Daddy Tank, Part Two - Hip Hop, Redeemed [DTSS39]
3 June, 2013
Today, folks, we're plugging Daddy Tank's Social Studies. And no, we’re not talking about that gushy American indie band, either. THIS Social Studies is a project to expand the horizons of underground hip-hop, fronted by MC Zano Bathroom. And this one LP that they’ve released on Daddy Tank, Proxemics…man, it’s one loaded album. Most of the tracks – referred to only as “assignments” – shift restlessly from one section into another, segued by thought-provoking samples in between. Synthesized details abound everywhere alongside Zano’s expressive, ingenious lyrics, whose flow is frankly DOPE.
What I love best about Zeno, though – apart from his delivery, of course – is his knack for weaving together brilliant rhymes and cooking up witty words. “Assignment 2” is absolutely flawless in this aspect, with lines like “obscenster, hophipster” and “unorthadoctor, afro-insurgent” over some wicked live drumming – but, EVEN BETTER is the second half, where Zano borrows the intro to the Cure’s “Play For Today” and delivers a seamless rap. MMM.
Even the shortest track on the album, “Assignment Five”, traverses a wide swath of styles - opening on a futuristic synth riff and a striking conversation on how “electrical goodies” are integral to music these days, the tune flits between samples before landing abruptly on a slow jam graced with a distant, stately horn. The longer tracks, like “Assignment Six”, are odysseys in thought and rhythm that never, ever grow stale. Here we flit between pondering the importance of having a point of view, to Zano’s irreverent rhymes bordered by percolating electric spurts, to an old country sample – and that’s only the first five minutes! And where to begin on that massive expedition, “Assignment Seven”, which floats from a down-tempo bump (with memorable critiques on the hip artist and the hipster consumer) to a dubby jam that surges into a driving rap via a blipping computer switchboard? It’s all just glorious.
Really, if you’ve lamented a lack of “quality” hip-hop in your life, give Proxemics a spin, and travel across time and space in style. Unfortunately, the LP itself is not on sale, but you're welcome to snag a free download of “Assignment Two” on Daddy Tank’s Bandcamp site – and hey, if you order another album from Kim this summer (like that Pang LP I endorsed last month) you’ll get a bonus for free, so maybe you’ll get lucky. Or, y'know, just ask him. He MIGHT oblige!
What I love best about Zeno, though – apart from his delivery, of course – is his knack for weaving together brilliant rhymes and cooking up witty words. “Assignment 2” is absolutely flawless in this aspect, with lines like “obscenster, hophipster” and “unorthadoctor, afro-insurgent” over some wicked live drumming – but, EVEN BETTER is the second half, where Zano borrows the intro to the Cure’s “Play For Today” and delivers a seamless rap. MMM.
Even the shortest track on the album, “Assignment Five”, traverses a wide swath of styles - opening on a futuristic synth riff and a striking conversation on how “electrical goodies” are integral to music these days, the tune flits between samples before landing abruptly on a slow jam graced with a distant, stately horn. The longer tracks, like “Assignment Six”, are odysseys in thought and rhythm that never, ever grow stale. Here we flit between pondering the importance of having a point of view, to Zano’s irreverent rhymes bordered by percolating electric spurts, to an old country sample – and that’s only the first five minutes! And where to begin on that massive expedition, “Assignment Seven”, which floats from a down-tempo bump (with memorable critiques on the hip artist and the hipster consumer) to a dubby jam that surges into a driving rap via a blipping computer switchboard? It’s all just glorious.
Really, if you’ve lamented a lack of “quality” hip-hop in your life, give Proxemics a spin, and travel across time and space in style. Unfortunately, the LP itself is not on sale, but you're welcome to snag a free download of “Assignment Two” on Daddy Tank’s Bandcamp site – and hey, if you order another album from Kim this summer (like that Pang LP I endorsed last month) you’ll get a bonus for free, so maybe you’ll get lucky. Or, y'know, just ask him. He MIGHT oblige!