There is a school of thought which suggests hip-hop has stagnated since the early 1990s. Complete nonsense of course but on a commercial basis it is frequently tired, unimaginative and full of sexism, homophobia and self-aggrandisement. S.E.L.F. (a project developed by members of Texan unit Lotus Tribe, it stands for Self Expression Is Living Free) are unlikely to be troubling the Billboard Top 75 any time soon but they have crafted an album of substance, intelligence and tangible sadness, which is aimed to offer a glimmer of hope in a world full of war, disease and dubious politics.
The line of misery is drawn from the outset as a mournful score underpins ‘Closure’. It’s neatly followed by the quickfire raps on ‘Primitive Feedback’, which is itself bolstered by dark piano keys. Comparisons can be drawn between the mid-1990s group Earthling whose choice of sinister filmic samples and on-the-money rapping still excites today. The choice of backing here is similarly imaginative and involving; soulful easy listening for ‘Change’, obscure film dialogue for ‘War Child’, sinister strings for just about everything else, arguably reaching a peak on the woozily hypnotic ‘Lost’ and the tearful ‘Sky High’. The only criticism is that the S.E.L.F. worldview is bereft of the light which it was aiming to achieve but as a listening experience it’s so involving it’s hard not to be drawn in to their malaise.
Myspace site: Lotus Tribe’s Myspace Site
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