A Backdrop Of Beats.
It begins with its era of gloom-hop-glitch. This beat has climaxed new territory, lingering its first set of melodies made to tap its introduction to captivate higher ground. Its instrumental filtration is pure, indicative of local electro icons, but as it rounds up, circulating tempo, it leaves us with newness flushing out the impurities of complex sound and introduces us to the second track.
As the “Rap miasma” follows its stream of lyrical content, where /wrist cutters cut each other quick for the question/, Oh! Dark Arrow has my attention.
I feel like a crowd of like minded muso types have the same wavelength of commentary and pace, and have found an algorithm that functions. I think of the one’s before, during and beside them. The first part of Summer Slow Shit is reminiscent of Dank’s Cooking the Books, infused with egoism, hip hop, made in squelchy old analogue bass to down tempo eclectic rounds of grit, where Bakaman’s mumble jumble edges the beat further by fuelling his dark tones to the matter.
“Three minds” and “Wesley from the Shining” are nostalgic of Disco Izrael’s former projects PHFat and Sedge Warbler. He has managed to keep a consistency in innovation each time he presents a new sub group. Leading the way with city beats, its impact is offbeat, unusual, and willing to go against the trend.
“36” presents Push Push, aka Nicci St Bruce. The web presents her as one of Cape Town’s finest scene (seen) girls to cross over from girly to guy’s girl overnight. One moment I was watching her twerk on Youtube and the next she is rapping them tracks. I can’t pretend its attractive qualities had me initially, but she has definitely grown on me. I generally find women in local hip hop quite phoney, but she has managed to reel me in- with her spoken songstress word and a flow of lyrics that work so well, the backdrop of beats holds her words as if made for them.
“Here be dragons” literally sucked me in by its cool. It spoke to me on a universal level, not limited to a city, scene or memory.
And then, an unexpected western guitar riff plays out its line, echoing its content through its verses in “Basic Azure”. White skin, black fingers/ till my cuticles burn/ Learn Hebrew in a week/ so you can think in reverse. Just when I think it has made its impression of me, this album manages to move from one element to another, almost as if shaped like a trigonometry sum, identified by its relationship with its angles of geometry. Summer slow shit is made up of layers, where words have become another tool, not so lyricism is an additional element, but rather its core.
