Sawyerma

Saul Williams - Saul Williams

Yes I know I know. It’s a hip hop album. But please hear me out
Now this album kind of came along at the right time for me. I was having one of those let’s listen to all your old music that gets occasional dusted down when I’m so thoroughly sick over nearly everything I own or I have downloaded.

It’s on days likes this I go back to some old albums to try and understand the point in my life why they where never out of my CD player. On such a day I got out my entire gangsta rap, my public enemy, ice cube, NWA etc. And it is actually good because it is not that sterile boiled down shite that gets passed off as rap music/hip hop now a day. Its music that actually makes me want to bounce around my house in a Kris Kros type stylings

This triggered the need for me to go out and find a bit more and something more contemporary rather than albums talking about the riots in LA, but still having that element of protest and anger about that seems to be missing from all the Bling music. Many, of my old favourites the dres the cubes have moved as far away from protest music as is physically possible without burning your back catalogue.

I hate aspirational music (I’ve shagged 4,000 be-atchs and have a forty inch meat weapon...yeah come on)not only is it bad musically, but it also reinforces and builds on the Black stereotype that has been thrust upon us by middle America.

So my search for no Bling took me to the NIN concert back in July. Any rap artist who is willing to stand in front of a crowd of baying Goths, rivet heads, a directionally challenged Twilight and a marine biologist. Is going to be a huge bag of wank or fantastic either way he needs to have a lot of balls.

As I said in the review of the gig I thought he was good and nothing like I expected. A bit like Alec ‘VEEEEEEEEEEE RRRRRRRRR GEEEEMAN’ Empire but with a grasp of English language and the ability to write lyrics that make sense

So I get the album…and it is nothing like I expected... it’s actually good.

It has a surprisingly heavy edge such as in the track ‘Telegram’ and ‘black college movement’ it also has remarkably mellow moments which would not be out of place on a Brian Eno album such as ‘Seaweed’ and ‘Notice of Eviction’

It also has tracks you could dance to9yes me dancing doesn’t happen very often) Black Stacey has a fantastic gabba esque beat to it that just makes you want to bounce around the house.

I could go on and on about each individual track on this album, there are all stand out. Because of thing that strikes me about this album is that it is the lyrics that actually make the music, and the beat merely adds to it. It would probably work well as a spoken word piece and the messages would not sound juvenile if merely spoken. In fact many of the lyrics are actually a protest against the very juvenile nature of Hip Hop today, particular telegram and how this ‘slave music’ has lost its way and is pandering to MTV.

It goes to show that you can make urban music that is danceable, thought provoking and engaging without reducing it to the lowest common denominator of ‘Bling