The Stoops

Review: The Stoops & JSquared – StoopSquared (2011) (+ Free Download)

by Mladen on Nov 11, 2011 • 4:39 pm

For a record whose sound is almost entirely made up of synths and digital bass and bouncing beats, it amazes just how soulful and organic ‘StoopSquared‘ is. The album is a new collaborative effort between Perth’s up and comers The Stoops and Melbourne eclectic producer JSquared.


It’s been fun watching this group grow over the few years. Formerly Stoop Fresh, the group seems to have been initially inspired by fellow young Perth group The Typhoons (who failed to hold onto their initial momentum), and the early days of The Community and Paperchain People. Previous Stoop Fresh records, while lacking production or recording sophistication, proved that the raw ingredients were there. Roc Wallabi, Coin Boogie and Pronto make up the trio of gutsy young producers/emcees willing to do their own thing even within the stiflingly macho Eminem-aping Australian rap scene. The group’s more recent single ‘Free‘, featuring guest vocals from Georgie Kay and production by Rae, was a “sit up and pay attention!” track which certainly promised great things.

So, ‘StoopSquared’ might just be their first big record. The album’s big opener, ‘Right Time‘, may be its best track, boasting a HUGE bouncy bass-driven groove, brisk and honestly confident verses, and a sung chorus from the group’s longtime female-singer, the very talented and soulful Bonita (who, unlike many ‘singers’ in hip hop acts, sounds pretty damn great, and sits well with the rappers and beat). JSquared’s production is in the same style as earlier Stoop Fresh records, but is on an entirely higher level in terms of production sophistication, and sustains interest through the whole album. What is achieved here is a balance of vocals, raps and beats which seem like the work of a very practised and experienced group, simply because its all done with so much passion and a palpable enthusiasm.

The New-new-digital-soul-hop style, borrowing bits and pieces of 90s r’n'b, 60s soul, and modern bass-heavy production technique should be, by all rights, a big goddamn deal. For now it’s not, but hopefully releases like this one won’t get lost in the mix once pop-radio gets a hold of it, gives it a stupid name, and ruins it for everyone. - Mladen

While being relatively safe from any mass epidemics, foreign invasions, or zombie apocalypses, being the most isolated capital city in the world does have its drawbacks. We must deal with the harsh reality that very few international acts are willing to pay the exorbitantly high baggage fees (HOW much to ship my drum kit!?) to play to, what they imagine to be, 20 people in a makeshift tin shed with various farmyard animals running free through the mosh pit. With that said, when a big name does come to Perth we savour every last drop of their performance. When this name is one as historic as Kurtis Blow you can already anticipate the sort of reaction you will get.

Following the Bboy competition came a very different tribute to hip-hop. Local bands The Stoops and Accumulated Gestures had amalgamated in to one unstoppable beats and brass band, dubbed ‘*The Accumulated Stoops*’ to play their first gig that very night. The 11-piece borrowed songs from their seminal bands, propelling the tunes to a whole new level of funky musicality. There full and rich tones of the electric violin and horns melded with the electronic beats of the DJ and keys, all propelled by an inexorable rhythm section and augmented by some exceptional vocals and emceeing. Including a tribute to A Tribe Called Quest and a guest appearance by Georgie K, the band’s first gig turned out to be a rocket launch. - Local News by shaun1991, 30th May, 2011

The concept of mashing retro computer game bleeps and soundtracks into song is nothing new. With a nostalgic bunch of 90s kids now all grown up, a myriad of acts have arisen over the past few years to pay homage to their much loved 8 and 16 bit consoles.

Some, like Jahtari, do it more creatively than others. The German beat label has a whole roster of acts that put a digital twist on dub to create some what of a Nintendoed rasta LAN party. Then there’s the million Mario Brothers theme remixes that dodgy clubs play when it’s lights on.

Thankfully Stoop Fresh can be named amongst the forward thinking musical gamers as they have come up with an (cue Shang Tsung voice over) 'outstanding' 2010 release.

