That most frightful of formats - the triple LP. Thankfully, this was available on US iTunes so I dodged that bullet. Triple LPs - especially Triple Hip Hop LPs (This is a 13 track album) are not designed for casual listening. I've been in California off and on for over half a year and I've yet to feel any homesickness. Even with this project, and a recent Thornbridge mini-fest in Berkley.
And now Ty - I knew a few of his tracks prior to this, notably on the first Nextmen LP. This took the token urban slot in the 2004 Mercury Prize, amongst the Streets, Amy Winehouse, The Streets and, er, Keane. It lost out to tedio-rockers Franz Ferdinand of course. I used to listen to all the mercury nominated albums which was always quite interesting but my favourite never won, I was always too far removed from the judges.
This, by the way, is a fantastically accomplished record - I don't know about a man at the top of his game but this is brimming with confidence, and reminds of the forward thinking krautrock records I listened to over the summer.
The production is tight and varied, and his not afraid to mix singing and rapping, like on 'Rain' which is the sort of blend of rap and soul which is not easy to pull off. It's a solid listen throughout. The last track is something of a narrative, another difficult thing to pull off and he doesn't quite make it. But it is good - nice soul backdrop and his writing is almost good enough to make it believable.
And then a hidden track. Which on digital format comes off as a 5 minute silence where you think your player's broke. But yet this is a good record all the way through - a little too effortless though but a good un.
The only way to film hip hop is in the comedy style - so here's Wait A Minute:
No comments:
Post a Comment