Fast Crew Set The Record Straight With Their Debut (HHAW5 W/O)
Written: May 22 '05 (Updated May 22 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Unique New Zealand Hip Hop. Under Pressure is stunning
Cons: Yet to break international markets. Falls into usual hip hop traps
The Bottom Line: Walk the Suburbia Streets with New Zealand’s own Fast Crew.
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| dbcint's Full Review: Set The Record Straight - Fast Crew Movies |
You’re listening to Dean on Velocity 88.1, Dunedin’s only hip hop station
Being a radio announcer on an all hip hop station has given me a new appreciation for the genre. It’s not often I get a lot of time to just sit back and listen to the music – I’m normally preparing my next voicebreak – but when you hear hip hop songs back to back on a constant basis, you’ve got no choice but to let it grow on you.
It’s not that I wasn’t a fan of hip hop beforehand, but too much of it all sounded similar and unless you were a really big name like Eminem, you didn’t get that much radio coverage. Things have changed over the last year. These days, the vast majority of New Zealand bands you hear on the radio are either rock or hip hop, and if they’re hip hop, chances are they’re New Zealand artists.
I’ve recently discovered the return of Madtheory’s hip hop appreciation week, and since it coincides with New Zealand Music Month, I’m reviewing my favourite New Zealand hip hop album, the Fast Crew debut ”Set The Record Straight”.
Fast Crew had a minor radio hit in 2002 with a song called Mr. Radio. It was popular, but it wasn’t big enough to get them off the ground. That honour went to their breakthrough smash, I Got. It’s an infectious rap tune with a great bass and beat behind it. Kid Deft’s lyrics are almost impossible to keep up with, and yet somehow, it works and the song is better off for it. I Got eventually went on to be one of the biggest songs of 2004.
Ask your average New Zealander the name of Fast Crew’s debut single and chances are they’ll reply “I Got”. It’s only the hardcore fan who remembers Mr. Radio, and it’s a shame it wasn’t included on the album. The album’s closing track is called Mr. Radio Part II, and it’s a distant cousin of the original song. It’s a ballad that does a brilliant job of showcasing the way all of Fast Crew’s five members work together.
Kid Deft, Jerome Fortune and Diablo are Fast Crew’s MC’s, and with the addition of DJ Alious and vocalist Rebecca (AKA Berecca or Bex), they make a damn good team together. However, there’s also a few tracks on the album where they do some solo work. Bex’s ballad Under Pressure is an amazing example of this. It’s the kind of song that proves Bex could be talented soul / r&b singer should she ever pursue a solo career. The closest comparison I could make here regarding her voice would be a white Tina Turner, updated for the 21st century. Maybe Michelle Branch with a bit more oomph. Under Pressure features nothing but Bex’s voice and the backing music – which consists of a lot of hand clapping – and Bex rises to the challenge and really delivers the track. It’s an example of how Fast Crew set themselves free from the hip hop mould that’s out there in today’s music world. As a group, they’re tight, but they could also be successful solo and they don’t resent each other about this, but instead they work together on it and complement each other.
Thus far, Fast Crew have released two more singles since I Got. The first was called It’s The Incredible, and incredible it certainly is. This is where Fast Crew take a bit of time out and introduce themselves. It’s like they’re saying, “Hey – now you’ve noticed us, this is who we really are.”. Each MC takes a verse to introduce themselves personally and say what they do in the Crew, and why they’re there. They also describe the way they see their music. ”Yo, (yo), if you lovin’ hip hop say I do (I do), mix it up with some rock, it’s the Crew”. Hip hop mixed with rock really hits the nail on the head when it comes to this track, and it’s successor, Oops, My Bad, a slower paced number that still manages to up the ante. This time though, the lyrics really come to the forefront with some amazing rap skills.
