Album Review: Rich the Factor- 1,000 (Keep It Ten Hunnid)

As millions of Jay-Z fans parsed 4:44 over the weekend, heedful Kansas Citians studied Rich the Factor’s latest missive.  1,000 (Keep It Ten Hunnid) is another essential document of Kansas City’s criminal underworld.  The album validates the assertions I made in an extensive examination of Rich published by KCUR last year.  The title track includes a statement of purpose: “Rich, why you rap about the drug life? I’m like Pac when he rapped about thug life.”  He notes that “I handle business on the late night and keep my grass cut low for the snake bites” on “Late Night.”  The production continues to reference ‘80s and ‘90s R&B.  “On the Grit” samples the 1990 hit After 7 “Ready or Not,” a sentiment that reflects Rich’s unrepentant grind.


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I reviewed Bruce Hornsby’s appearance at Knuckleheads last Thursday.

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I accorded the Philistines my KCUR Band of the Week designation.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

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I consider reactions to the American Jazz Museum’s negative publicity at Plastic Sax.

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Pianist Geri Allen has died.  Perfection, her collaboration with David Murray and Terri Lyne Carrington, was my #9 album of 2016.

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A perplexing eight-minute documentary on the creation of Bargou ‘08’s wonderful Targ in Algeria raises more questions than it answers.

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I embrace the glorious pop of Calvin Harris’s Funk Wav Bounces without reservation or irony.  RIYL: Pharrell Williams, 2017, Future.

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Aruan Ortiz’s solo piano album Cub(an)ism is astounding.  RIYL: Cecil Taylor, truly new sounds, Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

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May the Purple Rain never stop falling.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Lou Reed, 1942-2013

My introduction to Lou Reed was sloppy.  I bought cutouts of albums including The Bells, Take No Prisoners and Metal Machine Music at a record store at the Metro North shopping mall when I was a kid.  My initial response was understandable- "This guy's a jerk!" 

Only when I absorbed the Velvet Underground's albums a few years later was I able to understand Reed's significance beyond those problematic albums.  

The release of Magic and Loss in 1992 completely altered my perception of Reed.  The meditation on death was released when the Grim Reaper was wreaking havoc all around me.  Reed's new song cycle helped me come to grips with my grief and with my own mortality.

I've never waited for my man or kissed a he, but Reed's despairing songs on Magic and Loss speak directly to me.  In spite of Magic and Loss, I never stopped thinking that Reed was a jerk.  And I loved him just the same.


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I reviewed Ricky Skaggs's collaboration with Bruce Hornsby at Yardley Hall on Friday.

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The Kansas City-area debut of Vusi Mahlasela at Yardley Hall on Sunday thrilled me.  The South African known as "The Voice" performed a solo set of freedom songs. 

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My real-life friend Pete Lubin hilariously reviews Humble Pie's Performance: Rockin’ the Fillmore.  Loving Humble Pie as I do makes his knowing digs even funnier.

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My internet friend Pamela Espeland wrote a fascinating review of a Ginger Baker concert in Minneapolis.

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The three songs available for streaming from Tightrope, the new album by the 3 Cohens- Anat, Avishai and Yuval- are delightful.  RIYL: odd instrumentation, klezmer, West Coast cool.

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Courtney Barnett's music is pretty interesting.  RIYL: Michael Hurley, Roy Harper, Beck.

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Charles Bradley says the Eagles "saved my life" in his  "What's In My Bag? segment. 

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Samba Touré's Albala is exquisite. RIYL: Ali Farka Touré, earth, Jimi Hendrix.

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Black Friday vinyl of interest to There Stands the Glass: Blind Boys Of Alabama/Jason Isbell & John Paul White, Bob Dylan, the Flaming Lips, Nick Lowe, Nas and the Robert Glasper Experiment.

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Here's something you don't see everyday- a video of a "cover photo shoot" for a jazz album that features partial nudity.  The inspirational twist makes it worth your while.  The footage is related to Ted Nash's new big band album Chakra, which is RIYL: The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Charles Mingus, Steve Lacy.

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)