Album: Edmontosaurus
Artist: AOK
(Independent)
Three and a half stars (out of five)
Edmonton is developing a reputation for recognizing the literary talents of rappers. In 2009, Cadence Weapon was named the city’s poet laureate while AOK, also known as writer Omar Mouallem, was just selected as one of the Edmonton Public Library’s writers in residence for 2013. His latest album, Edmontosaurus, features the likes of Deepak Chopra and Daedalus mingling with references to local institutions — The Black Dog, Lake of Fire, Corso 32 chef/founder Dan Costa — and tongue-twisting wordplay about life, death, indie girls and cosmetics. As a rapper, AOK’s flow feels more studied than street — he tends to over-enunciate his words like my former elementary choir teacher, Mrs. Spaner. For the most part, this quirk is endearing — except on Mac Face. “When life gives you mascara, make masquerade,” he repeats over and over again, wasting what should be a potent punch line. AOK’s producer, Dan Currie, boasts more finesse — his beats and samples are suave and soulful, punctuated with occasional (yet rhythmic) screams and video-game squiggles. If AOK is going to be one of EPL’s writer in residence, Currie should be hired to produce the soundtrack for the library’s upcomign centennial — perhaps using samples from all the Edmonton musicians in its CD collection. Stream/buy Edmontosaurus via Bandcamp.
– Sandra Sperounes