Current single Suburbia Streets is my favourite radio hit from the album. Here’s a track you can really get into the groove of. Unlike It’s The Incredible, it’s a lot more hip hop than rock, but could also qualify for r&b. Not only do they mix genres here, they DJ Alious also experiments with ways to make different noises and manipulate his own vocals. Despite it being my favourite radio hit, I find the video to be a little boring. It’s good, and it does suit the theme of the song (the band’s origins and where they grew up), but it’s just not a patch on the first two videos, which were a lot more interesting and linked together, with It’s The Incredible picking up exactly where I Got left off.
The album starts off with a 24 second track entitled Intro, which wouldn’t normally be a lot to write home about. It features a bit of audio from one of their live shows, ending with the line ”God Defend New Zealand”, which also happens to be the name of New Zealand’s national anthem. That leads in to the theme of this year’s write/off, freedom. Quite appropriate really, considering the constant debate over whether or not New Zealand should change it’s national flag, and the underlying issue of whether we could get rid of the monarchy and become a republic. New Zealand’s been a free country for a long time, and I really don’t know how much relevance the monarchy has to us anymore. Also, I really object to George W. Bush, or even Bill Clinton or any past or future President of the United States being referred to as “the leader of the free world”. To me, this implies one of two things. Either the US president is the leader of our country, which is a load of crock, or New Zealand isn’t part of the free world. Another load of crock. Fast Crew are good representations of New Zealand freedom, simply by taking pride in being New Zealander’s, and not giving a damn what anyone thinks.
However, I do think they need to use their next album to break free of some of the typical hip hop traps which they’ve unfortunately fallen into. As well as Intro, ”Set The Record Straight” also contains two tracks called Interlude, neither of which add anything to the album. Thankfully, they haven’t used these as much as other artists (I believe Eminem averages about five skits per album), but the mere presence of these tracks would give the impression of a band trying to fit into a certain scene just because they’re part of the genre. The other trap they fall into to is the order of the singles released off the album. I Got will grab your attention and make you listen, It’s The Incredible is “this is who we are” track, and Suburbia Streets is the “this is where we come from” track. Don’t get me wrong – these are all good tracks and are certainly worth listening to, but it’s obvious Fast Crew have got the talent to give themselves freedom from these traps.
After Intro, the album carries on promisingly enough with title track Set The Record Straight, an attempt to quash any preconceptions people have about the band. It basically talks about not wanting to be pigeonholed and to actually listen to the music before you make judgement. Breathe It In has a sample that sounds so damn familiar you’ll actually think it’s a cover of something (the name of the song escapes me at the moment) before the vocals kick in. Fast Crew have added their own unique touch to it and have absolutely made this piece of music their own. After Oops My Bad and an interlude, Don’t Speak My Name is another track that relies heavily on Bex’s vocals and is all the better for it.
Unfortunately, the second half of the album only has Under Pressure as it’s highlight. The rest of the tracks here all seem to follow the same sort of formula heard on the first half of the disc. Make The World Spin uses DJ Alious a bit too much and in places the music just sounds like random noises. Got What You Want has far too much hand clapping, especially considering the track directly after Under Pressure. It sounded good there, but the gimmick has worn off by the time Got What You Want comes around. Mr. Radio Part II, as mentioned earlier, simply doesn’t compare to the original track, which hasn’t been included on the album. All this track really does is name drop as many New Zealand artists as they can fit in.
Fast Crew show some very obvious talent, both as a group and as individuals. The kiwi pride which is abundant on ”Set The Record Straight” is one of the best representations of freedom you’ll find, but on the flipside, there’s unused potential here for Fast Crew to give themselves some freedom from the strongholds of the hip hop genre. Their unique mix of hip hop and rock on may tracks is the main reason why Fast Crew are one of the best New Zealand hip hop acts, and are my current favourite hip hop act, New Zealand or otherwise. If you can track down a copy of this album, give it a spin. There’s plenty of other fine hip hop acts out there, but this disc is a lot of fun to listen to, despite it’s faults.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dbcint
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Member: Dean Cowie
Location: Invercargill, New Zealand
Reviews written: 198
Trusted by: 40 members
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