A 2010 hip-hop review (Part 3/3)

By Willem Thomas

Imost as important as the
A final four, here is 4-1 of

my “Top 12 of 2010” hip-hop
retrospective. For those just tuning in
(does a more cliche term exist? I haven’t
found it if so) this week, here are the past
eight, in order from 12"-5": Backhand

Fam — Backhand Fam Mixtape; Soul

Khan — Soul Like Khan; Earl Sweatshirt
— Earl; Shad — TSOL; Celph — Tilted &
Buckwild — Nineteen Ninety Now; Tyler,
The Creator — Bastard; Mac Lethal —
Blood In The Water Mixtape; Mellowhype
— Blackenedwhite.

4) Ghostface Killah - “Apollo Kids”
After taking a brief apnea from his
usual stream of conscious-focused flow
to drop an admittedly strange R&B-rap
crossover science project last year with
“Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald
City”, Ghostface is back (although he
didn’t exactly “leave”, he just tried a bad
choice of new direction) with Apollo
Kids, and brings the per diem line-up of
most of his Wu-Tang brethren along with
him. Following the mild critical acclaim/
success of 2010’s Wu-Massacre project
(look it up) with Raekwon and Method
Man, it was clear our boy Ghostface was
back on the (correct) track in both style
and aim. A true veteran of the rap-game,
Ghostface Killah gives us solid wordplay/
flow all through the record and some
great production and soul samples. It’s
just another day in the office for GFK but
it’s that old-school familiarity that makes
everything affiliated with the clan (Wu-

Tang Clan, ahem) so enjoyable still, all
these years later.

3) Dark Time Sunshine - “Vessel”

It seems like the latter part of the
decade was spent declaring “hip-hop is
dead” and other blasphemous remarks by
many mainstream rappers and reviewers
from major-sources—such as Rolling
Stone or Pitchfork—and if you look at
many ultra-popular hip-hop artists right
now (Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Jay-Z, Drake,
Rick Ross, Eminem, etc) it’s true that
mainstream-rap has definitely reached a
fairly stagnant point in its evolution (ie:
it isn’t evolving at all anymore). That’s
why more need to look to underground
hip-hop for their listening experience:
Underground/independent hip-hop is quite
possibly at the best state it’s even been
and while I’d like to say a few reasons as
to why I believe that, it would just take
up far too much space here. Dark Time
Sunshine is a duo embodying this as well
as any other. Dropping not one but two
grade-A rap LP’s is no small feat, but
they did it in 2010. The better of the two,
Vessel, mixes Aesop Rock-level lyrical
skill with club ready beats and production.
Vessel has a long run-time, but the entire
listening experience is like no other this
year. It was a hard decision putting this in
at number three, but I now feel it’s well
deserved.

’ 2) Big Boi - “Sir Luscious Left Foot:

The Son of Chico Dusty”

What is there to say really about
the better half of Outkast’s (sorry Andre) -
game-changing debut that hasn’t already

been said? It’s taken General Patton (one
of his many self-chosen nicknames) four
years to gather his troops and prepare Sir
Luscious Left Foot following the hiatus of
Outkast in 2006, but those four years have
only made for one of the strongest rap
albums of the year. Almost every featured
artist on the tracks drop their best guest-
verses of the year (although I dismissed
him way back earlier this year, I’ve taken
another listen to Yelawolf following his
performance on “You Ain’t No DJ’). The
production/song-writing on every track is
slick, big, and with myriad influences, but
its Big Boi’s huge-personality, dexterous _
flow, and lyrical chops that set this album
up as hip-hop record of the year. It is as
widely-accessible as it needs to be but

can be appreciated by the harshest of rap
pundits.

1) Kanye West - “My Beautiful Dark
Twisted Fantasy”

Really, what did you think
would be number one? Have you
read or followed ANY music or
entertainment outlet this year? Or
a much more important question
would be: Have you listened to “My
Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” in
full? Kanye West shows the world
(up) with the most ambitious and far-
reaching musical endeavour of the
year by far. Even though everything
Kanye seems to do is done with
hypocrisy and attention-seeking in
the forefront, it can’t be denied that
he is indeed a genius.

His choices, both in what he
does in the public eye and with what

 

Bink.

he portrays with his music are calculated
to a fine point many seem to dismiss. -
Dismissing MBDTF is a mistake you’ ll
surely not want to make. He may just be
both the most cynical and most arrogant
rapper alive today (and that’s saying a
lot), but both of those qualities bring out
the absolute best in Kanye. His David
Bowie-esque retreat from the spotlight
over a year ago and the events that led to
said disappearance (Google “I’mma let
you finish” for a start if you really have
no idea) gave the man time to settle down
and re-evaluate his then-current path of
degradation, idiocy, and pillaging and
plan his return. Although it might not be
my favourite overall counting all other
genres or most-listened-to records of the
year, MBDTF is a musical triumph that
deserves the universal hype and acclaim
it’s received. I’mma let you finish but
Kanye West had one of the best records of
all time! Of all time!

ADVISORY]

 

 

Speak softly and carry a steady rhythm

Canada’s Braids make a grand entrance with Native Speaker

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Reviewer

riginally hailing from Calgary,
O- experimental art rock
quartet Braids recently debuted

with their new album, Native Speaker.
After changing their name from The
Neighbourhood Council and relocating
to Montreal, the group oddly chose to
simultaneously tour while the album
was just starting to cultivate. During the
months building up to Native Speaker’s
release, dozens of live recordings and
remixes began popping up around the
internet. With their intensely captivating
performances gaining notoriety, the
critical response following their album’s
release was much larger than expected.
Seems pretty impressive for a bunch of
Canadians in their early twenties; but did
the final product live up to all the hype?

First off, no matter whom you chat
with online or at the local Starbucks

with, the comparisons between Braids
and Animal Collective are inevitable.
Braids’ sound
is distinctively
reminiscent
of other bands
sharing their
genre, but some
have pushed it
as far as to say
they’re stealing
their sound.
That may be
going a bit far,
especially with
singer-guitarist
Raphaelle
Standell-
Preston’s vocals
standing out as
they do.

While a solid effort overall, it’s clear
that Native Speaker is Braids’ first official

 

album. Their consistent blending of synth
beats and ‘natural’ sounds flow together
for the most part,
but in tracks

such as the titular
“Native Speaker”,
they occasionally
become
disjointed. It
sometimes gets to
the point where

fe the instrumentals
me seem to be
fighting over each
other, haphazardly
pulling the
listener’s attention
in multiple
directions. But

for the tracks

that get it right (as most of them do), the
result is beautifully enigmatic. Right away
the seven-minute opener, “Lemonade,”

fluidly rises and recedes with the sound
of running water as Standell-Preston’s
resonating vocals bubble throughout.

The album features only seven songs,
with the shortest lengths belonging to
“Plath Heart” and “Lemmicken” (4:30).
Keeping their developing sound in mind
(along with the removal of “Lemmicken”
and “Native Speaker”), the album
probably would’ve worked best as an EP.
Braids definitely have something going on
between them, but despite their five years
together, it’s apparent that the four long-
time friends have some kinks to work out.

With all that in mind, Native Speaker
is nonetheless an impressive feat for
this young Canadian band. The album,
released on January 18, is in stores now,
and includes two bonus remixes if bought
online through iTunes.

3/5