On the surface of it, this record seems to be a well-humoured and fairly intelligent alternative hip-hop album, with the overwhelming theme that modern hip-hop is not very good, and these British upstarts are here to sort it right out.
The album starts with a monologue from the duo's rapper 'Scroobius Pip' (presumably recorded at the start of a gig) lamenting a lack of originality in modern music and the way it is marketed and promoted.
From this we launch into opener "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" a highlight of the album for me, it's very catchy and sounds great, and lines like " 'good god damn' and other such phrases, I haven't heard a beat like this in ages" have a distinct britishness but work well within the tune.
The duo's biggest hit "Thou Shalt Always Kill" is where I feel that Pip is being particularly hypocritical, when we compare the song to the rest of the album, and even within the song itself. Pip criticises the self-righteous, but for most of the album he is explaining what is wrong with hip-hop and how he can make it right, and better. He has a very prescriptive opinion of hip hop, he seems to feel there was a pinnacle where it was perfect, and everything since, hasn't been as good. For a man who says "Thou shalt think for yourselves" he doesn't half force his opinion on us.
But the thing is, Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip don't appeal to hip-hop fans, they appeal to indie kids, and these kids already think that hip hop isn't very good and are therefore happy to go right along with what he is saying.
Don't get me wrong, this album isn't bad, at all. Infact the song "Tommy C" a brilliantly crafted criticism of the over use of the word 'beautiful' and tribute to Tommy Cooper, using his death and the way he went out of this world as a true example of something beautiful couldn't be more right.
Dan Le Sac's beats make great use of samples and have a very fun and homegrown sound to them, complimenting Pips distinctive rapping perfectly.
I like this album, I just think it's messages are mixed, I'm sure that won't affect the opinions of their fans at all, and I hope that with time the band will have a more focussed agenda and gain an even greater following.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: The beautifully weird electro provided by Dan Le Sac; Scroobius Pip's flowing poetry Disadvantages: Slightly self-righteous; occasionally the lyrics cannot be heard clearly
Advantages: The beautifully weird electro provided by Dan Le Sac; Scroobius Pip's flowing poetry Disadvantages: Slightly self-righteous; occasionally the lyrics cannot be heard clearly
Jun 14th, 2009
very helpful by (80%):
helpful by (20%):
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