By Odeisel

Music, more than any other work of passion, is all about feeling.  It was never supposed to be disposable. In the digital age, the music has become ephemeral. You get it two weeks before it comes out. There is no booklet.  You barely know the names of the songs anymore. “That track with T-pain on the hook is fire!”

I was numb to the music.  I cover it daily. I interview the people that make it, the people who push it, and the people who (when I get lucky) live it. I get hundreds of albums a month, some of which are serviceable, most of which are overhyped, and all of which are digital.  If it’s dope, I’ll buy it after the hype dies down, but I’m rarely in a rush. To paraphrase the Righteous Brothers, it has lost that lovin’ feeling.

And then I heard Brooklynati. This album probably will not change enough in the music or the culture to have been revolutionary and while it does stand on some truly great shoulders, it isn’t necessarily evolutionary either.  But it is, for my money, a truly expansive and rich ride of Hip-Hop music.

The album’s first song, “On Our Way,” begins and ends with samples from the Native Tongues. It’s entirely appropriate, in that Tanya Morgan does have that spirit in their music. A bit more urban and quite a bit less bohemian, but that musical feel is there. It’s the perfect tempo for an opening song. It sets the pace and allows for variation.

Brooklynati is richly layered, as is easily evidenced by songs like the brilliantly-arranged “Alleyeneed.”  The way they bring in the horns is flat-out ill. Then they remove the guitars at differing intervals for a minimalist drum, ceding the spotlight to the lyricist, giving every part of the song attention.

The album is flawlessly sequenced, enhancing both the rhythm and the pace of this work. Speed changes are never stark or uneven but always noticeable. “So Damn Down” features a change in the group’s delivery and flow.  The beat is rich and soulful without sounding overly sampled and derivative. The song’s broken up, breathy flow and scat-like like chorus are in contrast to the usual smooth feel of most of the album and the beat changes at different intervals so you never actually get bored with the music.

Lyrics like “I used to get paid by the weeks/ I never got paid by the streets, now I get paid by the beats that’s a fancy way to say I’m broke as hell…,” provide not only a realness, but a rationalization of the business aspect of this industry that is both refreshing and reassuring; enough integrity to be art, enough intelligence to be commerce.

By contrast, “Don’t U Holla” slows it down. On this multi-layered track, you can hear the bongos and flutes and the kick drum. The subject matter of fickle fans, label politics and shady promoters make you wonder why they rap at all. Their admission that nobody raps for free is refreshing. You get tired of hearing the for the love argument, when there is a business component that artists seem to ignore.

Brooklynati is peppered with solid guest appearances, none of whom are famous emcees and none of which sound forced or unnatural in any way. Aiding in the pace are well-timed interludes designed to give you the feel of being in Brooklynati, including radio commercials featuring a few nods to the late great J Dilla (YANCY Park).

Lyrics are not overwhelmingly brilliant, but they are very credible. The delivery is in tune with the music and Brooklynati strikes the perfect balance. The different voices of the group and guests compensate for occasional vocal flatness and a similarity in tone to rappers like Phonte and Mos Def.

Feeding that average; feeding that silent majority seems to be the general aim of this album and in my opinion it succeeds with aplomb. Tanya Morgan’s openness is something that is surely missing in a landscape presently populated by a wide spectrum of hyper-masculine, dystopian fairy tales and juvenile dance music.

This album is for the silent majority of Hip-Hop fans who decry radio hypnotism and can’t seem to find albums they can listen to with their children. If you are holding on and trying not to fall out of love with Hip-Hop and you’re tired of listening to your 90s collection to pass the time, this is the album for you. We’re lucky that this album isn’t on a major. We would have been numbed by hyperbole, turned off by the hype, and we would have downloaded and discarded it. Do yourself a favor. For old time’s sake, buy the actual CD, curse the wrapping and the extra sticker. Put it in and press play. Hopefully you’ll enjoy your trip to Brooklynati as much as I did.

out of 5

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