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After watching the youngest generation of emcees spend 2007 topping the charts with an ode to ejaculation and acting like entitled brats, it's been difficult for me to remain excited about the long-term future of hip hop. My faith in the next wave of artists was recently bolstered, however, after Scanz, a 19 year old rapper/producer out of Philly, hooked me up with a copy of Prelude to a Legacy. The album is his debut as part of the Rawkus 50, and it's the best offering I've heard so far from the label's new roster.
The album is a throwback, in the best sense of the word, to the kind of boom bap rap that undoubtedly consigned me to a future date with a hearing aide after spending the majority of the 90's lost in my headphones. There's a familiarity to the album, as if Scanz has picked up where artists like Diamond D and the Duck Down camp left off. Admittedly, there are a couple of songs on here that fall a little flat, as if they were thrown in just to push the track count up to twelve. Most of Prelude, however, is loaded with the kind of beats that will have your speakers knocking, reminiscent of the sound Rawkus was known for in the previous millennium. And when Scanz starts rapping over one of those beats, he lays down what can only be described as a verbal assault. When he's at his best - including the two songs below - Scanz is good enough to convince me that the future of hip hop might just be left in some good hands after all.
Scanz - Don't Front
Scanz - I Can Teach Ya
Scanz was kind enough to provide a link to the full album download, so you've got no excuse to check it out. Here's the link (zShare). For a full review of the album, stop by Rock The Dub.
Zilla tells me that he and Nico are about to drop a new single with Scanz, so keep an eye out for that sometime later this month. Scanz has also been working as the producer for Channel Live's upcoming album, due out later this year.
And to wrap this all up, here's one more track from Scanz:
Scanz and Channel Live's Hakim - Tony Touch Freestyle (direct link to mp3)
1/09/2007 08:00:01 PM posted by Fresh