Month: November 2016

Album Review: Fatt Father – Veteran’s Day

by Apu

ff

8/10

Last week was a weird goddamn week. Without going into politics too much because a lot of people seem to get more offended by other people’s political views than they do at an insult directed towards their family, a lot happened in a pretty short amount of time, most of which I don’t think a large portion of the population were actually seriously prepared for. Considering this, it should go without saying that getting some new music at the end of the week was a welcome respite from the Mr. Krabs meme of a week that the country had to deal with. I was personally most interested in A Tribe Called Quest’s new album, We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service and Fatt Father’s Veterans Day, which is the album I’m here to talk about.

Veteran’s Day is Fatt Father’s first solo release since 2012’s Fatherhood, a release where I felt like Fatts was starting to establish who he was as an artist. Veterans Day, released on the holiday it’s named after, only serves to further that feeling. Fatt Father came into his own on this release, displaying better than ever who he is as an emcee, as well as the person behind the mic.

The album’s production is handled entirely by D.R.U.G.S. Beats, who you may recognize as a producer on Dr. Dre’s last album, Compton (he produced the “Gone” half of “Darkside/Gone”). Being that he is technically a Dr. Dre-approved producer, this album’s beats are very well done throughout. A pretty big portion of the beats, including “Come On,” “Just Listen,” and “The Greatest” among others, cause involuntary head-nodding, and others like “Shabazz’s Gospel” and “Keep Ya Head Up” create a very tangible mood that draws you in even without having to hear Fatt’s verses. D.R.U.G.S. did a great job at capturing Fatt’s style; the production brings out the best of his distinctive, deep voice, and allows him to explore slightly different deliveries that he hasn’t used as often in the past. The end product is an underground street rap album with production that sounds more professional and sonically pleasing than I’ve found on most projects of its ilk.

Veteran’s Day opens up with a speech by someone who seems to be a war vet, detailing emotions that could be construed as something that’s almost like PTSD. That transitions to the first song, “Shabazz’s Gospel,” a song where Fatt Father, a bit like the vet from the intro, goes into detail about the traumas he faced in his past, from the separation of his parents to the deaths of his brother and his close friend Big Cobb. From there, Fatts goes into topics such as his childhood, love and women’s insecurities, police brutality, loss, and his life in current times.

Crack fiend, crack house, 8 ball, quarter ounce,
Death toll moving up, decent folk moving out,
Lost souls searching for boss roles to shoot it out,
Heart cold, traveling dark roads to move about,
Homicide, gather the yellow tape, spool it out,
Mama’s tears falling on cotton blends in huge amounts.
(Mama’s Words)

What I found to be the biggest strength on this project, as I alluded to earlier on, is Fatt Father’s delivery. He’s always had a voice that stood out; it’s deep and it cuts through a record in a very unique way. He sort of reminds me of a mix of Biggie and Scarface in some ways, the latter having a delivery that very much falls under the description I just gave. But on this album, Fatt Father started to adapt it a bit. He really let his emotion, whether positive or negative, bleed through his vocals on this album. It made the emotional songs hit harder, and the lighter songs like “K.A.M.M.H.” and “Come On” much more fun to listen to. It boils down to Fatt Father’s range as an artist expanding. He was always more willing to explore different topics and styles as a member of the Fat Killahz, but as a solo artist he always kept it gutter as shit. He does that on this album too, but he seems more flexible with what he’s willing to talk about and do.

Of course, as with any album, there’s music that are a little less content-heavy, and more for just vibing to. Some serve as great pump-up songs, such as “Just Listen,” “K.A.M.M.H.” with Ro Spit (this one’s my favorite song off the album), and “The Greatest” featuring killer verses from Fatt Father and Kuniva, and a fairly good verse from Royce da 5’9” that I felt fell a bit short of the energy that was coming from the rest of the track. Then there are songs like “Everybody” and “Never Die” featuring strong verses from Fat Killahz members Marv Won, Bang Belushi, and a too-over-the-top-for-me verse from King Gordy, both of which (besides Gordy’s verse) you can just chill to, listening to some nice verses and smooth beats that would sound awesome on a car stereo system. There is a nice display at diversity while keeping to a general sound on this album.

Overall, I’m very happy with Veteran’s Day. I love to see an artist who’s sort of an underdog the way Fatt Father is make an album that displays the sort of effort that a lot of so-called top artists don’t have in their music. Hearing a rapper older than most of the kids coming out make an album that displays hunger that they can’t muster up is just so satisfying to me, and reminds me that even though sometimes bullshit (from both the mainstream and underground) may get frustrating to always have to hear, good music will always be made because there will always be someone who cares. This album just solidifies why I place Fatt Father in my list of rappers who I take a personal responsibility for when it comes to spreading their music.

