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| tracklisting |
| 1. Intro Mentro |
| 2. Gideon |
| 3. Temper The Sword |
| 4. Mechanism |
| 5. Two Shots One Kill |
| 6. 27 |
| 7. Gotchu |
| 8. Womanese |
| 9. When The Music Stop |
| 10. Unorthodox Flipped |
| 11. U.F.L. |
| 12. Life Is A Dice Game |
| 13. The Manuscript |
| 14. Instant Classic |
| 15. Looking At My... |
| 16. Hay Frn |
| 17. Culture Outro |
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| Just a couple of years ago, the Bay Area was a hotbed for exciting rap. Not to argue that the Bay has ceased to get good releases out, much of the glamour has still worn off and moved to other places. What means that it's in (desperate) need of new people, or old people for that matter,
to reclaim their supreme status. Unfortunately, Flight 27 will not be the man. |
| Even though he has enough confidence in himself to stick to himself and not much more. What means that he basically does everything by himself. There are different voices appearing (like on the driven "When The Music Stop"), but it remains unsaid if that's him or
someone else, and you can hardly tell. But him doing everything himself is/would be quite an accomplishment. As the music on this record is thick and sounds hand made. In style Flight 27 is more in the tradition of Paris' funk, than Rasco's boom bap or the Hieroglyphics jazz (with the exception of the
good and jazzy "Temper The Sword"). That makes him sounds like George Clinton on the opener "Intro Mentro" or like Cold 187um (Above The Law) on "Gotchu", "Womanese"
(which includes interesting percussion) or even more so on "Unorthodox Flipped", where Flight sticks to singing. |
| Lyrically this also fits into a Paris niche, as Flight himself is describing the music as intellectual and it's also often political. Along with his 'liquidfunkadelic' (as he calls it) music, it can't deny a strong influence. It's not going as far as plagiarism, but at the same time
staying it stays in close respect of it. A good example for that is "Two Shots One Kill", where the keyboard horns reign supreme over nearly every one, while Flight (plus one) speaks about the need slash fascination slash frustration of money
in verse one. |
| The style often works well, as on "Gideon", where the sound quality is also clear, compared to other songs that sound dump and badly recorded. What's rather unfortunate on a "Life Is A Dice Game", where
the music is clean and the voice is mushed. The keyboards also get a little much on "U.F.L." and the song does not seem to have much progressed since a J.T. The Bigga Figga or a Dru Down first started to come out. That's inevitable reducing the appeal of the record, even though it gives
us a couple of appreciated style flashbacks. And while we're comparing (or drawing connections), the beat on "The Manuscript" sounds like some old The Grouch or Mystic Journeymen song, what gives us more, but different pleasant flashbacks. |
| Even though there's a lot of serious issues discussed on here, Flight also likes to spit from time to time, like on moments on "Instant Classic" or he explains himself on "27". A "Hay Frn" is speaking from the heart again, before
the record ends with a spoken "Culture Outro" that is critical, showing a nice approach to the tired commercial/mainstream criticism, concluding with: 'do you love the culture or the money? Make up your mind.' |
| We're probably judging this with the wrong standard. At least it feels that way. Or we approach this with wrong expectations. After you read this review tough, you must be able to put this in the right perspective. And in that view, moving beyond the disappointing recording quality,
the 'a couple of years old' vibe as well as the sometimes 'wanting to do a little too much' style, you can actually really get to enjoy this record. Despite and because of all what's mentioned. |
| review: tadah |
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