Behind the times

I'm out of it. When I wrote the following, a couple months ago, it was already half a year late. Now it's later, and I'm not so addicted as I was. Oh well, I guess I'll never be the answer to Tower of Power's question: "What is hip?"

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The most addictive music I've heard in a while is The Streets, "A Grand Don't Come For Free". The Streets is a British rapper with an unusual flow and stripped-down beats. With his incredibly everyday lyrics, he's what Hank Williams, Sr might have been had he grown up an urban lout in today's England. Except unlike Hank's lyrics, where he seemed always to be catching a bad break, The Streets' troubles are mainly of his own doing. Maybe he's got at bit of Johnny Cash in him. Or maybe he's some sort of Elseworld Beastie Boy who lost the juvenile lyrics of "Licensed To Ill" without adopting the thicker production of their later work. The tracks on "AGDCFF" form a single story. It may not be "The Wall" or "2112" for grandeur - it doesn't presume to tell a psychodrama or of global revolution - but it's more tightly-constructed than either. You can hear almost the whole thing online, but be forewarned: he drops plenty of f-bombs, it's not exactly uplifting, the first track is not the catchiest, and you'll definitely need all your UK slang knowledge.

But if nothing else, it's novel to hear the only album I can think of with a rapper who doesn't rap about being a rapper.