A random hip-hop post where I ultimately decide that I don’t yet like Wale as much as I want to.

It’s been a good couple of weeks in terms of backpacker/alternative/”hipster” rap releases. I’m not listening to any of them right now though, instead overdosing on the latest Cut/Copy album. It was on at Barrio Chino last night and has been on repeat since.

Back on topic.

First up, Kidz in the Hall, the rapper/producer duo that met while at school (UPenn), with The In Crowd. Yay for ivy-league grads/rappers! Yay for rap album release parties sponsored by wineries! The pairing (teehee) works well and Double-O (the producer one) is versatile enough to carry a whole album. Naledge (the rapper one) is… Naledge is technically good. His flow’s generally interesting, and he’ll drop a clever rhyme from time to time. Where this falls apart: Naledge is not all that likable, in fact he can be kind of annoying. Not because he’s not good, he just doesn’t seem to have much of a personality. It’s like he tries to be parts of Pusha T or Kanye, but comes off a little corny. The album is saved by the production, hordes of guest appearances (including the aforementioned Pusha), and the occasional gem from Naledge.

[Driving down the block] bass kickin man, sorta like Fred A-do. And I’m looking blessed, like I said A-choo. I’m so damn clean, polo rugby and Jordan 16s. While I’m [Driving down the block] wifey feeling intimate. Park up at the lake and turn the car into a cigarette.

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Second. The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale. “What it is what it is come check the noise. it’s the new black version of the beastie boys.” They get points for the inspiration even though they weren’t alive during that era. You’d think rapping about bikes and clothes would get old, but the album is only 30 minutes long and we’ve heard most of the tracks before. The production is really minimalist… and I’ve had to stop myself a few times from dancing on the subway.

So I’m sitting on the couch holding the remote. Flipping channels, I’m a rebel eating a bowl of them fruity pebbles, fruity pebbles, fruity pebbles. How gangsta is that. Not gangsta at all. Are you judging me dog? Please, you shop at the mall. Me, I shop at boutiques, limited quantity sneaks…

I hate the terms “hipster-hop” and “hipster-hop” but Yay hipsters!
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Watch another one, since this is such a brilliant idea for a beat.

Finally. Wale - The Mixtape about Nothing (Free for download here). An entire mixtape inspired by Seinfeld, including a guest appearance by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. On paper, I should really like Wale - clever multi-syllabic rhymes, obscure references, Nigerian! He’s ridiculous though, to the point where it takes multiple listens to catch everything he’s rapping about. On The Chicago Falcon Remix, Mark Ronson interrupts the track to ask him to slow it down and explain what’s going on:

Counting my bread. My account like a brunch at a synagogue. Get it y’all, that’s a whole lot of bagels… I get seinfeld with these rhyme skills, I’m Larry David. Give me my paper. It’s a cosmo like Jerry Sein’s neighor. My co-stanzas stand like Phantoms or Maybachs. You won’t get a lane if you came wack. I hate rap like Kramer hates blacks…

There’s just too much going on there, and the problem is that it can be boring. It’s like:

Yeah, I’m crazy. Hopping off the wall like Vega. They vaguely, decipher my language. Out of my mind, come and chase me. Picture off of grammar like I’m managing Frasier. Cheers. Psycho. Maestro. Orchestrate the life with the right flow. Write flows down and they might go nice. A low life’s plight. I give off my light like an interracial couple with a child. Or fucking Paramount. I hope they understand that. Light overheads means i’m right where their head is. Pause. Epiphany.

is that what he’s saying on that song? Maybe? Crazy. It’s hard to make that actually sound good. I kinda want him to stop trying to do so much and just work on his flow or something. Take a lesson from Lil’ Wayne who can spit absolute nonsense and still make it sound good. The mixtape is still pretty good though, and with Ronson producing his debut that should probably be good as well. Yay Seinfeld!
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