Instigated by Roc-A-Fella founder Damon Dash who found himself obsessed with modern-day blues-rockers
the Black Keys,
BlakRoc teams the
Keys with a cavalcade of rappers, ranging from
Mos Def,
Pharoahe Monch, and
Q-Tip to a clutch of
Wu-Tang Clan, including a tape of
Ol Dirty Bastard in Dirt McGirt mode. It’s a high concept that plays as small stakes, never playing as anything more than a loose, spooky jam session with tossed-off lyrics because that is all that it is. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing: the
Black Keys conjure eerie industrial blues with a casual virtuosity that pairs well with the freestyles, and there’s pleasure in just hearing it all unfold. Still, as
BlakRoc winds into its second its second half, all the loping, skeletal guitar riffs, spacious rhythms, and partially considered rhymes get repetitive, crying out for just a little more structure so they could catch hold. That structure never arrives, leaving
BlakRoc as intriguing mood music that always promises to be much more. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine