Best. Number 39. NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY “AS WE ENTER”
Here is a good hip hop track that has a few more roots in the old skool style of rap production than your typical noughties/teenies fair. It doesn’t take on boring repetitious hip hop mainstays such as obvious samples of well known tracks (ala Mr. K. West) or limp R&B femme fronted chorus vocals (ala Jay-Z et al.). Instead, it focuses on the palpable lyrical talents and rhymes of Nas and Marley, two of the best rappers on the US scene generally in my opinion, whose very different vocal styles works really well together in this track. Nas and Marley’s general presentation throughout is competent and strong, but they seem to also convey an enjoyment, and dare I say it a subtle, wry humour in their work which is so rare in the ultra serious tough guy business of being a modern day rap star. The backing track is good too; subtle and mellow, with a nicely obscure and subtle trumpet lick sample by Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke. Nicely understated, this track is a bit out of the loop with pop-hop that consumes the charts, and does a lot better for it, both aurally and ideologically.
Worst. Number 16. PRETTY RECKLESS “MAKE ME WANNA DIE”
Yawn. Pretty Reckless present us here with more boring, formulaic, and tiresomely melodramatic female fronted emo rock, atypically produced in a fashion that takes itself incredibly seriously. This track would fit in perfectly with any kind of Twilight soundtrack, with its humourless, stereotypical, surly attitudes, both lyrically, visually and musically. I’m not sure if Pretty Reckless think this track is edgy, rocking, hard-core stuff, but it really fucking isn’t. Its music for melodramatic teenage girls, who pretend to cut themselves ‘cause their parents just don’t understand them, yeah?’ Oh, and I obviously didn’t get the email that literal panda eyes, over-sized black leather jackets, suspenders and a curled lip was still a really sexy, edge, modern look. I really need to sort myself out.
