electronic / experimental / hip hop

We're still in France. We're once again dealing with something surprising, something stubbornly following its own path. Yet, this time, the music is something completely different, deviating from anything I usually listen to and certainly from anything I review. Right now, we're in the urban electronic hip hop scene, listening to beatmaker Al'Tarba and his gloomy tales of pariahs, sidewalk survivors and anti-heroes. 

Al'Tarba has been influenced by Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan but also by audiobooks, field recordings, street dialogs and the sounds of everyday. Those influences are now being thrown into a intense and stunning album, 'La Nuit Se Lève' (which translates as 'The Night Rises'). The album is a mesmerizing blend of beats, electronics, weird soundscapes and a multitude of vocals. Hip hop and dubstep,  they seem to fit perfectly together.

Now, my knowledge of both genre is quite limited. So I'll throw in a few names that come to mind when I listen to most of the songs on this album. Cypress Hill is one, especially the ep they recorded with Rusko. The Herbaliser also comes to mind, along with Wu-Tang Clan, Eminem, Nas, you know, the in-your-face version of the rap and hip hop scene. In that aspect, 'Guillotine' is a brilliant angry hip hop track.

Now, I don't often listen to either hip hop, rap or dubstep but this album will definitely end up in my day-to-day playlist. I don't think I've ever heard these genres being this interesting, this varied and this immersive. Who to recommend it to? I don't know, I really have no idea. I'm not sure if fans of these genres read this website but if so, I recommend it to them, along with fans of weird electronics. This is the kind of variation you need in your collection, believe me.


​Serge

hip-hop / rap

Recently released by GUWOP and Atlantic Records, on October 14, Woptober is the most recent album by legendary American Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap singer Gucci Mane. An exceedingly prolific artist, with a discography consisting of albums, compilations, extended plays, digital releases, collaborative albums and mixtapes, even incarcerated Gucci Mane manages to keep his musical career on an energetic and seemingly endless track. As his most recent work, Woptober, with thirteen tracks – being them Intro: Fuck 12, Aggressive, The Left, Money Machine, Dirty Lil Nigga,      
Wop, Right on Time, Bling Blaww Burr, Icy Lil Bitch, Love Her Body, Hi-Five, Out the Zoo and Addicted –, Gucci Mane keeps doing it what he does best: composing the good old and traditional gangsta rap style of poetry, about tough street life, drugs, and everything money can buy, and musicalize it, giving it the best rap melodies we can think of. Already having established himself as an elite Hip Hop artist of the alternative scene, with so many releases, Gucci Mane can’t avoid but releasing albums that sound peculiar to his particular style of Hip Hop. So, evidently, Woptober is a “same old, same old” type of album, or “more from the same”, if you wish. Nonetheless, it is a very good, awesome, astounding, amazing and incredible same old, same old. 

With energy, attitude and an astounding love for Hip Hop, that moves him to perform, write songs tirelessly, and consolidate partnerships all the time, Gucci Mane probably is the most relevant rapper active in the world today – or, at least, in the US, if you disagree –, and, as it can be expected, Woptober analyzes, assigns and confirms the veracity of this conclusion. Very familiar with the subjects he describes in his songs – although I should point it out that I strongly object to several things of the rap lifestyle, especially as described in songs of the genre in general, and Gucci Mane, in this particular case – the rapper’s impressive talent easily allies a good lyric with the right beat, and this apparently comes so effortlessly to him, that you can be fooled into thinking that doing rap is easy. 

With talent, a cool voice, a peculiar style of singing, true to the style lyrics, good videos and straightforward melodies, Gucci Mane certainly is one of the most amazing and talented contemporaneous rappers, and this becomes evident especially when you listen to a lot of his records, and realizes that he seems virtually incapable of doing a bad album.    

Extremely rooted to a genuine, rhythmic and vicious style of rapping, Gucci Mane certainly has solidified an exceedingly personal musical identity, highlighted by the fact that his creatively skilled and endless imagination is always eager – and seems always able to – explore the never ending possibilities allowed in the genre, which he does very well, with the ability of a great, glowing and virtuous self-reliant master, graduated by a vigorous amount of talent, strength, audacity and experience. 

