Seattle art-rap mavericks release sophomore LP
Since its earliest inceptions, hip-hop has always been a forward-looking cultural medium – in style, substance, and delivery – though perhaps not as obviously at all times. Repurposing timbres of the past (recent or distant) into new aesthetic forms, discourses on society and remedying its injustices, and so forth, are all staples of hip-hop’s aesthetic and political existence.
Some groups, like the Seattle-based THEESatisfaction (made up of rappers Stasia “Stas” Irons and Catherine “Cat” Harris-White) take futurology to new heights (pun intended – I’ll show myself out), and their second LP, EarthEE, is a case-in-point example of hip-hop’s transcendent potential.
“Prophetic Perfection,” EarthEE’s opening track, opens the record with a pulsing snare and bass groove, detailed by sparse synthesizer riffs. Things kick up with “No GMO,” a trebly, lead-synth heavy track not entirely dissimilar to an Odd Future production, though more conscious and transcendent in its execution. “Blandland” utilizes a heavier groove sensibility, with a lulling, deep bass pattern punctuated with a guest appearance by Ishmael Butler, the visionary behind THEESatisfaction’s Seattle contemporaries Shabazz Palaces, as well as the seminal New York trio Digable Planets.
“Nature’s Candy” maintains, perhaps, the most straight-ahead hip-hop beat form, but it is again made distinctive with its powerfully feminine delivery, wispy vocal textures, and rhythmic complexities subtly informing the production’s background. There is a lot going on in each beat on the album, really, but they refrain from overwhelming themselves with their intricacy.
“EarthEE,” the title track, is, probably ironically, the least hip-hop oriented track. With mostly sung lyrics, a production that is essentially synth-pop, and a guest appearance by rapper Blu, it’s not a great centerpiece for what the album gets across, but it’s a solid track nonetheless. “Post Black Anyway” is even less hip-hop proper in its sparse, surreal lyrics and brooding, ambient production style – as is the following track, “Universal Perspective,” which operates as a sort of mission statement for Irons and Harris-White’s musical dialogue. The album’s second-last track, “Recognition,” is a sort of sound poem, set to thumb piano and percussion instrumentation, interrupted by more latent synthesizer accompaniment. This stylistic gesture also works as a powerful summation of the duo’s aesthetics praxis – the ancient sounds of the thumb piano and percussion are mediated by the forward-looking electronic production and ethereal positivity in its message.
Structurally, it seems as though the listener is able to develop with the album’s progression, at least as far as its social praxis is concerned. The album gets stronger as it progresses, without a visible plateau, offering the listener the same reflective space that Irons and Harris-White offer themselves.