The Void Review of Hope Flies While the Lil’ Jon’s scream and rave over the same fucking beat again and again there are very few good songs that play in between. Ludacris, that’s a funny fucker but lyrically the dude is weak. Kanye whoo, he is the hottest thing in the history of hip-hop, well not really. Lyrically he is talented and deep, his beats are above average but fuck if that guy isn’t the biggest hypocrite on Earth. He raps about being modest and not dripping in jewels but then watch him at an awards show and the bling is distracting from the +$1,000 wardrobe he has on. I never was a huge Jigga fan but I have to say there is a void he left in the East Coast that no one is filling. Sure he was 99% Bentleys and Cristal but that 1% other material was incredible. The West Coast presumed dead after Pac’s murder is back in effect. However artists in the West seem more preoccupied with their beefs than putting out hot albums. The Game a talented man is addicted to distancing himself from 50 Cent while name-dropping just about everyone to ever hold a mic. 50 is a great party MC but an uplifting or jaw-dropping MC he is not. That was the power of 2Pac he could drop your jaw with a battle verse or a sentimental introspective track. I love Eminem, the guy is talented and has the entire package and Dr. Dre producing his albums just ups the ante. Dre owns music right now, he is either affiliated or in business with every single major force in rap and their respective crews. So what happens when you become disillusioned with the world of hip-hop, you can either desert the world entirely or you can go out into the cast unknown and search. You can take your chances downloading from unknown and unsigned artists. I have deserted rap in one way, I went from a hardcore rap fan. In fact my first tape was Run DMC’s “Raising Hell” and didn’t buy a CD from a non-rap group until No doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom”. I was about as hardcore a rap fan as you could find, it was my soundtrack. I wasn’t ready to totally leave the world of rap behind me so I went to the internet and downloaded some tracks of artists I had never heard of. Most unsigned artists are unsigned for a reason, they suck. I’d say 90% of what I have listened to online is garbage. A couple of years ago I promoted a guy named Nutti P who I thought had a talent but I have no clue what has come of him. A former colleague at my former website (Raw Attitude) Respect BA is a hot act over in his native Scotland and the UK. Lyrically he is a workhorse but his accent won’t allow him to breakthrough in America. So my search continued unabated until I saw a link posted on some obscure forum about an entire free album from an unsigned artist. Being the greedy sonofabitch that I am I figured at least I could add one or two more tracks to my iPod for free and legally. I downloaded the album from an artist called “Sun Zoo” and left it there for a couple of days. I forgot about it and went about listening to my old school shit. A couple of days later I unzipped the file and added it to my itunes and just played it in the background while I searched for other music. Slowly the volume was increased and my attention focused more on what I was hearing than my task at hand. The album titled “Hope Flies” is amazing. From top to bottom this guy has it all. It boggles my mind that he isn’t signed to some major label. When you think about homemade rap music you think barely audible, staticky shit with whack lyrics and worse beats but this guy has slick production and deep lyrics. To offer these 11 songs to the public for free is an act of generosity so immense in a world where an artist like Mike Jones can charge $16.99 for the pleasure of just hearing him say his name again and again. I really can’t say too much about an artist that no one has heard of, either you are going to listen or not. My recommendation means a lot in my opinion; I am a lifelong fan of the genre and a pretty fucking good critic of music. Plus I have never talked to this dude in my life, I don’t know him from as they say “Adam”. So if you believe me (and why wouldn’t you) check out his website Sun-Zoo.com. If you just want to hear it for yourself click on “music” and there are a couple of different download methods (all for free). You can also check out his lyrics, bio and a bunch of other shit. If you are really feeling the dude you can even support him by buying a t-shirt or another album, it’s the least you can do he is giving you a free album you cheap bastards. Well enough of being the hype-man, If you are tired of the same old shit from hip-hop I strongly suggest checking out this album. Sun-Zoo “Hope Flies” : 9/10 -Originally published on The Void by Robb. |