I'll admit it, I've been a little disenchanted with Hip-Hop for a few months now. Ever since I went to Bamboozle and heard rapper after rapper spew nothing but profanity and ego-bloated similes across the park from the only stage dedicated to Hip-Hop, I've worried that the music has gotten lost. As the older examples lead increasingly garish dark twisted fantasy lifestyles and younger artists skip personal development to follow their tracks, it sounds like the heart of the art form is shrinking. The enlightenment lessens. Those that disturb do so unconsciously, and not many are reaching or searching or daring. I've been longing to hear something real, not a boastful success at mimesis or over-inflated shock track. As a performer, this frustration has become a new theme in my music, but as an avid-listener it's put me on the hunt. Always keep hope alive.
Occasionally, I'm rewarded. Last week in came in the form of Neon Signs by Mr. J Medeiros. Today, via a recommendation from a friend, I found the NYC/London collective The Love in Us.
The group is a "collective of young individuals" who use art as a form of expression and love as the inspiration. In their own words:
"We aren't to be confused with any lame/loser/hippie/false revolutionaries, we just love to create."
To that we at Profound Co. say "Here, here!" The latest theloveinus project comes from its creator and founder Erick Arc Elliot. His latest album Almost Remembered dropped this summer and its exactly the real sound necessary to keep Hip-Hop alive.
Erick, a Brooklyn native, is not skimpy or irresponsible in his lyricism. His flow contains determined passion, similar to the earnest sound you hear when J. Cole first enters your headphones. But Arc Elliot, a long time producer, also understands the importance of a good beat beyond its aesthetics. Therefore, he makes his own. As he's also a graphic and web designer, the whole album is pretty much DIY. There may not be a more satisfying feeling for an artist then to be involved in every aspect of a project. The wholesomeness of Almost Remembered is equally satisfying for a listener.
The album is a 20 track blend of multi-genre synthetic and electronic sounds, and includes two enticing tracks that feature indie electro-ambient bands Hellacopter City and Glasser respectively. Yet these are cushioned by smooth songs that utilize staple hip-hop beats and jazzy R&B grooves. It's hard to fit a lot of different sounds in twenty tracks without being either repetitive or in-cohesive, but on any track if Arc Elliot's flow and/or the vocals provided by Kaya fall short the sonically dynamic beats carry the listener on to the next without disappointment. Think of Frank Ocean's Nostalgia without the choppy distraction of too many obvious samples. From the honest introduction of "Pimptroduction" to the comic and heartfelt "in memory of" closer "Uncle Bernard", Almost Remembered is an earnest trip through the heart and soul of a true artist, creator, and human being.
You can listen to the album here and be sure to keep up with A Love in Us.
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