Exploring Other Genres: Poor English – Poor English EP

by Dustin

Authors note: I thought it’d be appropriate to do one of these before this article, because it’s venturing away a bit from the main focus of our blog. First and foremost, we’re a hip-hop based site. I have no intention of changing that fact; however, I also have many friends who ask me to recommend music outside of the hip-hop genre. Plus, I find it refreshing to step out of my comfort zone and review sounds that I may not be as familiar with.

Maybe you’ll find a new artist you’ll love in these “Exploring Other Genres” articles. Maybe not. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to read about projects by artists I really love, even if they are unfamiliar to you.

For those who check the site and have little interest in reading about other genres, that’s fair. However, I’m also going to do whatever I want! (I still appreciate your ongoing support, however).

Now, onto the music itself.

poorenglish

8.25/10

Portland, Oregon has been a powerhouse in the indie rock scene for an astonishing number of years. When you see a new act building steam out of that region, it seems only natural to get excited and throw on their tunes for a listen. Enter Poor English, a group hailing from Portland that have chosen to do things a little bit differently. Along with the ever wonderful Darling Recordings (yeah, we like this label a lot, and I think it shows) they have dropped a debut extended play; moreover, Poor English seem to have set out to establish their identity with this release.

If that was indeed the goal, they’ve done a marvelous job.

Poor English takes the stripped-down Portland indie sound and twists it into their own special breed of rock. That delicate balance of fresh-yet-familiar creates an addictive sound that never fails to impress. Right from the onset, the listener is bombarded with powerful guitar hits, transitioning into smooth dreamy singing. The five tracks on the Poor English EP are musical powerhouses, yet they maintain a sense of gorgeous delicacy. The vocals are lovely, and the bands use of layering is phenomenally tasteful. The instrumentation and singing meld together perfectly, creating a wondrously vibrant listening experience.

This extended play feels as if it creates its own environment through flawless cohesion. From the onset of track one to the closing of track five, everything fits together. Not a single moment feels out of place, and it is fantastic.

Another part of what makes Poor English interesting is their refusal to settle into a particular sound or genre. Poor English seems to weave in and out of various sound spaces, sometimes even on a single song. They could perhaps be best described as pop-punk, but it feels impossible to pin to a single genre. This melding of various influences gives the group a very unique identity. The EP feels like a breath of fresh air in a musical space that can, at times, feel stagnant.

That being said, Poor English is also nostalgic in a way. For those in their twenties and thirties this album is a collection of melodies to comfort the inner middle-school identity. It’s the music you loved back then, but if it had been allowed to grown up with you. In a time of relative global distress, Poor English offers serenity. For as new as this project feels, it’s also as if an old friend has come to visit after years apart. And that in itself is beautiful, and really makes Poor English feel like something to cherish.

The only real problem with Poor English’s EP is that it’s very short. Fortunately, they’ve taken to twitter and mentioned that new music is in the works. When approached like a sampler, or a display of potential, this is a breath taking mini-project. One listen is enough to leave one actively anticipating further releases from Poor English.

Understanding the Necessity and Shortcomings of Music Streaming

by Dustin

streaming

Though streaming hasn’t been a dominant form of music distribution for very long, the idea took root over fifteen years ago with Napster and MusicNET. These services were met with criticism, rejection, and (in the case of Napster) legal issues. Flash forward to today, the service options are different but many of the issues remain the same. However, in the modern era of music, it appears to be that streaming is becoming a necessity.

To understand the need for streaming, one can simply examine the consequences of out right rejecting these services. To speculate on how severe these consequences could be, a simply case study from another industry can be used: Sears.

Sears resisted adapting their catalogue system for far too long. Though the demand for online sales was ever increasing from many loyal consumers, Sears remained set in their ways. This would prove to be a critical failure as the company lost a huge consumer base; moreover, a later attempt to move into the online world would prove futile with the rise of Amazon. Sears had also not exactly been a darling financially, and this failure to adapt proved to be nearly fatal for the company. Over one hundred and twenty Sears stores closed in the year of 2011 alone, and they’ve never quite recovered from the lost business.

Of course this isn’t a perfect comparison for the music industry and streaming. Yet, it illustrates how devastating it can be to ignore the demand for change. Digital sales occupied this space for years, but now the consumers are leaning towards streaming. The music industry as a whole cannot got out of business like a retail chain; however, it can see artists and labels forced into a position where profit is simply not possible if consumer demand isn’t facilitated.

Fortunately, the industry has shown a willingness to adapt before. Whether it be physical media changes, or moving into an online space, music distribution has been fluid. Streaming could also prove to be attractive in its own right.

Streaming offers many advantages for both artists and labels. A 2015 study by Aguiar and Waldfogel (for the European Commission) showed that an increase in streaming correlates to a noticeable drop in music piracy. There is also appeal in how simple it is to get music onto streaming services. For small scale artists, being able to manage their own music on Spotify or Apple Music is often times a simpler process than landing a distribution deal. It has also created a new job space, with online distributors cropping up in order to help musicians get their product to these services.

