Skitz - Countryman (Countryman - Skitz)

Member Name: richard_keight

Product:	Countryman - Skitz
Date:	23/04/01 (442 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: N/A

Disadvantages: N/A

Hmmm....an album full of Cockneys trying their hardest to sound African...and a production-led one at that, following in the failed footsteps of the monotonous sounds of The Nextmen and The Creators. Is there any hope for this album? Read on to find out...

Although clearly not everyone on this album actually speaks with as much of a Patois dialect as they would perhaps like to make out (especially in the case of Taskforce who, despite being of purely London descent, constantly use the term of address “blud” throughout the song in which they are featured in), all in all things are kept to a substantial degree of reality here. The rich array of UK hiphop features (well-known names appearing including Rodney P., Taskforce, Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and Skinnyman) mean that Countryman avoids falling into the Nextmen/Creators trap of using mostly yank vocals over beats and the insertion of depth of conception in both the ideologies and the layouts of the rhymes far exceeds that of any other production-led UK hiphop album I have come across. From the story-telling skills of Dynamite in “Double Red” to the class issues portrayed in “The Junkyard”, variety of format reigns.

Although perhaps dwelling on the crime/poverty side of things, London working class culture in multi-racial areas such as Brixton and Lewisham are brought across well over the heavy-yet-chilled production executed quite brilliantly by Skitz. The use of summery soul/R&B samples intertwined with raw and sometimes rough-sounding vocals of the featured hiphoppers creates both a laid back street party feel and a delicious contrast.

Also notable here is the extensive use of female MCs...Why???? In my time as an MC/hiphop fan, I have only ever uncovered two decent female rap acts, What What and Nebula Nzarean. Everything else is a poor attempt to indoctrinate male characteristics and view points and apply them to a female position. This album is no exc
eption. I have respect for Skitz for trying to represent both sexes but if he wishes to impress by doing so he needs to scout further underground for some who have a tad more skill.

As well as possessing a larger than average quantity of female MCs, the depth Countryman takes you into the underground is impressive. Most of the more subterranean artists used are not up to the standards of the more established rappers but perhaps my favourite of all the features is Skeleton, appearing in “Fingerprints Of The Gods” with his smooth-yet-rough, slightly creepy style of delivery and his carefully structured, juxtaposing lyrics, e.g. "I'm the tears and the laughter, the birth and the death and whatever thereafter, the kiss on the cheek and the kiss in the crotch, the fingerprints of God and every head get touched."

All in all a good album and best of all hype-free...unlike Tupac who Tox bums the arse off whilst at the same time thinking Dat Nigga Daz is two people called "Dat Nigga" and "Daz" in his tracklisting for the review.

7/10

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