As inevitable as it could be, evidently, Woptober turns out to be an excellent, amazing and solid rap album! Although highly recommendable for all enthusiasts of the genre worldwide, it will be particularly delightful especially for the ones who are specifically Gucci Mane fans, people already familiar with his style, that certainly can be considered very peculiar, specially if you dare to compare him to other rappers, which would be – at least to his more ardent loyalists – regarded as heresy. Nonetheless, here’s what it is: Gucci Mane is Gucci Mane, and Woptober is Woptober. Another great gift from Gucci Mane to his always loyal fan base. Another majestic and compounding Hip Hop album, with the potential to make history. And look at this cover: Gucci Mane’s bust sculpted in the style of a roman emperor! Makes it quite obvious that it is, indeed, a masterpiece!    


​Wagner

hip-hop / alternative / rapcore

Yesterday, in a shocking anti-climax for our entire nation, the Belgian Red Devils lost their football match against Wales. So, I guess the Belgians won't be European champions yet. I watched the sad and disappointed faces of the many fans in the French city of Lille and for a short while I felt a bit sad for them. However, then I remembered this extremely fun-sounding band that I had been listening to while doing the dishes earlier that day.

Psykokondriak also hails from Lille, and if I had a choice, I'd go watch these guys over the Red Devils anytime. This album is their debut but they have been around for a while. They played numerous gigs, recorded an ep, saw a drastic line-up change and changed their language from French to English. Now, they look ready to conquer the world of rapcore, blending hip-hop with rock music with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy.

It isn't difficult to make references to other bands, since rapcore rarely is a surprising genre. 'Introducing The Body Boys' sounds a bit like Beastie Boys while 'Psyko Waltz (vol 1)' brings on the guitars, drums and scratches. Other bands that come to mind include Rage Against The Machine, Senser, Primus & Dog Eat Dog. 'Workless Dance' also nudges towards the punk rock scene, adding the welcome amount of variation to the album.

Don't expect anything renewing on this album, but simply let yourself go on these infectious grooves, raps, slapping bass and riffs. Songs like 'Monstros Incorporantes', 'Think It Up' and 'Hot Day, Hotter Night' certainly go me dancing. So did the weird but joyful interlude 'Gunfight Helicopters' by the way. And they will make you dance too, hopefully anytime soon on a hot summer festival because the stage is exactly where this music belongs.


​Serge

rock / rap / alternative

I don't know about you, dear reader, but I love to gain some knowledge through the music I listen to. For starters, it makes my job as a reviewer easier. It's also quite useful for my personal development, even though I don't always use the information. It provides me with something interesting to say. In that aspect, exploring this album was pure pleasure for me because I had the chance to dwell in a language I don't know.

​'N’int ket deuet a-benn da ziwriziennañ ac’hanomp...' is Breton for 'They couldn’t drive us out'. This language is spoken by people in Brittany (Bretagne, France). It's a Celtic language, originated in Great Britain and introduced in France by migrating Britons. It's related to the Cornish language. So yes, this band was born in Bretagne, and it's a rebellious and revolutionary weapon, non-lethal of course.

But we're here for the music, and quite frankly, even though this is something completely and utterly different from what I have reviewed before, this stuff makes me smile. This band blends rock, folk and rap into a very energetic sound, and throws a highly convincing DIY-punk attitude in the mix. The result is pretty damn interesting, something I'd surely want to see on some of the upcoming summer festivals. 

Comparing this album to other acts isn't an easy task, so let's go over some of the basic elements in this music. Basically, this is alternative rock music, a bit similar to bands like Urban Dance Squad, Red Hot Chili Peppers or Clawfinger. The latter also comes to mind through the vocals, which resemble that well-known French rap style of IAM, MC Solaar or Manau. Finally, there is the folk element, represented by the accordion, which mostly reminds me of the opening tune of 'Allo 'Allo.

I guess you should have a decent idea about this album by now so I'm not going into a song-by-song description. After all, because of their style, all the songs have the same elements, the same energy and the same warm, enthusiastic sound. France has pleasantly surprised me before but this album certainly highlights the country's flair for originality. So check it out and try to catch these guys on a festival this summer. You'll be in for an awesome party, that's for sure.


​Serge