Arm's Length" and the aforementioned "Bodies." Wedren's voice is a perfect compliment to Cex's personality clash on "Arm's Length," where Kidwell expresses regret for a career and an identity that has exceeded his control. Ridden at times plays like a Jekyll-and-Hyde battle between Kidwell and his alter ego, leaving listeners to pick through the mess in order to find the message. It's not always pretty, but even the mistakes have a remarkable charm.

Robert Albanese
Junkmedia.org Review

"tall dark and handcuffed" was a pretty good album, but it didnt really hold my attention they way cex's earlier stuff had. it seemed almost as if he were putting the instrumentation on the back burner, neglecting it in favor of his lyrics, which were clever in and of themselves.

on "being ridden", however, both the vocals and the music are much stronger. i got the instrumental version first, and was instantly impressed. this is definately the same rjyan who made "role model" and "oops i did it again". except, "being ridden" sounds fuller somehow. more fleshed out...it doesnt sound like someone on a laptop. the accoustic guitar really sounds good on this record.

over on the vocal version, it's hard not to be impressed. obviously cex has grown a lot as a singer/MC since "handcuffed". he definately seems to know his own strenghts and weaknesses.

"being ridden" (either version, but especially the vocal one) is the best album cex has ever done. he's got scary talent, and i can only imagine how good his next LP will be. .

If this is your first Cex album, you've skipped ahead to the good parts. I've been following this kid since Role Model, and he's going to hit it so hard with this one. He rocks the house live, but this album makes me smile along with him--talking about 7th grade social life and then running into your 7th grade girlfriend later and not knowing what to say; talking about how all pop songs are about break ups, bad break ups, and that rappers and britney spears are singing about the same thing. This Baltimore kid knows what's up, real life, real cities, real people, real songs, real expression. His voice isn't perfect, but there's something about the sweet guitar on this album that makes you sing along.

"middle finger to the indie rock singer," says Cex, cuz he'll be around much longer than what's that band... the Strikes? the strokes?

I have had great respect for Cex's ability to create amazingly complex and emotional beats. However, this latest effort, with his attempts to rhyme on nearly every track, is ridiculously amateur. I greatly enjoy intelligent and underground hip hop, and this is neither, but is trying unsucessfully to bridge the gap between electo and hip hop. Granted, there are a lot of emotions Cex needs to get out, and he has every right, but I wish I'd never bought this album. My advice to him would be "Try a song or two out before you go all out and do an entire album in a new style like this." I bought this album blindly at a record store, expecting much from this young, talented man. I was terribly disappointed with Being Ridden, and will now have to second guess and heavily research anything I'm considering from him now. Yes, I am a jaded downtempo aficianado...

i gues this is CEXs 4th or 5th CD. but i just heard about him. unfortunately, it sounds like hes already fallen off. i know he does good work cuz i saw him live. but this CD is awful. hes obviously invested much work and skill into the cd. but its plagued by questionable taste. i find it unlistenable. the cover should be a warning. cex just isnt as funny as he thinks he is. maybe he was funny. he rocked some cuts live that were funny. this cd is a monstrosity. ironic incompetance is popular among the indy rock crowd. perhaps cex is looking to cross over. ouch.