November 16th, 2011 1:00am
Drunk Driving On A Wednesday
My favorite rap tracks are usually posse cuts: a steady, repetitive beat and a series of verses, preferably with no chorus. The instrumental for "Huzzah" isn't totally static – there's a few flourishes to accentuate particular lines – but it's not really the draw here. The dynamics are all in the vocal performances, and the contrast of very different rhyme styles. Despot and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire bookend the piece with aggressive, rough rhymes, while the Das Racist guys are, respectively, lackadaisical and charmingly sloppy. The most remarkable performances here are by Danny Brown, who sounds more like a maniacal animated character than a human being, and El-P, who delivers a stunningly crafted verse containing a subtle escalating counting theme and a narrative about rioters in London. He might be the least magnetic rapper on the track, but seriously, those lyrics. Wow.
3 Responses.
11/18/11 6:12 pm
Yeah, I refuse to listen to any song whose “creators” list is absolutely indistinguishable from a parody. I mean, if I read this song-artist in a work of fiction I’d simply chuckle. We all have cultural/aesthetic/ethical sniff tests.
Between this, the REM greatest hits review, and the Beyonce fetish — think you’re trying too hard, not in the sense of hard work, but in the sense of straining critical capacities in order to cut a broad swath.
But what you do isn’t easy, and I can’t imagine my tastes not decaying if I had tasked myself to be interesting about music every day.
11/19/11 3:15 pm
Great entertainment, true characters who make me feel better about modern hip hop. Good track with a nice beat, which lets those wonderful verses happen.
@hotelier is certainly straining his (or her) capacities. Refusing to listen!
You are doing a great job, btw.
12/2/11 10:19 am
@hotelier - I’d say the only one trying too hard is the one using the term “broad swath” in the comment section of a music blog.