I’m on holidays until the New Year, but if I’m being honest, I’m not feeling it. Bad weather and Omicron are rolling in, and I feel them both like a wave of low pressure and dread.
To combat this, I’ve given myself some fun activities to focus on. First, I’ve picked up my guitar for the first time in a long while. I’m going to try to learn at least one (and maybe) two songs over my time off, and in the process hopefully knock the rust off my playing. I was never very good, but I’m not going to get better by letting more dust build up on the guitar.
Second, I’ll be doing my usual “Top 10” list for this year’s albums. Stay tuned for that as a future entry here. In the meantime, here is a review.
Disc 1526 is…. Life After
Artist: Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Year of Release: 2021
What’s up with the Cover? The band “explodes” off the stage and down to their adoring fans. I know this cover is supposed to convey excitement and energy, but I’ve been reading a memoir of a soldier from World War One, and it was hard to separate the ‘happy’ pyrotechnics in this picture from the deadly explosions in my book. Thankfully, the worst thing awaiting the Snotty Nose Rez Kids is the potential of some awkwardly placed hands while they crowd surf.
How I Came To Know It: I liked their last record, so I took a chance and bought this one before I heard it, which is pretty rare for me these days.
How It Stacks Up: I have two Snotty Nose Rez Kids albums. They are both good, but I’ll put “Life After” in at #2.
Ratings: 3 stars
On “Life After” the Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ unique approach to rap and hip hop continues to evolve, bringing in even more influences to a band that already has an impressive musical vocabulary.
On this record I caught pieces of some of my favourite artists. Techno-inspired reverberating bass beats reminded me favourably of Run the Jewels, and their willingness to experiment with the structure of a song had me thinking of Minnesota rappers Dessa and P.O.S. These techno elements can sometimes put off an old timer like me, but here they are handled well and used in a way that serves the song.
Quinton 'Yung Trybez' Nyce and Darren 'Young D' Metz (Yung and Young) have a furious flow, with the effect that you feel they are constantly stepping up to the front edge of the beat, leaning over, but never losing their balance. The effect is energizing.
In terms of subject matter, the Rez Kids follow the age-old adage of “write what you know.” The album is steeped in the experiences and cultural imagery of their Haisla background. Sometimes these experiences are the centerpiece of a song, and other times they are there to saturate the tunes with imagery and metaphor. Either way, it works.
There are some elements of modern hip hop that I don’t love, but “Life After” does a good job of making them work. For example, they use voice modulation a fair bit, but for the most part they make tasteful and deliberate choices, rather than using it to hide mistakes and shortcomings, as is so often the case.
“Uncle Rico” is a good example of everything coming together. The verses fall forward onto each other, with exceptional internal rhyme and a ‘trip forward’ style. Mixed into this, we get a bit of falsetto singing, and a funk beat that combined makes the song feel a bit R&B-inspired.
“Sink or Swim” has a Run the Jewels vibe, and a crunch that crosses over into hardcore territory. It feels a bit like what it would sound like if Killer Mike was being backed by the Rollins Band. It is another example of how the Rez Kids are willing to mix styles not only across the record, but often within individual tracks.
The album ends on a hopeful note with “After Dark” which, despite covering a lot of hard topics, is focused on positive thoughts leading to positive outcomes. On days when I’m feeling a bit weighted down a line from “After Dark” like “every blessing ignored becomes a curse” is a reminder to be thankful that on balance, life is pretty good.
Listening to “Life After” I got to wondering about Notorious B.I.G.’s album, “Life After Death.” On that record, Biggie has come into his fame, and he both acknowledges that he is now a lot more financially secure, he’s still got plenty to sing about, and plenty of hard experiences to share. While the Snotty Nose Rez Kids haven’t hit the big time yet, they are starting to explore what that might look like through their music.
If you like your hip hop to be filled with mind-numbing thumps, with songs about meeting girls and drinking Cristal, then this album is not for you. But if you like your beats thoughtfully constructed, and your lyrics self-examined, then “Life After” is a record you will likely enjoy.
Best tracks: Red Sky at Night, No Jesus Piece, Uncle Rico, Wild Boy, Sink or Swim, After Dark
No comments:
Post a Comment