Customer Reviews

Question in the Form of an Answer

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two years after the not particularly well distributed "The Next Step" LP, Thes One and Double K give it another try, hoping that people catch on to their vibe. Their first album is my favorite hip hop album of all time, which points to the fact that I like their style. Aside from "Suite for Creeper" every song on this full length lp follows their recipe for hip hop, positive messages portrayed through mellow beats. Their soothing sound is a nice change from the rough mainstream hiphop of DMX and Juvenile, just to name a few. Dont get me wrong, PUTS doesnt speak the knowledge of Common or have the wide appeal of Eminem, but they know how to reminisce about the golden age of hip hop in funk,and put it all in a nice album. A few standout tracks: Youth Explosion-addictive beat, fun Sterns to Western- Kid Lex isnt that great,but a funny song (listen to the chorus) Code Check-mellow guitar, nice sampling Blowin Wax-in your face rapping, impressive Yehaw Partystyles-a fun song E Business-mellow ATCQ-esque beat July 3rd- Think of the 4th of july and the beat matches that feeling We'll be there-beatiful positivity

Turn off the lights, close your eyes, put on the headphones, and chill out. A soothing musical work of art.

i have to say, being in my late 20's, it is really hard to find any good hip-hop that gives you the feeling of chillen and being back in high school, or just good beats and flows to listen to and laugh along with (like the 'super mario 2' reference), but 'question in the form of an answer' is the solution to this problem. thes love and dub put together some of the best sounds available in the genre, sampling every single sound on the recording from some obscure records. (no drum machines are used at all.) they seem to be feeling the cats that don't wanna hear about bling-bling and escalades, and they deliver great rhymes that even suburban white dudes (like myself) can relate to and get into. i love both of their styles of flow and the jazz-funk vibe that almost all of the tracks seem to retain. swearing and cussing is not overt and is done in quite the same way that it is used when you are hanging out and talking with your friends. i highly recommend this disc, along with all the other p. sounds, if you liked e.p.m.d. and a tribe called quest, but can't stand nelly or eminem or 50 cent. the peeps are the real deal, just 2 b-boys making good old hip-hop.

For all you dot.com Americans out there (in Britain we have amazon.co.uk) I will need to set the scene. Leeds is about 250 miles north of London, and it is a fairly big town that is booming economically. OK? Six months ago, to a small club/bar style venue comes The People Under the Stairs, heralded as the new hi-hop wonders from L.A. As a poor student not really knowing the ways of the PUTS I decided I could not afford the entrance fee and did not go. However, a mate of mine DJed before them and was telling me how good they were. So, I headed out and bought The Next Step. Oh, that was good...funky loops and a bit of depth. But, the MCing left a little to be desired and it generally sounded like it was knoocked up in their bedroom, (which I hear it was). Despite this, I thought they definately had a spark of something good.

But when I bought the second album, Question in the Form of an Answer I wasn't really expecting that much. So, it got put on the back burner a bit, I didnt really listen to it for a while, and I was further compounded by the breakdown of my CD player. (Is this getting boring?)

OK, lets cut to the chase. After lots of trying, I finally sat down and listened to the album, and it blew me away. How can two people improve this much? Gone was the rough production edges, the muffled beats, the hectic layering. The beats were crisp, as were the sounds. How about the MCing, which was nothing great before. Oh my god! They have turned themselves into two pretty damn good MC's, working well together and working with some interesing outside talents. How about the depth. Oh Yes! It gets better and better. Now they have the same catchy loops, but with so much more than they had to offer on the first album. Everything has improved so greatly that this album really does stand out for me along side Common's and Slum Village's.

If you like your funky beats, old skool style, then this will still appeal to you. It is very remioniscent of Midnight Marauders in that respect. But if you like your deep stylees (a la Common) then this will also be able to grab your attention. Beware....The People Under The Stairs are coming!

Although I had my doubts that, in their own words, Thes One and Double K really were "the hardest working crew in showbiz", they're at least fulfilling some of this claim by releasing this, their second album in a year and a half. And despite the relatively short gestation period (for a hip-hop album at least) there is evidence that they've not just matched, but at times exceeded, the quality of their debut album, "The Next Step". Some of the immediate, jazzy accessibility of "The Next Step"'s stand-out tracks - Mid-City Fiesta, San Francisco Knights - is missing, but their trademark love of the funk is still present in abundance. Added to a growing lyrical confidence and a willingness to try something different (the opening gambit of "Scarborough Fair" being indicative of the musical inventiveness that characterises this album), the whole package of "Questions..." is, in my opinion, superior to "The Next Step". Oh, and Suite For Creeper is insanely brilliant - a hip-hop SWAT team, spitting rhymes from the waist and blowing the whole place up with lyrical grenades.

Thes One and Double K deliver again........... U must BUY this album NOW! If u're sick of all that dmx and dirty south rap stuff.... this is the real deal.... good background beats..sick lyrics.......it'll be the rockin' parties all night long

about a week ago i came across this album and it was the first time that i had heard of these guys. i was amazed by everthing on this album. usually i am preffereably into the new york scene of hip-hop but i have been recently very into hyroglyphics and pharcydeand a few other west cost emcees. P.U.T.S. sound somewhat similar to those groups but i have to say they are by far the best thing out of the west coast that i have ever heard. i havent had this for a week and i have already ordered two of there other albums. IF you love real hip-hop and hate nelly, dipset, puff daddy etc. u will love this album 2
-chris KRS-TWO

PUTS is quality gold ish! everytime i introduce cats to the PUTS sound, they scoop up every album they have. hey its only 3 but dang man, its all instant vintage! they remind me of the old school liks, they talked ish, and had some of the most classic one liners. i mean, thesse dudes dont care, and they put out what they like and on top of that diss everyone doin ish for money and fame. if i ever hear PUTS at a party its on! if i ever hear PUTS downtown in some yuppy bar that plays b2k and calls it hip hop--ITS ON!! if i ever hear PUTS bumpin loud ina NSX--ITS ON!! pull out ur duckets and scoop question in the form, its definately better then next step and OST. but those are all quality too... this whole album is tight, and i gaurantee u'll like it and the rest of PUTS ish. oh yeah, scoop my man MOKA ONLY. hes on the whole contemporary rap vibe. pick up LIME GREEN, and his new joint FLOOD--if u can find it you new wave freak!

detectives on the beat, every mission complete.

These guys are better than the old school Emcees. This album is the edifice of everything good in Hip Hop. I'm glad these guys could stay real and not produce brain dead MTV Rap. This should go in the Hip Hop Hall of Fame.

Tracks like "E Business" and The Cat bring the old school style like nothing of today. Preemo album I say.

Words can't describe how utterly dope this album is. Mad beats, rhymes, funk. All you want to do while listening is put your right arm in the air and wave it like you just don't care. Head bobbing like no body's bizness, lips puckered, neck weaving, knees bouncing. Damn, I haven't felt like this since '86. Why PUTS ain't blown up huge makes no sense. These cats kick some crazy joints, spitting lyrics and keepin' it real. BUY THIS ALBUM. Probably the best pure hip hop album I have bought in 20 years.

2000 has been a good year for hip-hop. Many good albums have been released including releases from Common, Slum Village, Zion I, Talib Kweli, Quasimoto, and Blackalicious to name a few. However, I would have to rate Question in the Form of an Answer as album of the year. Thes One and Double K are great together. Amazing lyrics, excellent production, and a wide variety of sounds make this album exceptional. You must buy this album if you love hip-hop.