As the hip hop game is slowly becoming bloated with weak ass music, it's was nice to find a beautiful blend of lyrics with simple, but for the most part catchy, beats. Abstract Tribe Unique put forth an underground album that will exercise your thynk tank to the extreme. Definitely an album where lyrics go deeper than the pure essence that mainstream influence has made the game. It seems as though most new mainstream hip hop albums are centered around a catchy beat. Very few artists can tell a story like Biggie Smalls could, but Abstract Tribe Unique compete, they're just missing Biggie's Notorious voice. They ought to be getting mad recognition out their label base in San Francisco.
"Showgun" and "L.A. Styles Back" are great songs that are sure to make you wanna listen again and again. Some great stories can be found on "They Ride", "No Regrets", and "Them That's Got". Instead of describing my favorite songs, I'm gonna throw some of my favorite lines from the album. There are definitely a few for my quote's list! "You'll have no regrets, as long as you use your head. The one that's on your neck and not the one that's in between your legs." from "No Regrets". "A chain is only as long as its weakest link." from "Through These Streets". "When I did what she liked, I was her son. When I didn't do it right, I was his bum." from "Them That's Got" - a story about a mother singly raising her son without his father ever showing his face. A.T.U. even give props to some of gangsta rap's most notorious artists on "L.A. Styles Back" with the line: "give up to entrepreneurs like Master P, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre..."
If you're sick of mainstream rap and its incoherent, make them rhyme lyrics, then this album will be a truly impressive departure from mainstream's blandness. If you are a lover of artists who can rap stories, which I am, then check this album out. If not, listen to the lyrics and you'll be hooked. You can peep more about Abstract Tribe Unique at the label's site at www.oceanfloorrecords.com
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