- See all the Ratings
- Add my Rating now
(Om Recordings/EQ)
Fans of the underground rejoice, there are some People Under The Stairs, and their beats and rhymes are as fresh as ever. After the first few bars, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.
The past twelve months has been up and down for fans of underground (read Jay-Z free) Hip Hop. Jurassic 5 released an absolute classic album and Foreign Legion & Ugly Duckling lived up to their reps, however former stars the BEP’s dropped what I would consider a Hip Pop album, leaving many starved of late. Have no fear folks POTS are back, and they have been digging in their crates and concocting rhymes as only they can.
Thes One is a brilliant producer. Coming firmly from the school of sampling he uses what must be the west coasts largest funk & jazz collection to layer unique sounds and loops over what, at times, is just a basic drum beat, and the results speak for themselves. From the comical samples of Take the Fruit, to the wicked instrumentation of LA Story and Fly Love Songs, right through to the basic drums of Drumbox, each track provides the perfect backdrop for both Thes One & Double K to get loose, and get loose they do.
From the opening sounds of Yield, to the tales of life on the road in Road Beaters, where both dissect the misconceptions of limos and groupies and end up with the munchies looking for a late night food spot, through to tales of ladies, Fly Love Songs, it is a class album from the get go.
The second half is no exception either, the wicked remix of OST had me digging for a copy of the original while their tales of LA crafted over possibly the albums best beat, also had my neck snapping with approval. Also included is the all too brief remix of SF Knights, as the beat boxing does nothing to detract from the dope, all be it short, verse. Winding things up are Take the Fruit, a wicked track telling kids to eat ‘fruit instead of sweets’ and to ‘exercise to these big drum beats’, and the dope closer Out Run finishing the album and leaving you wanting more.
I read somewhere that this album is actually made up of the cuts that weren’t included on their previous two long players, and if that is the case it truly shows the class of POTS as I would consider this release in my top 10 Hip Hop albums of the year. If you love your Hip Hop this is for you. Hunt it down, whack it on, then rush out to buy the back catalogue, and trust me you will not be disappointed. And, as they say, always remember to take the fruit!
