‘The Piece Talks’ is the
debut release from C.R.A.C (pronounced CRASS), the duo consisting
of Ta’Raach and Blu. Recorded over only 7 days, they bring
a leftfield and light-humored funk sensibility to their street-hop
core to create a high-tempo and varied slice of hip-hop. On tracks
such as ‘By Me Lunch’ and ‘Love Don’t’
these bouncy funk sensibilities take to the fore to create a contemporised
take on the summer-time 70’s golden-age sound. The former
track, ’Buy Me Lunch’ is especially catchy with its
high-tempo and recoiling Andre 3000-esque beat over which syrupy
melodies flow and interlocking male/female vocals are scattered.
The spiraling electro-tised melodies that branch out of the funk-laden
‘Love Don’t’ create a real humid and sun-kissed
retro tinge to the ultra-hip beat over which Ta’Raach and
Blu spit their conscious flow.
The duo’s hardcore persona manifests
itself frequently throughout the album on tracks like ‘Major
Way’ with its irate, street-business narrative. On ‘Respect’,
the duo’s verbage is delivered with real conviction over
a warping early-nineties beat to create an early Mobb Deep meets
early Nas soundscape whilst ‘Pop Dem Boys’ sees a
melancholy tinged beat contrast effectively with darker lyrical
content. It is refreshing to find these gangster-edged tracks
littered amongst the breezier and light-humored mass of the album
as it creates a captivating contrast that gives off a real spark
of energy.
Produced by Ta’Raach, the musical
landscape of ‘The Piece Talks’ utilises a contemporised,
early nineties, funk-tinged dynamic and fizzes and pops with sharp,
industrialized percussion and muffled melodics. Comparatively,
they are reminiscent to early Bomb Squad productions complimented
by the ‘left-field’ humor and sensitivity similar
to the work of Prince Paul for De La Soul. Ultimately, with ‘The
Piece Talks’, C.R.A.C have created an album that brings
together a myriad of hip-hop and funk styles from the last 30
years to create an end product that has their stylistic stamp
all over it. (AM)
For
fans of: J-Live meets Gnarls Barkley meets Mobb Deep
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