Brad Strut - Legend: Official (Album)
Kids, the bad news is, I can’t burn you all a copy of this Australian hip hop CD, mainly because 3 times a song a voice says *THIS IS A PROMO, BRAD STRUT, LEGEND: OFFICIAL. LP IN STORES JUNE 9* right over the top of the most interesting parts of the song.It’s really…distracting.
The good news is, I can probably figure out a way to remove that annoying voice so I can distribute it illegally.
Oh, and other good news, this CD is probably worth paying money for anyway. This is the second (I think that’s what sophomore stands for? What’s wrong with second?) release from the Melbourne MC, Brad Strut, and it’s good. It’s good, moody and *THIS IS A REVIEW, CHILDPRODIGY, FOR THE DWARF, 2007*.
Littered all through this album are spooky piano runs, twisted, minor sounding string samples and ghoulish church organs, and it’s all packaged nicely with head nodding beats. The grittiness and spookiness lends some real muscle to this recording and thankfully, it’s consistent muscle, with every track having at least small biceps. To compare it to *THIS IS A REVIEW, CHILDPRODIGY, FOR THE DWARF, 2007*. If I saw this album coming toward me on a train I would avoid eye contact, because it might just kick the crap through me. Hmm, tough.
After track 1 my head was nodding. After track 5 I looked down and I was wearing a black hoodie. And I don’t own a black hoodie. True story. It is that GHOULISH. After track 15, *THIS IS A REVIEW, CHILDPRODIGY, FOR THE DWARF, 2007* but hammers don’t have feelings, so who cares?
Catchy and addictive? Check. Smart lyrics with consistently slick vocal melodies? Check. Standard guest MC’s that are pretty good? Sure. Did I already mention that this album is ghoulish? Check. The only track on the album that kind of breaks the theme is ‘Never Ending Blue’, which compared to its minor sounding companions, is positively dripping with optimism and happiness. It does work too, I guess, but I’m big into the spooky. Like I said, Legend; Official, is a good hip hop album, and whilst not totally reinventing the hip hop wheel, Brad *THIS IS A REVIEW, CHILDPRODIGY, FOR THE DWARF, 2007*.
To quote Brad Strut ‘I’ll get you saying “I fucking love this”; Sure, fair enough. Is Australian hip hop in good hands? I don’t know, or care, honestly, as long as albums like this come out every now and then.
I might even buy it.
