Style: hip hop
Primary Emotions/Themes: Nostalgia, chill beats, self empowerment, subdued aggression
Thoughts: I don't have much hip hop in my collection. That which I do have I truly enjoy - I just forget that I have it most of the time. If I'm honest, I wish that I would dabble in this genre more.
My latest reminder comes in the form of Canibus. I got this album on a clearance sale, and holy shit am I glad I got it. The music on this release is pure groovy bliss. Every time the music plays I find myself bobbing my head.
My cardinal sin when it comes to hip hop is that the lyrics don't stick with me. I've seen so many in depth analysis of song after song in this genre, and I'm sure that the lyrics here deserve a deep dive as well. The thing is that I've spent so much time in the metal realm where the lyrics aren't the primary focus. Unfortunately that carries over to other genres as well, including hip hop.
While One Step Closer to Infinity isn't as good as some of the other hip hop records I have, it still warrants a listen from start to finish whenever it hits the turntable - and at a run time close to 90 minutes that is a telling statement (especially from someone who typically enjoys single LP releases).
I'm a huge sucker for music that channels feelings of nostalgia, and Canibus excels at that. Some songs channel 70's string driven disco type music in hip hop format. Other songs feel like they could have been taken directly out of old ninja movies. Yet others are based completely off of the amen beat and all it's permutations. It's a trip down memory lane.
Even listening now I find myself closing my eyes more than once and letting the music watch over me. It's got a powerful grip on me whenever I put it on. I've had to stop writing several times during the course of this summary and simply let the music wash over me. It may not be the best hip hop in my collection, but god damn - this stuff is still excellent.
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