Ian White2010's Best Hip Hop Album:Running on Air Review
December 2nd 2010 21:48
Category: No Category
Running on Air
In my review of “Doo-wops and Hooligans” I mentioned the Bruno Mars debut as potentially being the album of 2010. Well coincidently, searching for a recipient of that crown is how I managed to stumble upon this diamond in the rough. One of the many (many) great things about Who?Mag is that it gives the spotlight to artists that may have been looked over due to style, coherent content, or a lack of major label payola. So I took it a step further. This next album is from a group that isn’t even in this country. They are the Australian hip hop trio known as Bliss N Eso. I found out about their album by chance in a thread on a messageboard about the best albums of the year and a lone poster happened to suggest these guys. Not a soul in the thread had ever heard of them, but despite the group being esoteric in the states, they are veteran stars in Australia. Running on Air to my surprise is the 4th studio album from Bliss N Eso.
The group consists of MC Bliss, MC Eso, and DJ Izm and they have been rapping together in Australia since high school. They were originally called Bliss N Esoterikizm when releasing their debut, “The Arrival” but wisely decided that their band name shouldn’t sound like an incantation. Bliss N Eso have a deluge of tours under their belts, even opening up for 50 cent and Lil Jon during the Get Rich or Die Trying era. They have been a glued to the Aussie charts including their latest album which debuted at number 1 July 30th on the Australian ARIA charts in minutes, knocking off Eminem’s “Recovery.” Their 3rd album “Flying Colours” has been on for 114 weeks. Upon getting Running on Air, the first thing that struck me was the album artwork. It was the best I’d ever seen. The imagery retained the spirit of the title by foreshadowing the abundance of flight references heard throughout the record. With such a positive first impression, I was intrigued to hear how they sounded.
After several listens, I’d describe Bliss N Eso as the Aussie offspring of Fort Minor and Gym Class Heroes. Pseudo avante garde production by Australia’s celebrated sound virtuosos Hattori Hunzo, Phazes and Matik allows Running on Air to “soar” if you’ll pardon the pun. The producer’s seemed to make masterpieces rather than mere instrumentals and certainly seized the attention of those like me that aren’t familiar with their previous work. The lyrics aren’t saturated in complex extended metaphor e.g. Lupe Fiasco, but are cleverly executed and predominately socially conscious mixed with the obligatory self aggrandizing rhetoric about their skills that manages to not be used to the point of making it desultory. The album opens with an atmospheric musical introduction that includes a voice-over from a man waxing poetic about a bird with no legs. It's skippable but not terribly annoying given its 2 minute runtime and impressive score.
The action really kicks off with the next track “Flying through the City.” The quick bass and lively instruments are reminiscent of a jam session with the Roots as Bliss N Eso duel like a tribute to Jadakiss and Styles P. Both deliver dynamic verses like Eso’s:
“I'm a runaway slave on a runaway train / Trying to turn pain to a summer day rave / MuthaF***ers make way cuz i spit like a shotgun / I'm here to stay like b**ch I got top bunk.”
As well as Bliss’: “From the boy who dared to dream to be bigger / The supersonic sunset sight scenery flipper / the stereo slideshow, blaze a bag of good crop / Here we go, my folks wave the flag of Woodstock.”
The back and forth breaks beautifully into a well executed chorus that plays through a sample of Quincy Conserve's “Alright in the City.” This was a perfect way to set the tone for a project aimed at expanding a fanbase. The next track, “Addicted” opens with Eso reciting rags to riches themed bars with nothing but piano as accompaniment only for the beat to switch to a high octane cocktail of samples and hard hitting drums to match Eso’s energetic rants against status quo enforcers and rallying cries for the downtrodden and politically disenfranchised.
The aggressive and insightful lyrics are highlighted by a song stealing verse from Bliss who raps:
“Since a fetus, explored life's subtle secrets
From my fingertips to my unique double helix
I can see history, I can see the past lessons
It's your right never be afraid to ask questions
How can every religion, claim to be the only one
How can they preach love yet fight each other holding guns?”
Running on Air comes off like a work assembled by someone with a chip on their shoulder as the group took no tracks off, which is saying something when considering the 19 song behemoth that holds the listener’s attention for the most part due to a thankful absence of filler, but the length is still noticed. The crew also struck me as having had a lot of fun and possibly plenty of mind altering substances. That would explain some of the abstract musings and the random but welcome skit that consists entirely of a drunk guy telling his friend about how great the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” movie starring Mos Def is and how it was based on books written under the influence LSD. (Seriously go watch this movie if you haven’t)
Content wise the album is largely uplifting, boasting moments of Public Enemy influenced raging against the establishment. Bliss N Eso even manage to reel in some American hip hop heavy weights for features. They snagged the Wu-Tang’s RZA and fellow MC Xzibit, the latter unfortunately famous for his MTV show “Pimp my Ride” that took vehicles too dilapidated to legally even operate and turned them into garish monstrosities full of superfluous gadgets to match each contestant’s favorite hobby. Both compliment the album in large part because of chameleon-like production that was tailor made for their unique styles.
Running on Air has not only opened my eyes to an extremely talented host of MC’s and producers, but an entire countries unique spin on our beloved hip hop. Despite notions to the contrary, the genre lives, you just may have to leave the country to find it.
Final score: 9
Purchase Running on Air here
| 66 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
