It's not too often I get a chance to spotlight a group from the West Coast, so when Damaged Goods, a four man crew out of Sacramento, sent me their debut album, I was eager to check it out. The group emerged from the Sactown graffiti crew TBK (according to their bio, one of the members spent a year in jail and was fined $40,000 after getting caught putting up what I can only imagine was a monumental tag), and a fair amount of their songs will certainly appeal to graffheads.
There's more to the group than just graffiti, though, and I was surprised by just how personal some of the lyrics were on the album, Beyond Repair. Addiction and dysfunctional families are just a couple of the topics that get covered on some of the more emotional tracks. As producer Cynic describes it, "It’s not glamorous like, ‘Oh, we’re out here ballin’, spending money, we’re shootin’ people, we’re pushin' major weight’ . That shit’s tired, nobody wants to hear superhero rap anymore."
There are a few joints for the club included on the album as well, providing a nice break from the introspective cuts. Perhaps the best of the uptempo tracks is an ode of sorts to the 8-bit NES classic Contra. The hook on the song is somewhat questionable; as Zilla said after I asked him for his thoughts on it, "it's too gimmicky to be taken seriously by us cats who treated Contra as the bible back in the NES days." Get past the hook, though, and there's a dope track behind it:
The member of the crew that I found most intriguing was the lone female MC, Lacy J (Cynic's sister). She started out emceeing on Drum N Bass and Jungle tracks, and upon initial listening her flow would seem to be better suited for those types of beats. After listening to one of her solo tracks on the album, Goodbye Sober Day, my opinion of her changed completely. Offering up a stark view of a life overshadowed by addiction to alcohol, Lacy provides the standout track on Beyond Repair. It's intimate, it's awkward, it's extremely personal, and it's unlike any hip hop track I've heard in a long time. Admittedly, her delivery on the mic takes some getting used to; she initially reminded me of G-Child. Lacy's flow is considerably more nuanced, however.
There are a few tracks on this album where Cynic relies too heavily on the synths, songs that are clearly not geared toward east coast hip hop heads, but overall the production on Beyond Repair is solid. The beats are more expiremental than what you'll hear on most indie hip hop records, a few even veering into emo territory, but there are some really good tracks on here, and I'll be keeping an eye on this group in the future. Beyond Repair isn't for everyone - East Coast purists may want to look elsewhere - but there's a lot to like on the album.
You can preview the entire album (and purchase it!) over at CD Baby.
1/15/2007 09:00:01 PM posted by Fresh
Comments:
this album is actually pretty cool. caught me by surprise for sure. check it out if you got an open mind about what hip hop can be.
1/16/2008 1:14:30 AM posted by LV FIYAH
yo brahz i just went check out da myspace, dat song lions den is MEANEST guitars is cherry! shoots!
1/16/2008 1:21:23 AM posted by Charles
shit is straight from the heart, very impressive, need more cats like this in the hip hop scene
1/16/2008 1:30:46 AM posted by brandon juan
The first song (other than that Contra cheat code) is dope, I like that one a lot. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about that second song...I think the main thing holding it back is that she has almost no emotion in her delivery. But it's an interesting song, not the type of content you usually hear in hip hop.
1/16/2008 6:53:36 AM posted by Will I Am
@Will and Mally: You're both right on that. I'm willing to overlook a lot of shortcomings in an emcee if what they're spitting is from the heart. Like that Doctor's Advocate track on The Game's second album - it was the most interesting song on the album to me because it was so honest, even if his delivery on it was sloppy (due to being drunk or whatever).
1/16/2008 3:41:02 PM posted by fresh
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