Jigsaw

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:04:00 +0000

They say you can’t live up to a stellar debut record, and this may be true. Lady Sovereign is known as Britain’s white girl grime emcee prodigy, brought to American audiences via the marketing machine that is Jay-Z and compared repeatedly to Eminem. I was into the Lady’s initial defensive stand with singles like “Love Me or Hate Me,” but Jigsaw contains far too little of her infectious rapping, far too many jokey words like “fothermucker” that failed to make me laugh, and repetitive choruses that don’t really say anything at all. The title track is a perfect example of Lady Sov’s limited rapping on this record. “Jigsaw” relies heavily on the pseudo-pop line, “My heart is like a jigsaw puzzle/Pick it up and fix it for me,” which is quite a striking departure from her previously themes of self-empowerment and misanthropy. Couple this abrupt shift with AutoTune-like synthesized melodies, and you don’t have a recipe for follow-up success.

“Let’s Be Mates” can be interpreted as either a romantic ode to weirdo love or an invitation to freak friendship. Despite running around with Brits (the UK kind, not pop starlets with a variation of my name) who say things like “bin” instead of “trashcan,” I had a rough time deciding whether “mate” meant to pal around or procreate. Thankfully, Sov announced her single status mid-song, signaling her desire to get together—you know, together together.

Young folks have so much promise that I want to resist hating. For every fabulous sample—like The Cure’s “Close To Me” rip-off “So Human”—there was an equally plodding track. I like her defiant attitude against university in “Student Union,” but didn’t find “Food Play” and its coupling of edibles and sex all that appealing. In the end, I was turned off and tired. Maybe I’ve just gotten too old to be down with Britian’s “big midget.”

Written by: Brittany Shoot, August 5th 2009

Moments in Movement

admin — Mon, 14 May 2007 17:50:00 +0000

By Macromantics

Kill Rock Stars

Formerly Romy Hoffman, Australian rapper Macromantics has released a debut hip-hop album that will keep her listeners guessing from track to track. After discovering hip-hop on a 1995 American tour with her pop punk band Noise Addict, Miss Macro spent the next few years fine-tuning her solid rhymes and traditional beats. It’s when she veers from the traditional path, however, that the album is at its best. From the time-honored intro touting her abilities as an emcee to "Locksmith," on which she and Sage Francis intersperse rap with a collection of robotic-sounding voice recordings, to the ethereal "Love Thyself," Miss Macro keeps each tune fresh and unique.

The album’s overall feel is dark and eerie, keeping in step with the grimier hip-hop coming out of many parts of the world, most notably England. Pop culture fans will particularly appreciate the references that weave their way through the album; some obvious, some inferred. Name drops include Susan Faludi and Corey Haim, to name a few, and "Apple Crumble" is so infused with a nostalgic roller rink sound that it would tempt any listener to strap on a pair of roller skates.

Written by: Becky Ramsey, May 14th 2007