Sneak Peak Album Review of BlakRoc by the Black Keys

If you don't know who The Black Keys are then you must not be listening to music much lately because their singles including the smash hit "Lies" has been all over the radio. This is a song that has recently been covered by Kelly Clarkson on her tour all across the United States. The reason for this is that they are a unique band, they combine raw heart felt lyrics with very gritty rock beats that are a lot like what Jimmy Hendix used to record back in the day before he became a rock legend. This group is most well known for making open forum rock music which means that they are known to be very willing to work with others to form new types of music. In the past they collaborated with super producer Danger Mouse as well as Ike and Tina Turner.

They have opened for acts like Pearl Jam and Radiohead and some may say this would put them in a box. But there is no places that The Black Keys fits, or that they want to fit. They have been compared a lot to the band The White Strips because of the blues influence feeling that exists in the music. They are basically a mix between rock and blues and that can sometimes create an amazing feeling that is not replicated with any other band. This is the reason they have been so successful.

Although it is well known that The Black Keys are open to working with other artists I was amazed that they decided to record this "BlakRoc" album with the help of Dame Dash. He was the front man behind artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West. So essentially, for this album Dame Dash wanted to do a project where he would provide the rappers and they would blend with the music and styles of The Black Keys.

The album has 11 tracks in total and includes features by ODB (of Wu Tang Clan), Mos Def, Raekwon, Rza, Q-Tip, Billy Danze, Nicole Wray, Ludacris, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Jones, and Noe (Of The Diplomats). I pre ordered this CD from Amazon and it was shipped before it is released later in the year. I was amazed at how well the styles went together. The blues goes very well with Nicole Wray who lends a very soulful feel to the album. The feature list is great, I wish Kelly Clarkson appeared on this but I would rate this CD a 4/5.