N.A.S.A. – The Spirit of Apollo (2009) [Anti] // Grade: B-

I’m going to try and get my 2 cents in on this before it becomes an early 2009 hipster darling and the subsequent backlash sets in, in full force. With Hip Hop turning more and more into who can make the hottest ringtone, needless to say there have been far fewer albums lately that I could sit through and enjoy in their entirety. The Spirt of Apollo is such an album, though.

Opting out of the typical DJ mash-up, Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon go the organic route, soliciting exclusive material & guests across Rock, Pop & Hip Hop, combing them into one happy marriage over their own production. Truthfully, N.A.S.A. isn’t doing anything more than expanding on Handsome Boy Modeling School’s (Prince Paul & The Automator) excellent debut So… How’s Your Girl? But you know what? That’s perfectly fine by me because not enough artists are drinking from its vast well of influence. Just be warned Handsome Boy Modeling fans, N.A.S.A definitely plays up the commercial angle more than Prince Paul & the Automator ever did. In some ways, The Spirit of Apollo is making good on the sort of album the Black Eyed Peas have been trying to create unsuccessfully for years.

I was quite skeptical upon seeing the guests for this album and I still have no clue how they managed to pull in everyone that they did. Most (not all) of the MCs’ verses and appearances tend to feel interchangeable, but the use of David Byrne, Karen O, M.I.A., Santi White & Sizzla are spot on in generating some infectious hooks. Unfortunately, the song I was most looking forward to, “Spacious Thoughts”, never lives up to its potential, but kudos to the ambition displayed by pairing Tom Waits with Kool Keith on a track together.

This is the sort of album that could have easily tipped into overindulgence and been unlistenable, but N.A.S.A. does a great job of pacing and keeping things pretty even and enjoyable. And tracks like “Whatchadoin?”, “Money”, and “Gifted” are easily ready for the spotlight as early Spring club/radio staples.

- My Pal the Crook