I have been getting heavily into hip-hop recently, but I found friends frowning upon my choices in the genre, as a lot of the artists I was listening to were not heard of by the most avid of hip-hop fans that I knew. It then dawned on me, that I was indeed preferring Underground hip-hop, more specifically, conscious hip-hop. This will give a run down of the best albums I have found in the last 6 months.
1. Shad - The Old Prince
Big up to this guy, and I can't wait to see what else he produces. Shad or Shad K is from Canada and is quickly rising the ranks there. This album was probably the first that got me into hiphop again. I'd been a heavy Kanye West listener, in my early teens, leading me to make the common transition to those more 'legendary' rappers, such as Tupac, and Biggie. Neither of which I can hold much credit for, which is also addressed by a track on this album titled 'Get Up'. I found this album fantastic because not only was it lyrically pleasing, but I found myself touched and dwelling on some of the songs, something I usually do not find within the hip hop genre (or maybe I just haven't been looking?) Pleasant lyrics is something I found hard to adapt to after thinking rap had gone to lyrics on the subject of money, hoes, and violence. I was pleasantly surprised upon hearing a smooth guitar riff in 'I Heard You Had A Voice Like an Angel' which is one of the deepest tracks I have possibly ever heard. However, it doesn't stop there, this album has more to offer than just simply one deep track, in fact it would be harsh to say it wasn't full of them. Such songs include 'Get Up', which discusses the lack of care and commitment from people in general and the lack of willingness to do anything about faults throughout the planet, 'Brother Watching' sees Shad rap about how there are far too many differences between white and black throughout his life, and how he started writing, it also goes on to say that modern black activists use their passion in music to throw such negative (and wrong) claims out of the window. But I'll leave it to you to decide.
Shad also released two more albums: TSOL (2010) and When This is Over (2006), both of which are brilliant albums and I would recommend purchasing both.
2. Panacea - The Scenic Route
Not to be confused with psy-d&b artist 'The Panacea'.This album was a recent find, and I've only just recently been getting into Panacea recently. A little more up beat than Shad, these lyrics are still very motivating and will generally have you bobbing whenever you listen to the album. The beats used in these tracks are the main things to be considered, starting off rather relaxed before quickly picking up. Even though I'm not usually a fan of faster rap, I find this album fantastic.
My favorite track on this album personally is "Pops Said", which tells us a story about how the younger years of the life did not really matter to the rappers involved, the sort of 'care free youth' as I like to call it. I would recommend their other albums too, a big track for me was 'Sync-In-City', which has helped me many times through daily commutes with its fast beat, female vocals, and heavily changing synth to ease the song out. I also find the whistle in 'Between Earth and Sky' irresistible, and I feel like i'd be doing something wrong if I didn't whistle along for this track.
Very recommendable if you're looking for some feel-good hiphop, not saying that all these tracks are as deep as the ones on my first choice, but some of it is simply fantastic, and very, catchy. Panacea have quite a large amount of albums, a discography is available here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panacea_(group)
3. Exposition - The Metro
Exposition - A huge part of MC group Audible Mainframe, created this beautiful album back in 2004. Its beats all seem to have some sort of classic input, something I like very much. The gem of this track for me by far is 'Sketches of Pain', which I still haven't got bored of and see it as a perfect (but probably rather depressing) song to wake up to. The song discusses the difference in the definition of intelligence, discussing that people that seem to work hard do not usually get society, and that the rapper, exposition, isn't like this, and doesn't get why anyone would want to be like this. Later in the track, exposition stresses at the fact that people use music to speak out about various things, but at the end of the day, without people bonding and all speaking out at the same time, it will do nothing and make nobody better and the world will remain exactly the same. One of the main factors for me in this track, is that smooth, rhythmic, Saxophone. Maybe I just like revolutionary rap, or the fact that someone has the balls to say 'Fuck Darwin' (a bold statement, by all means, I love Darwin). Overall the album offers deep lyrics, but with a hint of feel good rap thrown into certain tracks, enjoyable beats, at a slow pace. If you like this album, check out Audible Mainframe too.
4. The 49ers - The Ultrasound
This album by the 49ers kicks off with one track that made me smile as I was walking down the street listening to it: In Love With Two Women'. It starts off describing a complicated life, I am not someone that usually listens to love infested hip-hop, but when he later reveals that this other woman in his life is in fact the music he creates, I can't help but feel a deuce has been dropped by the writer. Taking the football team (The San Fran. 49ers) they create uplifting hip-hop, very easy listened, but dont be fooled -these guys ensure their tracks are still filled with metaphors. And my dear god, do i love metaphors! With lots of smooth piano throughout the album, the album generally finds a place in my 'getting ready' chart, and hence, is usually listened to every week. The only song I feel this album is missing is Kondor's 'Four Corners', featuring the 49ers themselves. Any future releases by the 49ers will definitely be snatched up by me and listened to for hours.
5. Knowmads - Saturdayzed
These champs are from Seattle, Washington. I was introduced to Knowmads through one of Bob42Jh's compilations, which featured 'Pick Me Apart'. This reality rap group discuss heavily the issues with the daily grinds of life, as well as throwing in the fact that they absolutely love weed: something I have absolutely no issue with!
Although I'd still stand by the fact that 'Pick Me Apart' is still the best song they have produced (which was created for a school project initially), there are other gems on this album. Not only are some of the tracks rather funny, but there is a deep message to be relayed around about how things aren't improved, and because of the lack of commitment from governments and the feeling of being the forsaken youths, Knowmads carry a powerful moral high ground around the scene, trying to directly preach their messages to the youths of today. 'Growing Deep' is a good example of this, but some other tracks, such as 'In The Basement' are also very laid back, causing no issues for those listeners that want to find themselves bobbing to the slick beats that this album unfolds.
Their album can be found here, but there are more of them available on their Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/knowmads
Although these are my current favourite albums, I could see this changing again relatively soon as I discover more artists. Stay tuned for similar articles on variating genres.
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V
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