Young Fathers - Tape One review
I like rap and hip-hop, when its not pummeling me with bragging lyrics and generic beats ripped from, well, everything. Young Fathers brings something different to the table, something more than the booming bass and bad lyricism that plagues radio-driven pop rap. The music is influenced by alot of African music, lots of soul influences, reggae on tracks such as “Romance”, all pushed through this real lo-fi production. Dirty synthesizers, heavy drum samples that just sounds real tribal and full of energy. The lyrics are a great feature on this album, dealing with hard times, life and love. And with lines like “Don’t you turn my home against me, even if my house is empty.” , from opener “Deadline”, its not easy to find better lyrics than that in this genre. My only problem is that it doesn’t last long, all the songs feel short and end too abruptly, and there is some songs that I definitely wish were longer. Otherwise, I would want nothing to change. The flow of the mc’s is smooth and seeps along the beats complementing amazingly well. And the best of all is the closer “Dar-Eh Da Da Du” in which one of the MC recalls his uncle’s wedding with great detail, accompanied by a r&b beat and soulful vocals samples and a gritty drum beat, making it a worthwhile listen. All in all, pretty solid release, these guys bring alot to the table for underground hip-hop. You can go to their bandcamp page to download the album for whatever you feel like paying, but show some love, this a great release and these guys deserve some praise.
Listen to: Deadline, Dar-Eh Da Da Du
