Dudley Perkins {A Lil' Light}

Dudley Perkins
A Lil’ Light
Stones Throw; 2003

A Lil' Light is a rush of fresh air. While the album
is wonderfully produced by the God-like Madlib it is
the way Dudley Perkins lazying sings/raps/talks his
way through the record that makes it amazing. Through
out the album Perkins sings off key and has a scrappy
out of tone voice which would sound a lot like Snoop
Dog if he ever sang through out an album. Many critics
have bashed on Perkins for his unorthodox way of
singing, criticizing his ability to write lyrics and
the delivery of his vocals, but if you focus on just
that you miss the beauty of A Lil’ Light. You see
Perkins has released other records under the rapping
alias Declaime, but Dudley Perkins is his real name, A
Lil’ Light is just that, a very raw look into the mind
of Dudley Perkins and that’s the beauty. Constant
themes that come up through out the album vary from
smoking pot, God, heartbreaks, life, and smoking more
pot. Although the albums vocals are repetitive it
seems that they just add another layer to the music.
The tracks are cut by none other then Madlib, like
always he delivers with a smokey 60’s jazz touch mixed
with a very chill neo-soul vibe. Enough said. If the
name Madlib means nothing to you, that’s the reason
why your life sucks. The bottom line is artists try to
make classics; Dudley Perkins actualy makes them.