From the standpoint of the consumer, streaming is a powerhouse. Rather than spending ten dollars for every new release, huge libraries of new and old music are available on demand at a single monthly fee. Audiophiles may take issue with the lack of control over sound quality and song tagging, but for the casual listener streaming services simply makes sense. These services are often incredibly portable, making it far easier to bring your music from desktop to mobile device. As a whole, it is easy to see why streaming is immensely popular with your average listener.

One may wonder why there is still such a resistance to streaming within the music industry, considering these positives. The answer to that is relatively simple: streaming is a necessary, but highly flawed, service.

I gave up and became a Spotify-er,
Paying myself a fraction of a penny playing “Qualifiers”.
(Open Mike Eagle – Dark Comedy Late Show)

Even though streaming has reduced piracy rates, it has also negatively impacted digital download sales (such as those provided by iTunes and Bandcamp). This ultimately reduces the positive impact it has on the music industry; moreover, this is a genuine issue due to the minuscule payout received by artists and labels per stream. Until the problem of royalties can be sorted, music streaming is going to be a somewhat problematic service.

There are of course other issues, such as fragmenting subscribers with service-specific exclusives. Perhaps the most prevalent cases of this was Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo fiasco. The album experienced abnormally high piracy rates due to its chaotic and exclusive release through the Tidal streaming service. Exclusives are certainly an interesting way to attempt to attract new subscribers, unfortunately it also seems harmful to the long term viability of streaming.

Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Google Play give music an accessibility that the world has never seen before. It stands to reason that there will be kinks to work out along the way. Though it’s been close to fifteen years since the idea of streaming started gaining traction, we still exist in the early years of services attempting to do things legally. One can see the clear benefits and necessity of streaming services, but it appears that it will still be a while longer before they are agreeable for everyone.

Collectors Corner: Meme Vivaldi, clipping, and Offsite & Wontu.

by Dustin

cctitle

Welcome to the Collectors Corner, a new article series on Extraordinary Nobodies where we will be taking a look at physical media from all sorts of record labels and artists. Most of these will be coming from my own collection, but my (kind of) wonderful co-writer Apu will also be contributing from his assortment of music on occasion. Collectors Corner will be a little more relaxed (and a little less hip-hop focused) than some of our other articles, serving as break from the usual… Mostly for myself, but I’m sure variation in content is healthy, right?

Primarily, I just thought it would be fun to spotlight some of the cool and weird physical releases that constantly pop up in the music scene. We’ll also get the chance to throw in some mini-reviews of albums we otherwise wouldn’t have the time to review… Wow, this is great, right? Right?!

Now, let’s just jump right into the first batch of albums in the collectors corner spotlight:

memev

From Poor Little Music, an underground Canadian label that deals primarily in cassette and floppy disk (yes, you’ve read that right) releases, I picked up Meme Vivaldi’s Smile on tape. The art on the packaging itself is really nice. There’s something about it that I found to be somewhat vaporwave inspired, particularly on the inside of the j-card insert. The cassette itself is a brilliant orange, and features a sticker rather than stamping.

Smile basically sounds like the soundtrack to an artificial intelligence having a mental breakdown. It is an incredibly odd little electronic album, but it’s also a lot of fun. I hadn’t personally heard Smile when I purchased it (yay, impulse buys), but I was pleasantly surprised once I got a chance. The sounds here definitely aren’t for everyone, but those looking for a mind-fuck will probably enjoy it.

Smile is also a limited edition of 30, so if you’re looking to own a cassette you may want to get on that soon. Hell, they could already be sold out by the time you read this. Sorry.

clippin

From SubPop Records and Deathbomb Arc, I also picked up the cassette version of clipping.’s Splendor & Misery. There were a few different physical media options for this album, but ultimately I ended up going with the cassette because the packaging is gorgeous. The cassette itself is wonderfully industrial looking, coming coloured in a clean light gray.

The insert has a very classy foil look to it, complimented by a retro feel to the rest of the packaging. This is very honestly one of the nicest looking cassette releases I’ve seen this year and I would fully recommend it to anyone looking to add to their collection. Plus, something about listening to glitched-out experimental hip-hop on cassette just feels right… And that is the most pretentious sentence I will ever write in my life.

Splendor & Misery is one of my absolute favorite releases this year; you can read more about my thoughts on this album in my full-length review.

offsitewontu

Third is Offsite & Wontu’s collaborative effort After Shenron. This album comes via Every Dejavu. The packaging on this tape is a really an aesthetic treat. From the incredible blue colour on the casing itself, to the beautiful album art. It looks great in my collection, but more importantly it is also a wonderful little project musically.

The production and rapping, are a very chill alternative brand that fans of rappers such as Open Mike Eagle and milo will certainly enjoy. After Shenron is short, but it feels like it packs enough content to sink your teeth into.