State Of The Art - Hilltop Hoods

Its never been a shock to anyone that I'm a huge fan of international hip hop, and in particular Australian hip hop, which is why, when the group that introduced me to rap from down under, The Hilltop Hoods, released their new long awaited album "State Of The Art", I jumped with joy. looking through the backlog, I've only posted The Hard Road Restrung by them, I'll have to fix that... Anyway, for those that aren't aware, I first heard of The Hilltop Hoods in 2003, when I was sent an mp3 of "The Nosebleed Section", and been hooked sense. Its been a joy to watch their evolution.

Which is why its no surprise that I rather enjoy the innovative "State Of The Art" which though remaining true to its roots in Aussie Hip Hop, broadens and expands and at times crosses into other genres, in a sense its a concept album hidden as a rap album thats abit more aggressive then what most of us are used too from the hoods, but don't let the harder edge turn you off, the album is the same awesome mix of perfectly crafted beats and both meaningful and innovative lyrics, even their freestyles are unlike what we get here in the states, as a child from the tail end of the first generation of hip hop, I enjoy that. But enough of that, lets get into the tracks shall we?

The album starts with "The Return", a nice Run DMC style rock mixed with rap beat where the group freestyles their reintroduction after being off for three years, its a great track that sets the tone for the album, a perfect opener I think. The second track is called "Super Official" and is a return to whats made the hoods loved by true hip hop lovers the world over, a nice easy to listen too party friendly track that just begs to be put on repeat. and played through some big speakers. Next is "Chase That Feeling", the album's first single, which was a nice choice, a really nice opening that sounds kind of like "Kung Fu Fighting" played on a piano, the track is a great easy to listen too track about the tribulations of life and what it means for everyone to chase their dreams, you actually find yourself repeating this one afew times when you first hear it, its just awesome and vintage hoods. Following that is "She's So Ugly", a battle rap thats just so straight for your head its just brilliant, the song is their commentary on the current state of hip hop the world over and how radio is slanting toward "radio friendly" american pop hop, its similar to Downsyde's song about the same subject, but I still love it. Next song is "Still Standing" a great bass heavy party track with an awesome hook that you find youself singing along too by the end while you nod your head to the beat of the awesomely smooth groove that makes you kind of wanna get up and dance, I do love this track so very much. Following that is "Classic Example", a nice freestyle track with american rapper Pharoahe Monch, who makes his first apperance on a song sense 2007, which is a big surprise for me, I'm a big fan of Monch's complex delivery and slant toward the more intelligent lyrics, much like most rappers that aren't from the states, he blends well with the hoods on this track, its got a nice jazzy beat and a nice flow all over all. Next song is "Chris Farley", a song that names off many different famous people of note that are dead, and their desire to gain that level of legend like rappers, singers, and actors known for living a hard lifestyle before them, the chorus on this is just so catchy that you don't realize how far into the song you are by the time you start feeling it completely, brilliant. After that is "The Light You Burned", which starts out with a catchy little sample that I can't really seem to find who does it, but I'd like too, the beat has that sort of rock meets rap beat, which is fast tempo and goes for the head right off, the hoods flow keeps up that pace from the onset, and doesn't really let up, this is another of those great play it on a loud sound system tracks, even if it is basically a break up song, I always enjoy when you can make a song about breaking ups and it be so awesome you have to play it loud and often, its just so catchy that you can't not do it. Next on the list is "Parade of The Dead", a nice hard edged track with a very unique beat, that normally I'd see MCs stumble over, but not the hoods, its a nice hard edged freestyle, which seems to be abit of a theme on this album, but i don't really mind it, its actually a nice change of pace after their last album, it shows they're growing as artists, which I always love. Next is "Last Confession", a nice "redemption track", which is kind of a staple of the Hilltop Hood albums, a smooth laid back jazzy beat sometimes with an obscure old audio sample played in the background, this is one of those things you don't feel complete with out hearing atleast once on a hoods album, they're just so well done, smooth beat with a live piano and violin in there, meaningful interspecies lyrics that make you look inside yourself, I honestly think they're the best group in the world at this kind of track. The second to last song is "Hillatoppa", a song that starts with this nice not to fast beat and a piano beat, as the hoods muse about their place in Hip Hop and its history, its a nice track that gets you from the start and keeps you all the way through straight to the end, a great listen. The final track is "Fifty in Five", which is something really rare in hip hop, its kind of "We Didn't Start The Fire" but done in rap, its a very strange track but its also an incredibly brave track, that I sat here and listened through to repeatedly just to get the whole impact of it, that actually makes it a great choice for a final track for the disc, I love when an album ends on a high note instead of a fizzle, it shows respect and care for the craft instead of just tossing some things together at the end to make it seem like you knew what was going on.

So, the big question, is this album for everyone? I'm not really sure, I'd say its a must for hip hop fans, be it if you've not ever heard international hip hop or are a lover of the genre no matter where the artist comes from, my one downside would be that the album seems alittle like they're trying to mimic the american heavy swearing style at times, the hoods have always had afew swears in their tracks, but this is the most to date, I don't dislike that, I just think it makes it seem slightly american, if that makes sense. As for everyone else, if you are up for an interestingly different take on a genre that is both brilliant and trash at the same time depending on your exposure to it (american radio being trash, the stuff you don't hear on the radio being brilliant at times), I'd say give it a listen, you probably won't be let down, you might even find something you enjoy on here, who knows?

But, if you aren't sure still, here is a video/whatever for "Chase That Feeling", for some reason the actual video for the song is unable to be embedded, which sucks, so this is the closest to thing to it, I can gather, it still lets you hear the song, so not a total loss.



Artist: Hilltop Hoods
Album: State Of The Art
Genre: rap, hip hop, australian hip hop, freestyle hip hop
Homepage: Hilltophoods.com
Myspace: Hilltop Hoods on Myspace
Download: Album Download Here


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BC