The recent increase in producer-based albums in hip-hop has achieved the musical border crossing that has always fostered hip-hop’ sonic development. Numerous producers such as RJD2, Madlib, Blockhead, and, of course, the late J Dilla have all been brought to the forefront of the hip-hop community; their focus on abstract samples and unsettling beats test and push the verbal artistry of their rhyming counterparts. As such, Copperpot’s second album, WYLA? (What’re You Looking At?), is not (quite) synonymous with the records of the producers outlined above. Nevertheless, WYLA? is a carefully constructed collage of sounds capable of inspiring comparison to such a formidable body of hip-hop producers.
From the outset, it is obvious that WYLA? is a crowded album. Copperpot has brought together hip-hop heavyweights from both sides of the Atlantic, as well as an amorphous ensemble of fellow Chicago-based musicians, most notably, bassist Mathew Lux of Isotope 217; Jeff Parker and Dan Bitney of Tortoise; and Josh Abrahams. In “Demo’ a template of finely balanced intricacies couples the taut strings of an Erhu-sounding sample with some unobtrusive scratching for Yorkshire MC, Braintax, to work over the top of. On “Art of Rap’, a clean tangle of percussion emerges out of the raspy murmurings of a cello before being swallowed up by Masta Ace and EdoG’ lyrical potshots at the state of rap. A smooth cut to raga-induced synth chords opens “Dem Know (Club Mix)’ until a resurrected KRS-One makes loud proclamations of, in short, the world being “out of order’, packing an un-parochial punch. By comparison, “Modern Vampires’ sounds like Rodney P came across a Leprechaun playing his wood flute, dug it, and decided to throw down a track with him.
WYLA? is a good – and easy – listen, it’s linear structure certainly doesn’ cross any rhythmic or melodic boundaries. However, from the opening “Come Home ft. KRS-One’ to the closing “Clowning Around ft. The Time Bandits’, Copperpot offers us a textured and spacious collection of tracks, worthy of praise.
Anthony Pollock
