“the focus is clearly on the lyricism and the energy” FLIPWORKIN’ – Dying Breed
The dark and intense energy of hip-hop pours out through the speakers as this track plays. From the beginning, the vibe is haunting and heavy, and when the first rhythmic rap vocal performance starts up the feeling intensifies accordingly. The rap performance is brilliant, the rhythm and flow is flawless and captivating – there’s a confidence and attitude to the voice that suits the mood of the track really well, and the tone of the voice adds even more appeal.
The angst driven energy of the rap vocal is reminiscent of the honesty and vocal crackle of certain mainstream rap artists, though the music itself is much more hypnotic in the way that classic hip-hop used to be – the music doesn’t build or vary much throughout the recording, not in the way that a pop or dance song might, and in a sense this is refreshing to hear. A lot of modern hip-hop artists build their production up to bizarrely intricate levels of detail, and sadly this sometimes means less energy is put into the rap performance and lyricism. In this case, the focus is clearly on the lyricism and the energy, and it shows.
It’s a great performance, there’s an anger to the whole thing but there’s also a sense of not worrying about it and just moving with the flow. The whole thing has a laid back yet intense vibe; a strange combination, but effective.
The honesty of the rap vocal works well, and there’s a lot of really impressive wordplay that’s worth paying attention to. The leading riff of the track adds a lot to the memorable nature of the piece. It’s a simple riff, but it dances around in the spaces between the beats with a lot of power.
By Rebecca Cullen
Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing.
