Love the Eighties

I have waxed lyrical before about my respect for Little Brother, both in their days when 9th Wonder was an integral part of the group’s sound, but also in the times since. Recent release “Get Back” is a solid offering, and proves, as if there was any doubt, that Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte remain two of the most under-rated and yet talented MC’s out there. And Phonte particularly is an artist who interests me the more and more I see and hear him. And one of the reasons for this is the fact that while he recognises and respects the traditions and skills of his first love * those of the hip-hop emcee * he also refuses to be bound by them.

Anyone who has seen LB live, or even listened to their music at all, will know that they have a great sense of humour, and ability to lovingly parody their own genre without feeling threatened by such an approach, itself a refreshing attitude in a sea of beefed-up testosterone where having respect and keeping face is paramount. And yet, LB wear their hearts and their insecurities on their sleeves. They’re not the only ones, and rap does have a tradition of parody of sorts (Black Sheep’s “U Mean I’m Not” as a prime example of it done well), but LB do keep things interesting.

Phonte’s own musical diversity and ability to gently poke fun at himself above all others is clear from within the LB canon, particularly his pseudonym Percy Miracles, one of the most genius inventions of recent years. His collaborative work, most notably with Nikolay as Foreign Exchange, is also a sign of his desire to innovate and push boundaries. But his Phontigallo moniker is also a route to exploration and experimentation, and the current project sees him team up with another talented riser, producer and mulit-instrumentalist, Zo! (exclamation mark included). Zo!

Has been around for some time, and his desk work features on LB’s “Get Back” as well as across numerous others such as Slum Village, Foreign Exchange and Spacek to name a few. His beats are a mellow, dreamy electronica in the main, and well worthy of checking out for their own merits. But the collaboration with Phontigallo that has me salivating is the real point of this posting. “Zo! And Tigallo Love the 80s” is the name, and if the three tracks available already are anything to go by, this will push hip-hop into areas it never even knew it wanted to go.

I don’t even know if an album of covers of classic 80s songs by two hip-hop schooled dudes even counts as hip-hop any more. But again, that is the point because as stated above, it is typical of Phonte in particular to try new things out and damn the consequences. Whether other people think it is a wack direction makes no difference, and this is why his integrity remains so solid, and why I admire him so. Because, make no mistake, a rapper singing over lush electronic versions of 80s classics is not your everyday fare.

And yet, to me, it works brilliantly. The three tunes I have heard are themselves worthy of note for various reasons. Norwegian power-poppers A-Ha and their seminal tune “Take On Me”. Massive. Toto’s “Africa”. Immense. And the final piece of inspiration? Joe Jackson’s “Steppin’ Out”, itself a tune of greatness that deserves to be reprised, cover version or not. If this sounds like a nightmare to you then fair enough, leave it be. But if you have a sense of fun and exploration give it a go. They say parody works best when you truly love the subject under scrutiny. Judged by these standards, Zo! And Tigallo really do love the 80s.