Hip-Hop CD Rhymes to the Beat

Dan Gayle

Ebbtide Staff Reporter

Ok, so I know next to nothing about Hip-Hop. I liked the Fat Boys when I was really little, I liked M.C. Hammer just like everybody else, and well, that’s just about it. But as a drummer and a bass player I can tell you when something really grooves. I can tell a sweet beat from a busted beat regardless of the musical genre. With that in mind, let me tell you that “Colliding Differences,” the album released by the Hip Hop Elements, has really impressed me.

The grooves that the rhythm section hold down are simple, yet you’ll feel your head bobbing right along to the beat. The harmonic content is kept pretty basic, leaving plenty of space for the vocalists to do their thing.

Speaking of vocals, I was impressed by the fact that the various singers and rappers kept their words tight and clearly spoken. Even when they are spitting out words as fast as they can think them they stay pretty clean. Overall, the musical content is pretty good.

The production should be something that the people involved in the project should be proud of. The producers and engineers carved out space for the different instruments and singers, leaving room for each beat and word to breathe. The double tracking of the vocalists really adds a nice presence to their voices, bringing them out to the front of your speakers. Nothing sounds muddy or overly nasal because of the pro-sounding EQ job done to the record, and the live sound of the drums really adds a punch to the sound, regardless of whether they are samples or studio recordings.

Overall, this is a solid recording. The beats have a nice groove to them, the vocals are clean and effective, and the production is solid.

For someone who knows diddly about Hip Hop, I think that I would recommend this album to anyone interested in fine music. The Hip Hop Elements have done themselves a great favor by producing such a fine product for everyone to enjoy.