Shabazz Palaces - Are You… Can You… Were You (felt)
this is one of the best songs i’ve heard in quite a while. i always say that when i hear something new that i really like, but honestly this is so fresh and different from anything else i’ve heard, in terms of hip hop in 2011.
things can sometimes get stale in that area because everything has been done before and every artist is just trying produce their own style from something they’ve liked or admired in the past, and with that is the strive for originality. so when something like this comes along that totally encapsulates that process, it makes your ears prick up and pay attention.
i absolutely adore hip hop, it’s my first love and i am always open to new ideas and new directions but this feels like, i don’t know, the beat and the progression and the way it builds remind me of James Blake kind of production mixed with the intelligence of good, honest rapping. the repetition of the piano and the delay just add to the smoothness of the track. it’s quite something.
i mean it’s no Biggie or Tribe, it’s certainly opposite of what artists like that sound like but it just reminds me of the roots and basis of what good production is. you can hear in the beat that it’s contemporary but at the same time has a sort of old school feel in a way.
the album this is off is called “Black Up” and i suggest you all invest in it and add it to your collection.
i’ve always thought hip hop has never been the same since the 90s as that was when the real, raw talent was around and that will live forever. but it’s always so nice and humbling to hear something this new and creative. i lust for things like that and when i find it, it makes me feel so good.
enjoy
gem
x
ok, not only is black up the album of the summer but the vinyl packaging! feels liken its printed on a velvet chalkboard, beyond matte. and you’ll always get me with black on black printing.
it comes with the now standard mp3 download certificate so do yourself a favor, get the physical format and feel it.
