- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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FilterKrohn's the real deal, in a world full of one-dimensional derivatives. [Holiday 2009, p.100]
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Instead of straight hip-hop, The Colossus is an omnibus record, swallowing brass-wielding collaborators, live instruments, hand-aged beats, and its creator's voice—all in service of a mission to unify RJ's pet genres via horn-blasted statements of intent fit for rollicking arenas ("Let There Be Horns"), menacing synthesizer pit traps ("A Spaceship For Now"), and intricate instrumentals.
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Unlike 2007's self-indulgent The Third Hand, here he wisely picks his spots, chirping a few modest ditties. Four albums deep, he's found his comfort zone.
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At times self-indulgent, The Colossus contains enough of the parts that made RJD2 relevant in the past to reignite interest in both this album and his vast (and growing due to unreleased material) back catalogue of work.
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The Colossus finds Rjd2 back to doing what he did when he first began recording: simply curating excellent productions instead of wooing a new audience by creating expressly written songs or telling a story with his full-lengths.
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Alternative PressRJD2 has taken a lot of different paths in the past, but here he's found a way to make his diverse tastes blend into one cohesive effort. [Feb 2010, p.97]
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The multi-genre approach of The Colossus is refreshing.
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The beat is generally the best part of any track produced by RJD2, but The Colossus--the first album on his new label, RJ’s Electrical Connections--finds him juggling vintage samples, string and horn parts, vocals both outsourced and original.
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The Colossus, as its name implies, strives for scale, but also strains a bit under a heavy burden. While Rjd2 excels at sonic collages, the mixed motives on this album--a current spin on past techniques, a synthesis of old songs and a turn toward the future--are difficult to balance.