Diesel max summertime madness by kool and the gang

(In this sense, Drake is the perfect avatar for rap in the 2010s-only an artist as chameleonic as him could have the wits and business savvy to routinely produce hits throughout such a topsy-turvy era.) There are plenty of reasons for this rapid evolution-the death of blogs and rise of SoundCloud, streaming services replacing CDs and MP3s, all the good and evil that social media wrought-but the end result is a genre constantly in flux, producing thrilling moments that felt simultaneously disconnected from and in conversation with what came before and after. 1 rap song of the decade was Jay-ZвЂ™s вЂњEmpire State of MindвЂќ by the end, artists like Juice WRLD, Post Malone, and XXXTentacion were regularly pumping out chart-toppers with songs and marketing approaches that felt beamed in from a universe where Hov never existed. Contrast that with the 2010s-the first no.

No similar stretch in the genreвЂ™s history produced sea changes so rapidly: The вЂ™90s may have started with RakimвЂ™s lyrical fury and ended with Bad BoyвЂ™s glimmering chart dominance, but as disparate as those artists were, the terms of engagement ultimately remained the same. The wildly divergent threads that make up the cloth of 2010s rap only highlight why itвЂ™s so difficult to grapple with the decade, even nearly two years removed from it. With some of the production ideas already on show, thereвЂ™s a lot of promise for the future.When you think of hip-hop in the 2010s, what springs to mind? Is it the THX maximalism of Lex Luger? Atlanta assuming the mantle as the epicenter of the culture? The lyrical revelations of Kendrick Lamar and his TDE cohorts? The Thanos-level inevitability of Drake? The wounded-soul crooning of Juice WRLD? Joel Culpepper might be an artist that displays his inspirations a bit too transparently but this is often a typical trait of a debut album and artists tend to grow into their own on further releases. In addition, the Outkast reminiscent вЂ Dead BodiesвЂ™В borders on social commentary and features intriguing percussion, a voice-mail message and police siren sounds. The Tom Misch-produced вЂPoetic JusticeвЂ™ features a conversation between Joel and a female friend that gives the album a a genuine south London atmosphere away from the American-heavy touches. вЂ Tears of a CrownвЂ™ has a marching brass lift with humble yet defiant lyrics, the most rewarding track вЂ ReturnвЂ™ features police surveillance speech within the Motown groove. Nonetheless, Sgt Culpepper has tracks with bold production choices and some good emotional lyrics. Some of the poorest attempts include: вЂњon this funky ride, thereвЂ™s a chance we could collideвЂќ on the 1990s R&B vibe вЂ BreakвЂ™ and вЂњa pink lunchbox, says heвЂ™s cold but never wears socksвЂќ on the otherwise respectable neo-soul track вЂBlack BoyвЂ™. Furthermore he has voice that is distinctively high (a pitch that is over-used on some occurrences such as on вЂ KissesвЂ™) that it would be interesting to see him perform. When taking away these tributes, what are we left with? Well Joel Culpepper is an artist with an abundance of impulsive energy that makes one think of him positively as a male version of Janelle Monae. On вЂRememberвЂ™, Joel sings: вЂњsong to the key of your life (acknowledging a Stevie Wonder album), on the brilliant standout track вЂ Thought About You,вЂ™ he honours Shuggie Otis вЂ“ the style of bells used OtisвЂ™ вЂStrawberry Letter 23вЂ™ feature in CulpepperвЂ™s songs вЂ“ and itвЂ™s hard to deny that the way the title is sung on вЂ W.A.RвЂ™ draws similarities to a certain track by Edwin Starr. There are signs that this isnвЂ™t coincidental though, as Joel actually references titles and musicians inside his songs. Yet the tracks themselves also borrow moments from particular songs without actually being samples: the trumpets from Michael JacksonвЂ™s вЂ DonвЂ™t Stop вЂ™til You Get EnoughвЂ™ (вЂ W.A.RвЂ™), the iconic high pitched moment in Kool & The GangвЂ™s вЂSummertime MadnessвЂ™ ( вЂKissesвЂ™), Van McCoyвЂ™s вЂ The HustleвЂ™ (вЂ ReturnвЂ™) and the robotic vocoder of Daft PunkвЂ™ s Harder Better Faster Stronger ( вЂRememberвЂ™). Throughout Sgt Culpepper, Joel adopts the characteristics of other musicians the вЂњhuhsвЂќ of James Brown against a funkalicious backdrop and the falsetto style of Prince, as well as the British-accented talking of Ghostpoet and the hazy vocals of Andre 3000. However, considering that the title of the record is seemingly a nod to a certain Beatles classic ( Sgt Culpepper = Sgt Pepper), perhaps the obvious imitations of classics are deliberate after all. In the case of south Londoner Joel CulpepperвЂ™s debut album, his muses seem to be too apparent, that the tracks often border on pastiche. ItвЂ™s natural for an artist to be influenced by musicians of yesteryear and to mix the sounds of their heroes with their own original take.

Diesel max summertime madness by kool and the gang