Man, there is no rap in this town. I guess I kind of assumed that there was a bit everywhere. LA, Baltimore, NY, ATL, why not Boston? A quick pass over The Phoenix revealed that Moe was their recent rapper of the year, so let's start there.
The rapping's good here. Not amazing, but good. Deft, with some good clever turns; hard without going into shootyall territory; altogether solid, nary a stray syllable, without coming across overproduced or punched in. The pair of Rock Me songs are the stars, with part I pulling some nice Fumbling Over Words that Rhyme-style namedrop gymnastics, and Part II evoking Ratatat's remixes with its ethereal Stereolab sampling. That said, there are hardly any "oh shit!" rhymes on there, nothing to knock your socks off, and that's the kind of thing my favorite rap albums are built on.
Besides, the real star here is the production by Rain. He chops, loops, but gracefully, making this sound like the greatest hip-hop album The Avalanches never produced. Little whisps of soul here and there, clipped off, strained, surging, swooning, over horns, guitars, synths and bass, all braided elegantly.
I have to confess, too, that I'm still on kind of Boston tip, so all the references give me more of a thrill than they should. Has been a fun listen though, and holds a mostly-deserved special spot thanks to its role in my life, good for a solid 4/5
You might like this if: You like Avalances-style sample-driven, slightly-experimental, soul-dusted production, and have a taste for solid, if not spectacular, rapping. Or if you're from Boston.
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