Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Mailbag:: Dan Bull, P Butta & Cale Sampson
Ok, yer man Naedoo is a busy (34 year old) kid these days - what with family and work both in busy mode, and plans underway for yet another herohill re-design, writing time is scarce. But I've had some things I've been meaning to talk on the hill for a while, so I thought I might as bust out the infamous mailbag post to get them up. Somewhat un-intentionally, this post takes the form of a hip hop tour of the Commonwealth, starting in Britain, hitting Australia, and then coming back through Canada. So yeah, it's got that going for it.
Dan Bull hails from Bromsgrove, UK, and despite his, somewhat Wonderbread (what would be the UK equiv of Wonderbread, Wondercrumpet?) looks and the eclectic nature of the music found on his his latest album, Safe, you could certainly classify him as an MC.
We were sent Safe out of the blue, and I was intrigued enough to give it a listen. It's a concept album, built around a protagonist that starts out happy enough, but his slide into despair coincides with a nuclear war, and after his attempt at suicide fails, he awakes in some kind of alternate reality. So yeah, pump this shiz up in the club! Oh, or not. I know you're thinking "British, semi-rapping dude, concept album, there is a comparison here right!". Right you are friend, but I'm not giving it to you. That said, there are some parallels here, although Bull's work is more musical than the early records from the un-named comparison. After a couple listens, I can say there are some moments on Safe that I really like, but some I find kind too heavy and over-wrought. But it's an ambitious project, and going from the bliss of Summer to the bleak, decomposition-descriptions of After Life isn't the easiest thing to do in 5 songs.
This might not be for the hardcore hip hop heads, but there's likely an audience out there for Dan Bull to find.
I mentioned in one of my recent rambles, that we get a lot of records from Australia, and although we've seen plenty of rock and electro from the land down under, we hadn't been sent any hip hop until receiving P Butta's new album, Entrenched. P hails from Brisbane, or Boomtown in hep-cat Aussie slang, and his new album finds him working with some Canadian producers, and that's how it ended up finding it's way to us.
I don't know anything about Aussie hip hop really, so I don't know if this is representative of the scene down there, but P leans towards a pretty straight-forward, mid-90's brand of hip hop. The beats on Entrenched are solid, but they're a little under-stated, and so that leaves P to carry the show for the most part. He's the possessor of a pretty nimble flow, so he's pretty much up to the task, and although the majority of the lyrics are of the classic "rapping about rapping" variety, for me it's P's voice that stands out. He's got a monotone delivery, but a unique tone to his voice, and that mixed with a hint of Aussie accent makes things interesting.
In the end I think Entrenched is a pretty solid intro to Aussie hip hop for folks like myself. I think P would be wise to flesh out his hooks and song concepts for his next outing, but there are enough solid songs on this effort (Dee-runk, In My Element, A Hip-Hop Aorta, My Way) to make it worth a listen for fans of that classic boom bap sound.
Next we voyage back to the hill's motherland to mention an album I meant to post on ages ago. I was sent Toronto MC Cale Sampson's self-titled debut at the start of the year, but, as tends to happen on my Bermuda Triangle of a ToDo list, it got lost for a while. So apologies are due to Cale, as this member of well-regarded Toronto trio Rhythmicru has a love for hip hop and a dedication to making it that should be acknowledged.
His debut effort is a double disc, with one containing all new songs and the other showcasing songs he's previously released or showcased during his high-energy live show. No one could accuse Cale of having to narrow a focus, as his songs range from the classic banger variety (Face It, Best Foot Forward), to the confessional (Never Had A Chance, It's Not Time), the political (The Facts of War), on down to the storytelling steez that has always been a part of hip hop (Women & Alcohol, Fed Up). Cale attacks every subject with gusto, and although there are mis-steps here and there (the dated and Nu-Shooz-jacking Distractions Part 2 should have ended up on the cutting room floor, and 'Til I Met You rocks out with a sped up version of Heart's Alone, which is, I don't know, kind of odd...wait, I think I kind of like that one for some reason), his energy and ambition will likely win you over.
We were sent Safe out of the blue, and I was intrigued enough to give it a listen. It's a concept album, built around a protagonist that starts out happy enough, but his slide into despair coincides with a nuclear war, and after his attempt at suicide fails, he awakes in some kind of alternate reality. So yeah, pump this shiz up in the club! Oh, or not. I know you're thinking "British, semi-rapping dude, concept album, there is a comparison here right!". Right you are friend, but I'm not giving it to you. That said, there are some parallels here, although Bull's work is more musical than the early records from the un-named comparison. After a couple listens, I can say there are some moments on Safe that I really like, but some I find kind too heavy and over-wrought. But it's an ambitious project, and going from the bliss of Summer to the bleak, decomposition-descriptions of After Life isn't the easiest thing to do in 5 songs.
This might not be for the hardcore hip hop heads, but there's likely an audience out there for Dan Bull to find.
I don't know anything about Aussie hip hop really, so I don't know if this is representative of the scene down there, but P leans towards a pretty straight-forward, mid-90's brand of hip hop. The beats on Entrenched are solid, but they're a little under-stated, and so that leaves P to carry the show for the most part. He's the possessor of a pretty nimble flow, so he's pretty much up to the task, and although the majority of the lyrics are of the classic "rapping about rapping" variety, for me it's P's voice that stands out. He's got a monotone delivery, but a unique tone to his voice, and that mixed with a hint of Aussie accent makes things interesting.
In the end I think Entrenched is a pretty solid intro to Aussie hip hop for folks like myself. I think P would be wise to flesh out his hooks and song concepts for his next outing, but there are enough solid songs on this effort (Dee-runk, In My Element, A Hip-Hop Aorta, My Way) to make it worth a listen for fans of that classic boom bap sound.
MP3::
P Butta - Dee-runkHis debut effort is a double disc, with one containing all new songs and the other showcasing songs he's previously released or showcased during his high-energy live show. No one could accuse Cale of having to narrow a focus, as his songs range from the classic banger variety (Face It, Best Foot Forward), to the confessional (Never Had A Chance, It's Not Time), the political (The Facts of War), on down to the storytelling steez that has always been a part of hip hop (Women & Alcohol, Fed Up). Cale attacks every subject with gusto, and although there are mis-steps here and there (the dated and Nu-Shooz-jacking Distractions Part 2 should have ended up on the cutting room floor, and 'Til I Met You rocks out with a sped up version of Heart's Alone, which is, I don't know, kind of odd...wait, I think I kind of like that one for some reason), his energy and ambition will likely win you over.
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