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| If you check the emanonhiphop.com website, it tells you that Aloe Blacc is right where you want him to be. Right now, he's up in my stereo, and what the website says is true; that's pretty much where I'd want him. |
| The beginning of "Get Blacc" is a little confusing because the brass production seems to be either flat or sharp, depending on the note. When Aloe's slow and considered lyrics begin, however, you realise that this wavering
pitch isn't a fault with the EP; in fact it has a meaning beyond simply being unusual instrumentation. Aloe wants to bring music "back to how it was", which comes across as a want to return to the provocative, thought-provoking words of artists like Scott-Heron or the Last Poets. So, what
might initially seem to be a strange spelling of 'black' combined with some curiously off-key music is actually a subversion of both the music and the 'blackness' used by many contemporary Hip Hop artists; Aloe is trying to take it back to a place where "getting black ain't a commodity for mass
appeal". |
| "Real Homeys" shows Aloe's more dependent side: while his backing vocals sing "you can do for self if you want to", the point of the track is that friendship is an essential because standing strong together is the
best way to tackle adversity. If, given the sparseness of the "Real Homeys" production and the warping used on "Get Blacc", there's any doubt about Aloe's ability behind the boards, the
fuller production of "Personal Business" and "Not The One" - using piano and woodwind respectively - successfully allays it. Aloe uses these two tracks to consider the difficulties of
relationships; on the one hand, keeping the personal and business separate and, on the other, struggling to make a sexual relationship work. |
| The humming intro on "Close To Me" just about has you recalling KMD's "Humrush" before it switches up to become a very bare stop-start beat with a touch of bass. Aloe decides to take a break from rapping here, in
favour of testing out his sung vocals, and his lyrics outline his attempts to get with a beautiful woman. While these lyrics certainly pay homage to the finer focus-points of a woman's body, the track is still in keeping with the rest of the EP, as Aloe keeps his lines intelligent and respectful before
the all-too-short track fades out. |
| The simple story of this EP is that Aloe Blacc sets out to "Get Blacc", provides seven tracks proving he's achieved this, and leaves us with the eighth-track assurance that he's also going to "Stay Blacc".
Which is good news. Aloe Blacc is both an intelligent and talented lyricist, and a talented musician. And, for the moment, he's still up in my stereo, and he's probably going to stay there for a while. |
| review: cornerstone |
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