To quote Rakim, “It’s been a long time…”
Since I bothered listening to much new hip hop. However, I accidently stumbled upon this tune by Killer Mike and was very impressed by the lyrics, beat and (dare I say) video. In this age of post modern bling, name changing Snoop Doggs and incredibly vacuous subject matter, it’s a refreshing change to find tracks like this still being made.
With its cynical 1980s sound bites and military industrial complex hatred, it should come as no surprise that this was produced by Brooklyn’s famed El-P… and yet it does, as the last time I heard an El-P album (or indeed saw him live), he was channelling Trent Renzor (via Rawkus) and had just released 2007’s I’ll Sleep When Your Dead.
This however is a welcome throwback to his Mr Lif times and grabbed me from the get-go. Strong words, great beats and a video somewhat reminiscent (to me at least) of Ralph Bakshi’s early 1970s oeuvre.
Take 4 minutes and check it out.
Posted by Horatio Cornblower
The Eastern Terraces 