| TOMMY ILL - Tommy Ill [self-titled] |
| Written by Michael McClelland | ||
| Monday, 13 September 2010 01:50 | ||
“Savage, where the corporates at?” There’s a curious approach about Tommy Ill's raps. By being self-aware and self-deprecating, he’s jumping the gun of the critics and pre-empting the backlash. It’s an intelligent move because it means no-one can get to a point of argument before he can. To top it off, he’s funny about it too. So not only can you not criticise him before he himself does, you won’t even want to. “We put out Matchsticks just as a red herring...” With an attitude like this, you have to wonder if he even cares what people think of his music. What a bad-ass. He’s not just all about the lyrics though – he evokes a great sense of nostalgia with his usage of dated samples (probably expired copyrights and public domain if he’s learned his lesson from the 'Matchsticks' EP) which sound like old 60's chart hits or TV themes. With an interesting blend of soul and funk, it’s a unique spin on the way hip-hop is done. Mr. Ill’s call-back to the past un-sticks us from the realm of the present where rap is as much part of our lives as music is. We’re taken to a grey area in time where the lines of chronology are blurred. Even though I’m not entirely sure if I’ve even heard any of these samples, there’s an overbearing sense of familiarity that will have you wondering where you know them from anyway. Forget familiarity though - what’s rap really about? The beats, that’s what. Ill is helped out by his buddies Buck Beauchamp (of Holiday With Friends) and Kelvin Neal (47 Diamantes) to lay down some pumping rhythm that is indisputably danceable on all fronts. It doesn’t take a lot of work to get into, either – for those of us who aren’t so accustomed to hip-hop, the lyrics are all relatable enough to understand and coherent enough to make out. In fact, beyond relatable and danceable, it’s just damn listenable. Every track (even the sombre 'Matchsticks') has a catchy chorus and there’s at least one lyric in every song that will make you laugh out loud. “I’ve got a lot of drinking - I mean, a lot of rap to do...” Tommy Ill is in it for the LOL's too, it seems, as about 90% of his debut is upbeat enough to be a fun time. This may not be mainstream hip-hop, but somehow it manages to be even more accessible than a lot of the stuff I’ve heard on the radio. Even though Ill is more associated with the Wellington indie crowd and does gigs with the likes of Grayson Gilmour and So So Modern, he’s perfectly happy to isolate himself into a corner of his own. After all, he is doing hip-hop the way he does best, which is the way that suits him. “Listening to HEALTH just to stay relevant, listening to Sleigh Bells just to stay relevant, listening to Best Coast just to stay relevant... listening to Tommy Ill just for the hell of it...” Your friends will dig it too – it’s one of those albums that would go down very well at a party. At just under 34 minutes long, it doesn’t drag too much either. Seriously though, if the only thing stopping you from checking out this album is your distaste for a whole genre of music without exception, my opinion is that you should give up the beef and listen to Tommy Ill... if just for the hell of it. “I’ve got two vices – co-dependency and rap...” MUST-LISTEN: ‘Come Home Mr. Ill’, ‘Robot (featuring a robot)’, ‘Susan’, ‘Best Damn Evening’, ‘Matchsticks’. ILL-O-METER: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 + 1/2 [ out of 10 ] YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: A Tribe Called Quest, the Beastie Boys... and being self-referential. THIS COULD HAVE WON US OVER MORE, IF... Tom had gone to more of an effort to rework the EP songs he included on the album. WATCH: Tommy Ill on Red Bull Live Sessions with 47 Diamantes: |
