Dead Ringer

RJD2

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 23, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 23, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Definitive Jux
• ASIN: B000068QSF
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,472 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

RJD2 creates music that's not easy to pin down, though everyone seems to try. The Columbus, Ohio-based DJ-producer explores the same basic formula used by DJ Shadow and Moby, but his style is more complex and, refreshingly, a hell of a lot less pretentious. Less bass-heavy than Shadow's 1996 release, Endtroducing... (the album it's often compared to), Deadringer showcases RJD2's master ability to layer unusual samples with complex drum patterns, funky grooves, and original vocals. The '50s horror movie-sampled "The Horror" starts things off on the grunge tip and then the album's sound progresses into straight-up hip-hop, break beats, rock & roll, blues, and more. Songs like the Jimi Hendrix-influenced "Smoke and Mirrors" and the honky-tonk soulfulness of "2 More Dead" up the ante, demonstrating just how far the trip-hop genre has progressed since the mid-'90s. One of the most enjoyable albums of the year, Deadringer is an essential addition to your listening library. --Rebecca Levine

From URB Magazine

Most hip-hop producers make beats. RJD2 makes dope instrumentals that you can rhyme over. There's a big difference. Known as DJ and producer for the merely decent crew MHZ, RJ has really come into his own, and his debut full-length is quite an impressive piece of work.

On just about any track here, you can point to shards of DJ Shadow, David Holmes and Cup of Tea's instrumental output from the mid-'90s. But there's also something very unique about RJ. He takes what he needs from both his peers and his dusty 45s, treating them all equally, without undue influence from past or present. After starting with the movie score-ish "The Horror," he hits his stride with "Smoke & Mirrors" and "Good Times Roll Part 2," cueing rare-groove drum thwaps, strutting bass lines, dramatic chord changes and long-played blues vocal samples. Sure, Moby has walked a similar path. But there are so many twists and turns in RJ's work ("Smoke" takes a 90-degree diversion into a rain-themed female vocal; "The Chicken-Bone Circuit" breaks down with groupie samples while the drums get sloppy) that such comparisons fizzle into mootness. Three cuts feature MCs, and do a good job changing the mix up. Jakki da Motamouth's turn is probably the best, with "F. H. H.," a curmudgeonly think-piece on where rap is today, intoning, over a lite, harpsichord-imbued roller, "so what the fuck is your definition of underground?/depressing beats and bleak cats who love the sound? " No depression here, just dope songs that keep you engaged every step of the way.

Brian Coleman

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The hype is warranted!, August 10, 2002

By	skytwo "skytwo" (Boston) - See all my reviews

I bought this album largely because of the positive buzz that has surrounded it, and because in the past I've found that dj's from non-coastal areas can be less pretentious and a hell of a lot more fun than their counterparts. So why not a dj from the Rust Belt?

The comparison it most often draws is with DJ Shadow's Endtroducing. The reason is clear, given the complexity of the arrangements and the "soundscape" quality to a lot of the tracks. However, this album is both less intense and less eclectic than that milestone. Which isn't necessarily bad-- just different. rjd2's tracks tend to be more funk-oriented and less bass-heavy. Normally that would be a strike against it for me. I may generally prefer the dark, urban stuff, but this album works brilliantly. Effective sampling and just enough turntable trickery to please (well, almost enough) make this album (like Endtroducing) consistently good from start to finish. It's good to see that the "DJ-as-artist" trend is alive and well. This album should help convince some doubters that it's worthwhile musical terrain.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars instant classic, August 7, 2006

By	eternal now "roejoerrer" (mankato) - See all my reviews

I discovered this CD in a local music store. I had never heard of RJD2. I picked this CD up on a whim and was very pleased with it. I have been a fan of Moby, DJ Shadow and all of the other DJ's and producers that RJ has been associated and compared to. With that being said, RJ sounds NOTHING like Moby. There are some tiny similarites, but they are not in the same class of style or genius. DJ Shadow and RJ don't really sound anything alike, at all. I don't see the comparison.
Being a producer/music creator myself(not a DJ), I can appreciate the style and creative force that RJD2 wields like an iron sceptor. Each song is crafted and laid out with tight beats and awesome production. All of the reviews on this spot seem to classify RJ as this or that. WEll, to be honest, he has his own style, RJ style. It sounds like no one else.
RJ seems to enjoy using samples, but his creative energy shines forth. This album is more "hip hop" oriented,, even featuring a few emcees who rock the mic right. I love this cd and I would recommend it to all who enjoy tight beats.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RJD2: Biography, January 10, 2004

By	dj cypher (stockton, ca) - See all my reviews

RJD2's music is a collage of cut-and-paste hip-hop that combines
disparate elements to make for soulful, moody portraits of the
world. Born in Eugene, OR, on May 27, 1976, he moved to Columbus,
OH, a few years later and was raised there. He first busted out onto
the hip-hop scene in 1998 -- a time when producers were emerging
from the shadows to seize the spotlight -- as the DJ/producer for
the Columbus-based group Megahertz. MHz had two 12" singles released
on Bobbito Garcia's Fondle 'Em Records and the group was mentioned
in Vibe Magazine's "History of Hip Hop."

In 2000, RJD2 produced Copywrite's debut single, "Holier Than Thou,"
on Rawkus Records. In the spring of 2001, he made his first formal
appearance as a solo artist on the Def Jux Presents... compilation,
proving he could hold his own alongside such luminaries as Company
Flow, El-P, Cannibal Ox, and Aesop Rock. RJD2's debut album, Dead
Ringer, followed on Def Jux in 2002. One of the best underground hip-
hop releases of the year, it melded dirty samples and a classic
approach to song structure for an end result that gave DJ Shadow, DJ
Spooky, and Moby a run for their money.