Kaz-Well: Fish Outta Water

I wouldn't be surprised if many of you haven't heard of Kaz-Well yet. However in the next few months I'm guessing that more and more of you will. The 28 year old Japanese-American hailing from San Francisco is about to hit the scene. Kaz's new album, Fish Outta Water, is heavily influenced by 80's era hip-hop. This is apparent with beats that sound like they came from The Breakfast Club soundtrack and rapping about Jordan 2's. The song, Whisper Of The Godz, seems to be a song about Kaz turning into a "star", therefore finally making it (with lines like, "I say better late then never, my spaceship awaits, i woulda waited forever" and "Little kids wish on you, then you go tell their best friend what they said, that's why it don't come true"). The third track on the album is, Take Me Home. It's the first song I heard of Kaz's and currently my favorite. Although every time I hear it I can't help but think of a particular scene from Michael Clayton. You know the one where Arthur Eden (Tom Wilkinson) is in his apartment recording the U-North commercial over and over (this connection comes to a full boar when a female voice starts to sing the chorus). It might be a bit of a stretch but I think it enhances my appreciation for this particular song. Kaz's fascination for the 80's is full blown on the fourth track, Three Words. Rapping about his Jr. High love that eventually cheats on him. Kaz finds this out by looking at his girlfriend's pager screen that reads "1-4-3" -- a cryptic way of saying: I love you. Rapping about 13 year old love is perhaps the most puzzling song on the album. All in all the Kaz's album, Fresh Outta Water, is worth a listen. His flow is definitely there but I feel like Kaz struggles with his lyrics at times. He seems concerned more with rhyming, rather than putting forth more thought behind his words. However Kaz does show promise so I look forward to hearing how his content evolves in the future. You can check out Kaz on his myspace.