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» "Dont Give Up" by
Serengeti And Polyphonic
(Audio 8
Recordings 2007) |
Serengeti &
Polyphonic’s collaborative effort “Dont Give Up” is certainly
a mixed bag of audio diversity. Flitting between down-tempo
avant-garde hip-hop and electronica it’s not going to be for
everyone. However, those who like their music to come straight
from leftfield will adore this piece of nostalgic
existentialism.
Occasionally the mixing
is disorientating – particularly on track seven “Waste of
Time,” but unlike other disorientating records such as the
Flaming Lips’ album “Zaireeka” it leaves you in a state of
relaxation rather than a queasy mess.
One could hardly
describe “Don’t Give It Up” as an accessible album, for a
slightly easier to digest mélange, Mars Volta keyboardist
Isaiah “Ikey” Owens’s Free Moral Agents project is well worth
checking out, with their similarly chilled out electronic
hip-hop.
In crafting
such a striking album, Serengeti and Polyphonic have shown
that there is a softer side to the hip-hop field, a side that
doesn’t revolve exclusively around expensive rides, “hoes” and
Cristal champagne. Furthermore, they put many a boring
hip-hopper to shame with twelve incredibly refreshing tracks,
during a time when literally thousands of artists within the
genre do nothing more than recreate poorer versions of their
predecessors work.
Stand
out title track “Dont Give Up” houses some of Polyphonic’s
best minimalist beats, whilst Serengeti raps the contemplative
sentiments: “My life doesn’t have as many hoes / I’ve moved on
/ Me and my wife have a futon.” Someone ring P. Diddy’s new
secretary, hip-hop just got refined.
B+
-James F.
Leslie
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