Andre Afram Asmar
Race to the Bottom (2002)

review by: Jason Thornberry
Date: 2/7/03

Post 9.11 Western xenophobia could make acceptance of this album unlikely without first taking the masses of asses back to first grade like we did with MLK in the 1960’s. If a track like “Scientism” didn’t alienate you in the nineties it certainly can today as you visualize United Airlines Flight 175 meeting you at your front window while this spins.

Social and political hypotheses aside, Race To The Bottom is called a “soundtrack to life”. So if you put down your grievances (which Asmar has naught to do with anyway) away, and your palette becomes unbiased again, you’ll hear the levels of sound he spent more than a year assembling from scores of different musicians, emcees, tapes, breakbeats, and sources I’m not yet privy to. Play this for a friend and measure their confused glance first at you, then the speakers themselves. Cavernous dub reggae and DJ Premier hip-hop production mixes with Brazilian rhythms and middle-eastern vocals peacefully, casually. It’s natural enough to make you wonder why it’s not been attempted before. The voices do stand out significantly, and could be where some listener security ends – at first. After you’ve moved away from the past, Race To The Bottom will reward you with new shades of melody you initially mistook for dissonance.

Are these “versions” of songs from another dimension, or just another viewpoint? And if this is indeed a “follow up” release why don’t I own its predecessor?