Bottle of Humans

Sole | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 14, 2003)
• Original Release Date: August 15, 2000
• Label: Anticon
• ASIN: B00004W5R5
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #103,371 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Dismantlng Of Soles Ego

2. I Don't Rap In Bumper Stickers

3. Tourist Trapeze

4. Famous Last Words

5. Bottle Of Humans

6. Man And Woman

7. Center City

8. Furthermore

9. Nothing Fell Apart

10. Very Important Message

11. Sole Has Issues

12. Our Dirty Big Street

13. Save The Children

14. Suicide Song

15. Year Of The $exxx $ymbol

16. Understanding

17. MC Howard Hughes

18. Bottle OF Leftovers

19. Home

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Much-maligned MC Sole finally delivers his long-awaited debut, a 70-minute exercise in progressive wordplay and next-level beats. Alongside Anticon labelmates Dose-One, Jel, and the Sebutones, Sole has helped inaugurate a movement toward new, more experimental styles of hip-hop. His rhymes are born in the anxieties and stress of a broke twentysomething and the creative extremes that keep him going. A melancholy wash of strings imprints the title track in listeners' minds, and be sure to check the horrific crunch of the introspective "Dismantling of Sole's Ego." The heavy, military rhythm of "Famous Last Words" crushes everything in its path and "Sole Has Issues" is a lyrically deft trip through dreams deferred. With a cohesive collection of in-house, Anticon-produced beats and guest spots, Bottle is an impressive debut and a good primer for anyone interested in these oddballs. --Hua Hsu

Product Description

Extreme solipsism can be done very artfully (Proust, say, or Joni Mitchell's Blue), though, more commonly, it is not, an "asshole hanging out" exhibition, to use Allen Ginsberg's resonant phrase. Bottle of Humans exposes a bit of its posterior here and there, but luckily it edges much closer to the former side of the curve. Sole's debut full-length is a fascinating introduction to a darkly enigmatic interior life, even if it ultimately falls shy of the magnitude of artistic self-transformation orchestrated by Eminem, to name another rapper who has managed to turn private revelation into a funky sort of absurdist autobiography. Like Slim Shady, Sole has surreal self-deprecation down cold, though he can't always muster the charismatic schizophrenia. He is a clever forger of words and framer of ideas, and his wit is readily apparent, even if the MC occasionally comes off too strident or earnest. In any event, this is a frequently captivating album -- there is something attractive about the idea of "dismantling" your own ego, of refusing to "rap in bumper stickers," of willfully avoiding rap clich s or turning them on their heads, as Sole consistently does. His lyrical vision is ambitious and unpretentious, bleak and neurotic (song titles like "Suicide Song" and "MC Howard Hughes" are instant indicators) but unconventional, sharp, and often singularly brilliant. This also goes for the music: minimalistic, fragmented, futuristic, paranoid, kitchen-sink-and-all, it is part junkyard hip-hop, part Dada collage, part deconstruction, part dialectic, and part monkey-into-space progressivism. At a diary-like 73 minutes, the album is too long to sustain the frequently gloomy psychological exploration, but this is maverick, outsider rap of a high quality. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The forefront of underground hip-hop, August 27, 2000

By 

Nikhil Yerawadekar (Queens, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bottle of Humans (Audio CD)

4.5 stars actually...

Sole is one of the best MCs in hip-hop today, along with Common, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli and others, but in terms of originality, he is unquestionably number one (or maybe two, behind the overrated Dose-One). To paraphrase a line from the title track "Bottle Of Humans", he feels no need to sacrifice his cadence and flow to rhyme - but his cadence and flow are so fluid, you wouldn't even notice. And lyrically, he is amazing - one cannot go more than 10 seconds on this album without hearing something insightful and profound. The music is excellent, too, featuring production from Jel and Sixtoo among others. If you are looking to expand your mind and your musical horizons, this is the album to buy and I highly, highly recommend it. Sole may have gotten noticed by foolishly dissing El-P (and ultimately losing the battle), but if there's any justice in the world, this album will make him famous.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Hip-Hop Music For The Advancement Of Mankind......", October 11, 2000

By 

Paul H. "rmj84" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bottle of Humans (Audio CD)

Whether you love Anticon or hate them, you have to admit that their bringing something different and new to hip-hop. Sole's (not to be confused with female MC Sole') Bottle Of Humans album does just that. Throughout the album, Sole drops many methaphors and verses that may take a while to decipher, but work in great ways. Sole discusses the troulbes in his life on some tracks ("Sole Has Issues," "Dismantling Of Sole's Ego," etc.) as well as the state of hip-hop and what he has come to do, and he does it by twisting together complex lines and poetic verses. As Sole says, "I can't say that I'm ahead of my time, I fear my time will never come." Some the standout songs include the title track, "Year Of Da $exx $ymbol," the dark "Suicide Song," and "Famous Last Words." The production courtesy of Jel, Controller7, Alias, etc. is also very good with eerie string samples and a jazz/funk loop or two. If you're looking for a hip-hop album that brings something different to the table, pick this one up.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars - More Than an "Ego Maniacal " Artist, November 25, 2004

By 

7th Angl (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bottle of Humans (Audio CD)

First off, Sole didn't come out of nowhere with his free-associational, non-pareil Anticon style. He did release an album back in 94 which was recorded in New York City, and features a more straight forward emcee approach. Sole was even signed to Rawkus for a period, before he got fed up with the label and decided to embark on one of his own.
This iteration of Sole is chock full of metaphors, ego bashing and in many ways the album is confessional. Instead of rhyming about trivial topics, Sole branches out in a fashion that is in many ways a 360 degree variation of what is popular or accessible for many heads. This is not to imply that his artistry is a sham or inauthentic as some reviewers evidently feel. "Save the Children" is a song whose content would probably put off most musicians. Sure one must "peel back the layers" to comprehend it, but the message is there and it is strong indeed.
Depression is another uneasy subject which Sole addresses in several songs, and he tackles it in the same fashion as labelmate Alias, which is through introspection and rhymes that are heavily metaphorical and interpretive. A method that many artists choose to employ in their efforts to convey their melancholic emotions.
Sole's style is loquacious and complex, but this is not a detriment to his album (s). "Bottle Of Humans" is a fascinating listen for the most part, its momentum only occasionally burdened by sub-par material. Anticon and its associates are truly representative of an alternative to hip-hop's boorish world of bling and faux conscious artists set to beats that are equally sedating. Perhaps not an "advancement of hip-hop" overall, but it certainly takes the music down new avenues of self-expression.
Another great, albeit scarce, release is Man's Best Friend which came out a year ago. A sequel is even floating around out there, and worth the effort to locate.