Word O.K.
Word O.K. is an album by Kool A.D., released March 20, 2014.[1] The album features guest appearances from Sir DZL, Ladybug "Santos Vieira" Mecca of Digable Planets, Toro Y Moi, Talib Kweli, Boots Riley of The Coup, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire.[2]
Videos
Kool A.D. has stated that Word O.K. is a visual album, like Beyoncé's Beyoncé.[3] The video for the song "Open Letter," directed by Nick Knight, who had previously directed Kanye West's "Bound 2" accompanied the release of the album.[4] The videos for "Tight" and "I'm on a Plane" were released later that year on April 21, and May, 9, respectively.[5][6] On May 28, Kool A.D. released the video to "Word," an animated video in which Kool A.D. imagines himself as a weed-smoking cartoon dog. Stereogum described the video, which Kool A.D. co-directed (along with Teddy O'Connor), as "hysterically perverse in that Fritz The Cat sort of way".[7] Mother Jones magazine described the video as "a three-and-a-half minute, highly NSFW animated short that feels like an acid-fueled journey through a dystopian corporate carnival. It pans smoothly from Bart Simpson wearing a McDonald's tee and smoking a joint to a sexualized, anthropomorphized rabbit doing the same. Yin-yangs, peace signs, and other pop symbols breathe in and out of cartoon orifices."[8] On June 9, 2014, Kool A.D. released the video for the title track, "Word O.K.", which was also directed by Nick Knight.[3][9]
Critical reception
Word O.K. received generally positive reviews from critics. Consequence of Sound called it "more focused of an effort, featuring tighter, doubly succinct examples of Kool’s genre-leaping hijinks".[13] CMJ praised the album, noting that "Kool A.D. hasn’t lost his dry sense of humor and ability to charmingly fit words into places they shouldn’t really fit."[14] Robert Christgau named it the 9th best album of the year in his ballot for the Pazz & Jop critics poll.[15]
Track listing
1. |
"Open Letter" | Amaze 88 |
5:20 |
2. |
"I'm on a Plane" | Sha-Leik |
5:00 |
3. |
"Tight" (featuring Lakutis and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire) | Toro y Moi |
3:48 |
4. |
"Naughty by Nature" | Mike Finito |
4:24 |
5. |
"Word" | Blesone |
3:36 |
6. |
"Look" (featuring Kassa Overall) | Issue |
3:43 |
7. |
"The Front" (featuring Toro y Moi and Amaze 88) | Toro y Moi |
4:20 |
8. |
"Life and Time" (featuring Del the Funky Homosapien as Sir DZL and Ladybug Mecca as Santos Vieira) | Amaze 88 |
7:16 |
9. |
"Hickory" (featuring Talib Kweli and Boots Riley) | Amaze 88 |
4:04 |
10. |
"Special Forces" | Dame Grease |
6:44 |
11. |
"Word O.K." | Amaze 88 |
3:09 |
[1]
References
- 1 2 "Word O.K. by KOOL A.D.". Bandcamp. 2014-03-20. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ↑ Mike Ayers (March 20, 2014). "Kool A.D. Taps Toro Y Moi, Talib Kweli for Free 'Word O.K.' Mixtape". Spin (magazine). Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- 1 2 Lizzie Plaugic (June 9, 2014). "Kool A.D. Is Making A Music Video For Every Song On Word O.K.". CMJ. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
- ↑ Tom Breihan (March 20, 2014). "Stream Kool A.D. Word O.K.". Stereogum. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
- ↑ Tom Breihan (April 21, 2014). "Kool A.D. – "Tight" (Feat. Lakutis & Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire) Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
- ↑ Tom Breihan (May 9, 2014). "Kool A.D. – "I’m On A Plane" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
- ↑ Tom Breihan (May 28, 2014). "Kool A.D. – “Word” Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
- ↑ Prashanth Kamalakanthan (June 30, 2014). "Kool A.D.'s Bizarre Pop-Culture Carnival". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
- ↑ Tom Breihan (June 9, 2014). "Kool A.D. – “Word O.K.” Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (January 9, 2015). "Expert Witness". Cuepoint. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ↑ Jonah Bromwich (April 21, 2014). "Kool A.D. - Word O.K.". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2014-04-22.
- ↑ Bram E Gieben (March 25, 2014). "Kool A.D. – Word, O.K.". The Skinny. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ↑ Chris Coplan (March 20, 2014). "Download: Kool A.D.’s new album Word O.K.". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ↑ Lizzie Plaugic (March 20, 2014). "Snap Judgement: Kool A.D. – Word O.K.". CMJ. Retrieved 2014-04-15.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Ballots". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
External links