Carrots and Eggs is a studio album by Canadian rapper, singer, and producer Moka Only. It was released by Urbnet Records on October 28, 2008. The album was produced by Moka Only, Chief, Buck 65, and features guest appearances from Sadat X, Bootie Brown, and Ishkan. Stuey Kubrick, Psy, and Buck 65 narrate on the album. The cover art was illustrated by Moka Only and Urbnet co-founder Janusz Jarosinski.
Music videos were released for the songs "Starfish" and "The Door". The album reached number 1 on Chart Attack's hip-hop chart in November 2008 and !earshot's hip-hop chart in December 2008. In 2009, the album was nominated for Western Canadian Music Awards Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year. In 2018, the album was reissued as part of a 3 cassette collection with Vermilion and Clap Trap.
Recording The album includes tracks recorded from 2004 to the albums release, some of which were originally intended for unreleased albums Summer Summary ("Magazines" and "Starfish") and Way West ("The Door" and "Communicate"). It also includes remixes of "Colours Don't Run" and "Insular" from Clap Trap, as well as a slightly updated version of "Stay" from his 2005 album Dirty Jazz.
Critical reception
Matt Rinaldi of AllMusic described the album as a "unique brand of laidback, breezy, head nodding hip-hop."
Blues & Soul called the album an "indulgence in slick hip-hop production" and said "it certainly has something timeless about it."
Thomas Quinlan of Exclaim! said "Carrots and Eggs might just be Moka's most professional sounding album since Vermilion, and is his most experimental production, toughest beats and tightest flows."
Another Exclaim! reviewer, Kevin Jones, praised the album's production but suggested listeners to "Scratch the disc's annoying series of interludes about carrots and eggs and you're left with yet another solid effort from the dependable Vancouverite."
Now voted "Hardly Say" (featuring Bootie Brown) as the best track. Along with a Sadat X feature that "certifies this album as straight-up dope." Stating "the LP sprinkles a dash of Madlib, Kanye West warmth and Moka's own organic jazz funk."
Andrew Martin of PopMatters described the album as "a dope-ass dusty journey through hip-hop" and claimed he is "the only cat out there putting in more work than Madlib" but "remains inspired and fresh".
Pedro Hernandez of RapReviews said "The few longer songs lead to great results" but notions "When you mix all these short tracks together you do get a pretty decent 'meal' and while I would never eat a meal consisting entirely of carrots and eggs, I can see how the combination might lead to a filling, if slightly unconventional, meal. This album can be described in the same manner as it is an entertaining, if slightly unconventional, album."
Track listing
References
External links
Carrots and Eggs at Bandcamp