And to conclude my week or so long vibe on hip hop, I figure I'll go with one of the more raw MCs I've found out there, that would be Tomahawk, a rapper who either on his own, or with his group Clandestien, always brings 100% to what he does, his delivery is raw and angry, though, his accent sometimes gets in the way of the actual lyrics, but don't let that bother you, the skill is there and thats what matters, least that what true fans would believe anyway, after all thats what hip hop is about, the lyrics and the beats and the marriage they have. Tomahawk's crew, Clandestien, are kind of like an aussie version of Living Legends or (going back afew years) canada's Monolith, meaning they all are solo artists, who flow amazingly together and will do albums together just so they can rhyme, most of them are infact represented on this album, which is great. Their style as a whole is kind of in your face social conscious themes done in street level dialect.
This is Tomahawk's second album, though most argue its the better of the two, which is infact why I'm reviewing it. It starts off well, with an over 6 minute introduction track thats ment to be metaphorical of his "marriage" to hip hop and how he loves it, but it doesn't seem to love him back right now, its rather symbolic of many an MC's complained these days, I find it rather raw and to the point personally, but thats just me, I'm like that. the second track is "Straight Outta Tragged Corridor" a battle track that makes you wanna go beat someone up to it, he's joined on this track with Layla, a female MC I'd like to hear more of, its also got one of the best MC diss lines I've ever heard "the only friends you have exist on myspace" which kind of takes a shot at how anyone who thinks they can rap can get tons of "fame" just by having a myspace account. Next is "The Sith Lord" where in Tomahawk drops verses as his alter ego, Darth Hawk, metaphorically calling mics lightsabers, which isn't so bad, I rather like the track, even if the batman/robin line seems out of place, still a great song honestly. Next is "Spoken Homing Beacon" which has a lovely amped up beat to it, the verses themselves are pretty well done, following his theme of being angry with hip hop as a whole, I like that he keeps to the theme instead of just tossing random stuff together and calling it an album, thats always bothered me, when an album makes no real statement, that is after all what hip hop is about, making a statement. Next is "I'm Sorry I Hate You" again with Layla on this track, which makes me just wanna hear a whole album of hers even more, again following the theme that hawk is mad with hip hop and what its become, though I love the use of the "baby love" sample, still Layla is the stand out on this one, lovely. Followed by "Cry Me A River" again with Layla, who at this point on is on just about every track and the album's first appearance by the lovely Porsah Laine, hawk's lyrics hit hard and boom off like bullets out of a sniper's gun as he freestyles, leading into Porsah's sexy vocals which lead into Layla's vocal, you get the feeling of an old smokey club in an inner city in a 1940s film nior gangster movie, just brilliant. Next is the song that first made me wanna find this album, "Love 2 Love Ya", a lovely sample of song of the disco song of the same name, on which hawk and layla go verse for verse in whats almost a mixtape must track, this is one you wanna turn up loud and repeat. Next song is "Now I'm In The House", a "chillin' with the crew" track, its got a killer bassline the lyrics just bang, Layla's verse is almost like a sexy panther stalking around her pray waiting for the moment to go for the kill move. Its followed by the very sexy "At The Strippers" which has a beautiful sample of that awesome classic "black velvet" which porsah laine just drops the sexiest vocals I've heard on a rap track in a very long time, completely amazing, even for a song about a strip club. From here the album follows the same theme, the angry self and outwardly introspective tracks by hawk, layla and porsah laine, beautiful samples that aren't what you'd assume from a rap album, and beats that bang so hard you almost sad when its over, beautiful disc, beautiful statement, and in the end, a beautifully dark love letter to a bitch called hip hop.
My only real compliant about the album is that there aren't more people from Clandestien on the album, for anyone thats aware of who they are, and how they sound together, you'll feel let down in that respect, but still love the disc because of how onpoint the three featured here are. I can see why it would have few though, one would love to stand on their own and make their own sales, not just sell because of who else is on their disc. Other then that though, I've nothing but love for this disc and what it stands for. I can see how many might get put off by hawk's overly angry delivery, but well, when you're angry, you deliver angry, its just how it goes, you know? Definitely a must listen if you've not actually heard it yet.
Here is the video to Introduction for those who want a sample...
Artist: Tomahawk w/Layla and Porsah Laine
Homepage: N/A
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/tomahawksbx and http://www.myspace.com/clandestienclan
Genre: Rap/Bass/Aussie Hip Hop/
Download: Here
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BC
