Right, I've been waiting for this thread. Hymie's Basement - 21st Century Pop Song Why? - Bitter Thoughts These are both the bands of Yoni Wolf, the lead singer. He described it as "a thinking man’s melodic hip hop record.", but I prefer to think of it as a set of albums based on confessions in a church. It's definitely pleasing to listen to, but it's also a little disquieting, and I like that in a record. Scrimshire - Convergent I went to see Zoe Keating in concert in London and Scrimshire were supporting. Their tracks are free on their website and their female vocalist (Who I confess I can't remember the name of) had such a stunning voice that she didn't really need the microphone to be heard throughout the entire building. Eyedea & Abilities - Smile Eyedea is simply an amazing rapper. His freestyles are solid and don't feel prepared, his written music is witty and technically proficient.
I love Yoni Wolf, but he's one of those guys that I would never try to turn anyone onto. Lyrics like "All American male product shelf life agony. Masturbate your birthday party. If you're lonely get a labotomy" aren't exactly digestible to most people. But I'm totally into it.
You mean "Sucking dick for drink tickets/ at the free bar at your cousin's bat mitzvah/" or a song about stalking a girl on your fixie isn't what everyone listens to on the way home? I agree. I would feel slightly odd trying to get some of my friends into his music, but I like the realism. It's like the weird kid who masturbated at the back of science class grew up, became more verbose, and wrote an album about his life. I don't know if I'd want to hang out with him but I don't think I can stop listening.