But the world only needs one Kanye West. Even that might be stretching it. His imitators range from obnoxious to naueseating for me. 'Ye is a great musician, but flow and lyrics aren't his strong suit, and the last few years of the peak of his success have been poisonous to the fundamentals of young rappers coming up in the game.
That's why it's so refreshing to hear an album that takes from the sound of today's rap without being owned by it. I'm talking about the best rap album of 2010, Big Boi's "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty."
That'll do, Big. That'll do.
This album is JUICY. Big Boi's flow is like a roller coaster, and he toasts each verse, rolling from syllable to syllable and slamming his push lines down like a drill. This album incorporates all kinds of styles (possibly reflecting its long development cycle,) but it has a universal quality that I haven't heard from a new rap album in a couple years. It's bouncy, it pushes back, it invites repeated listens, and rewards the patient listener with complex lyrical structures and meaningful rhymes (most of which aren't completely serious.)
It's a lighthearted summer jam project, perfect for relieving your winter blues. In a world where most rappers can't seem to find enough ideas to fill an album, the tracks on here are almost too full of ideas for their own good. Competing styles, themes and musical flourishes fly over each other, breaking up songs and making them more interesting. Big Boi's style reminds me a lot of Cee-lo Green, which makes sense, since they were both affiliated with the Goodie Mob back in the day.
There's a lot more to say about Sir Lucious Left Foot, but to put a point on it, this album is just plain fresh. If you missed it last year, it's time to jump on the train.
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