Sy ShacklefordTo begin on a related note, I recently saw a clip of comedian Aries Spears giving both blunt commentary on and an impression of British rappers. While I admit that it was funny, I also think he was turning them into a monolithic group. To an outsider with little to no exposure to UK hip-hop, to treat them as such is both understandable and ignorant. This is partly a reason why there’s a divide between international and American hip-hop. But British producer/DJ Sam Seed has brought forth a remedy with his EP “The Unaligned, Vol. 1”. With eight tracks comes a concept: Unifying like-minded American and British rap artists. Largely consisting of underground rappers from both sides of the western hemisphere, the only artist featured who can even be considered mainstream is the Ghostface Killah. On paper, the juxtaposed features look interesting. But show & prove? On to the music, then.
Starting off with “Live From The Road”, the sounds of ominous horn samples give way to a synth backdrop that’s even more ominous. Kool Keith and Blade give their experiences being on tour and this is probably the one verse from the former that actually makes sense, lacking his usual non-sequiturs. Blade gives a more detailed account, with crooked promoters being a particular pet peeve of his. There’s a fatalistic attitude in the air on “Digging My Grave” with verses from Ill Bill and Yorkshire emcee Eskar while DJ Bnutz does the cuts on the outro with KRS-ONE and “Die Hard” vocal samples to accentuate the track’s sonic atmosphere. Next up is “Whole New Chapter” featuring Kurious and OnlyOneOnlySon. Though the drum snares sound somewhat subdued, this is straight boom-bap and the delivery of both men (Kurious Jorge’s gravelly voice and OOOS’s ferocity) matches the music.
West London rapper ill Sykes gets the award for best verse of the three emcees on “Freedom or Death”, also featuring Brooklyn’s own Ruste Juxx and Goretex. Seed’s drums go hard on this track and he layers it with multi-tracked vocals in several parts. “Wu Who?” has a playful beat, almost as though it was sampled from a video game score (no pun intended). Ghostface Killah brings his recognizable delivery and dense street slang to the beginning, Grime rapper bood brings pop culture-referencing internal rhymes, and Montener the Menace lives up to his name, wreaking havoc on opponents with menacing shenanigans that’d make Dennis blush. “Drive You Insane” is built from a melancholic folk sample, allowing Farma G., Hypnopottamus, and Cymarshall Law to exorcise their inner demons via rhymes.
“False Narrative” and “Microphone On Fire” are the EP’s closing tracks. On the first, Goretex makes his second appearance, rapping alongside Nottingham rapper Scorzayzee, who begins the track and manages to use the same rhyme scheme throughout most of his verse. Goretex rhymes with the high-pitched urgency of Ghostface over this piano-driven production. For the closing track, A-F-R-O goes first and any time he does, he sets the tone for the track and makes it hard to top him. Dead Residents member Junior Disprol holds his own on the mic, but A-F-R-O’s verse stands out when the smoke is cleared. The intentional irony of titling this album “Unaligned” reminded me of the 1993 “Judgment Night” soundtrack, where every track featured a hip-hop/rock collaboration from artists of both genres. “The Unaligned, Vol. 1” may not be groundbreaking, but it is a statement that US and UK rap artists should collaborate more frequently.