Remember that kid from your adolescent roughhouse scrambles? About average build, rocking the British Knights or Etonics, he was the "all-around" athlete you hated to guard: He'd box out effectively, hustle relentlessly, and played an unselfish, risk-free game. He sported that "I'll dunk when it's worth three points" No Fear tee. He loved the mid-90s Pacers and owned a shelf full of instructional videos.
Like that guy, Emanon-- the L.A. duo DJ Exile and Aloe Blacc-- have made a career out of mastering the fundamentals. Singles such as "Andyadontstop" and "Emcees Like Me" evoke a toe tap or head bob, but never at the same time; Aloe Blacc's solo EP on Ipo Wax knocked but didn't bang. So, tame as it is, The Waiting Room is the closest they've come to rocking the proverbial boat.
Lead single "Count Your Blessings" is a classic case of the group trying to step out of its shell but not succeeding. Sampling Sister Nancy is hardly audacious, but Exile makes do by pushing the punchy reverb on the horns while Aloe spits back-to-back numerical metaphors: "All across the map in seven continents/ I'm the 8th wonder.../ Shoot em' out like 9mm gats/ All these wannabe cowboys with 10-gallon hats." The title track also echoes their usual mix of somber, sun-setting, and slightly bouncy ritmo. But "usual" is the problem: Since their days on hand-passed mixtapes in the mid-90s, little has changed in either Aloe's benedictions or Exile's creations.
Exile and Aloe do flex a bit down the stretch. "She Thinks" flaunts Aloe's pipes, previewing some of his future R&B; projects. And the barbershop nonsense on "The World Don't Sing" is a complete red herring. But The Waiting Room is wholly frustrating. Aloe is pointed and dexterous, but on the whole Emanon can't seem to step out of their SoCal bubble long enough to do something unique. They're like the Tim Duncan of hip-hop: Yeah, his game is well-rounded, and he gets the job done, but wouldn't you rather see Ron Artest eat a fan in the lower mezzanine?
