January 2nd, 2010 | |
Posted in Music
Sole is a heck of a rapper. He’s got some skills, just listen to some of his earlier stuff. But hip-hop isn’t always about rhyming skills, and in the Anticon camp, things can get a little dicey if you come from a Top 40 hip-hop background.
So when I was emailed about Sole’s new mixtape in which he raps over Top 40 hip-hop beats (think Rick Ross and Kanye) I was expecting Sole and company would be rapping circles around the original artists. I was surprised when I discovered that much of the same melody and cadences were used but of course the lyrics are changed.
I’m sure there will be critics about this, I say screw em, it’s a freakin mix tape he’s giving away for free. The beats aren’t presented as anything other than as a statement as opposed to a backdrop that Sole is trying to pass off as his own. Thank my lucky stars there is no autotune on this.
I’m pretty intrigued by the choice, it’s an interesting statement and I almost think of it as the hip-hop version of William Shatner doing the song Common People by Pulp. Ok, not that bad, but it’s something I used to criticize rappers on the soundclick top 100 hip-hop charts for doing. Especially when they would put in a verse with the original artist. Anyways, that is not happening here and while I said the skill level is low on the rhyming, this mixtape is heavy on subject matter.
I’ve got to warn you, if you are some sort of conservative teabagger or anarchist this album’s lyrics will drive you crazy. Sole and company constantly criticize the state while begging it to give them things like single payer. The fact they think something they deemed incompetent is capable of being in charge of their life from their birth down to hospice is a flawed logic and detracts from the real message of “why are we treating each other so badly”.
Logical fallacies apart, this record is pretty good, I’m able to separate the music from the message and the music is quality. It would be a good way to get people who mostly listen to top 40 rap to try out some more underground stuff. I urge anyone who likes this record to play it for mainstream fans of these songs and see if they can convert some folks to the world of what I consider “legit hip-hop”
This mixtape is free for 192 kbps and pay what you want for better copies and $13 for a CD.
Buy hard copy
Download
My President w Jared Paul
Tags:
Anticon,
hip-hop,
mixtape,
mp3,
Sole 
