Joe Flizzow - President

Joe Flizzow
President
(Kartel)

As Asian hip hop continues on the slow path towards global respectability, one has to wonder when the dam will break. Yet while the scene awaits the arrival of a truly seminal album, Johan Ishak aka Joe Flizzow continues scurrying through the heartland. Malaysia’s rap pioneer has been tirelessly fronting his craft for ten years now, first as part of Too Phat and now on his own, all the while determined to convert those who believe quality rapping cannot exist beyond American shores.

President is best seen as another forward step along that gradual journey. Where Too Phat’s other half Malique chose to tread the socially conscious route on his solo effort OK (and rap almost entirely in Malay), Flizzow mostly sticks to English and revisits the Godfather theme first explored on 2005’s Rebirth Into Reality. And glorious opener ‘President’ gives no reason to do it any other way. A burst of stabbing synths and skittish loops sets the Mafia mood and Flizzow spits with equal dexterity, thumping and thrusting like a Pontiac GTO Convertible on hydraulics sliding down Vegas Strip.

Speaking of Vegas Strip, Pontiacs and all things American–Flizzow has clearly progressed from those early days where Too Phat seemed overly (and perhaps necessarily) preoccupied with trying to “Malaysianise” hip hop–a decade on, Flizzow’s album title and the man’s open-armed, Obama-esque posturing on the cover virtually blares forth his intent to pay shameless nods to the Stars and Stripes. Nationalists might cringe but it’s all for the greater good, since Flizzow’s Westernised flow has noticeably improved. He mucks around with pronunciation and is less reliant on slotting in perfect rhymes to paint his aural picture. There is a recognisable ghetto cool here and Flizzow doesn’t seem to care if such attitude comes with some apple pie.

Alas, it doesn’t take long before President falls victim to the same putrid plights that plague much of hip hop, ie. bland, coma-inducing refrains repeated ad nauseum. ‘Running’ is on such dour example as is the sexless, auto-tuned ‘Bersamamu’. Meanwhile, the KRS-One collabo ‘Get It Done’ is reminiscent of Warren G’s segment on Too Phat’s ‘Just A Lil’ Bit’ back in 2003–cred-building, sure, but more throwaway than anything remotely resembling the New Yorker’s best.

The album’s plodding midsection only lets up on ‘Isabella’, when Flizzow samples that timeless Search-penned classic rock tune to acceptable effect. Nevertheless, the song is a precursor to the album’s flourishing finish. The Phlowtron-accompanied ‘Bergerak’ boasts a sizzling electronic patch and while the BPMs are dialled down on following track ‘Out Of This World’, the bounce clearly isn’t, instead brilliantly elevated by Asian American rapper Jin. And to finish things, Thaitanium give the reggaeton-tinged ‘Do It Big’ some Bangkok brawn. These final three tracks are proof positive that Flizzow still is the hip hop don of South East Asia. That’s hardly the end game for any self-respecting artist from this region, but at least President re-establishes the domain’s original ruler to his priestly throne.
***
Chris

If you like this also check out Malique, Thaitanium
joeflizzow.blogspot.com

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*Taken from JUNK's March 2009 issue

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