Company Flow

"YOUR FAVORITE BAND SUCKS." ~ The Onion t-shirt collection



Welcome to the elitist, wise-ass, overcritical music blog. Just kidding. We here at TSAD take quality music very seriously. We also understand that it's just music. Entertainment. This shit is supposed to be fun. That's why you'll read overwhelmingly positive posts about music that we actually like. No firebreathing criticism of mediocre bands we were paid to review. No pretense. Just tunes for your chillin' enjoyment. Chillin' and the occasional bitchin' party. No doubt.




My issue this Sunday is the Company Flow. Lets go back to 1997. This year saw the passing of both Mother Theresa, and Christopher Wallace. Despite these losses, t'was still a good year. Slick-Willy-C was elected to his second term as POTUS, the Dow closed above 7000 for the first time, and Company Flow released Funcrusher Plus.

Founded in Queens in 1992, Company Flow's sound oozes urbanity. The music is dense and industrial. Odd sound effects populate the production. Scratches and samples give it a dark, futuristic ambiance. True to it's origins, Funcrusher Plus is far more appropriate for a solitary trek on an NYC subway (alongside 500 faceless strangers) than it is for a road-trip from Madison to Minneapolis. That being said, good music holds it's own wherever, and whenever you listen.

It's sad that Company Flow only released this single album. The silver lining here is the manner in which underground and alternative hip-hop in this vein has flourished in recent years. The staying power of this classic abum owes a lot to the considerable skills of El-P. As far as producers go, this cat can carry an entire label (that label is called Def Jux, and yeah, you should check them out). As far as lyricism goes, El-P , Mr. Len, and Bigg Jus consistantly bring original styles to the table. All this boils down to hours worth of audio dopeness. Welcome the the dense, dark underground. Here's to catching a new rhyme every time you listen.