StoopNES has 13 levels and 8 bonus levels (remixes), each sampling soundtracks from original Nintendo titles. Hip hop beats spin underneath resulting in moments of ambient Japanese soundscapes (Level 1: 'The Big White Chill'), Wu-Tang-esque Ninja cuts (Level 8: 'Super Faster Fader 2000XL') and 8-bit bass driven ('NBA') jams (Level 10: 'Get Down').

Besides the familiar ‘level completed’ Mario drop and the ‘I just pressed pause’ chimes the samples are unrecognizable to a casual NES boffin. DJ Silence is a wizard of scrambles and scratches and it seems his vinyl collection would only be matched by his NES cartridge collection. It’s a shame anyone knowledgeable enough to pick the samples would probably be too busy spinning a Halo disc to give this one a run. They would go ape (Donkey Kong?) over hearing their beloved childhood Nintendo beats given a 2010 hip hop rinse.

That being said there’s enough here to make even the most occasional primary school button basher reflective of a time when TVs lacked an AV input and consoles were arduously tuned in by spinning a dial.

This nod towards the clunky technology of a bygone era takes a brief turn away from games at level 3: 'Hitchhiker' and into VHS when it references a deranged John Cusack in 1985s The Sure Thing.

“I mean most people are real afraid to pick up hitchhikers. I mean you never know who you might pick up. I mean I could be some crazed slime ball. I mean a real deranged, violent psycho. You know what I mean? I mean a guy who would rip out your heart and eat it.”

Given the general cross-appeal of trash cinema to nostalgic gamers this is a special move from Stoop Fresh which results in a one up for the album.

The lyrical themes are not to be taken seriously and for the most part the MCing just sounds like four twenty somethings having fun. There’s no point searching for any hidden levels in the words there isn’t much below the surface and they acknowledge this at level 11 with 'So Damn Deep'.

There’s plenty of gaming-themed innuendo to find though with lines like “get that dirt off your cartridge” and “I’m here to switch lanes and take over this game like Daytona” dropped throughout the levels. Songstress Mei Swan plays Princess Peach to the lads Mario Brothers (Luigi, Mario, Wario, Waluigi?) adding some elegant soul to the mix.

This is experimental hip hop at its most fun and all it’s missing is a cheat guide covering where the samples are from. Oh and it’s Australian hip hop. The freshest since Spit Syndicate’sTowards the Light (which it pays homage to on level 18: 'Big White Chill Rmx'). And it's from Perth. Don’t act like you’re not surprised. - by Mark Donaldson | Sunday, May 9

I thought I'd start off this blog with one of my favourite albums right now, brought to you kindly by the wonderful Stoop kids and JSquared. With an EP, and two albums under their name to date, The Stoops (formerly known as Stoop Fresh) are god damn killing the Perth scene right now, with infectious tunes that reach far out of the cliche "Aussie Hip Hop" sound that we hear far too often. Made up of DJ Arms In Motion (AIM), Coin, Pronto, Roc Walla and Bonita, this group of talented people have built themselves a well deserved local following which can only be expected to flourish and grow further as time goes on. Recently, their colab track with another Perth talent, Georgi Kay, titled 'Free' (from Rae's 'Fluke EP') has been picked up by Foxtel and is being used in their advertisements to a great response, clocking up a nice 10 000+ plays on YouTube, and being heard frequently on Triple J. Back to the album though - with guest appearances from other great Perth artists such as Mathas, The Empty Cup and Delirious to name a few, the album is a nonstop 45 minutes of musical enjoyment. It is an album that has definitely managed to capture the chilled atmosphere that makes Perth so unique, and put that vibe into 12 awesome tracks. As for those tracks, I recommend a couple that have cemented themselves as my personal favourites: first of all, 'Right Time' is a killer - great hook, sweet verses, ace beat. It's a great introduction to the album, and a good indication of what to expect soundwise. What more could you want? Secondly, 'White Lies' featuring Mathas and The Empty Cup. A clever song, that utilises the individual voices of the three MC's (Mathas, The Empty Cup and Pronto) to great advantage. All in all, the production of this album is top notch, only improved by the sophisticated rhymes, smart metaphors and Bonita's soulful chorus', this is truly a CD that breaks the 'hard Aussie' sound convention. This album has been playing on repeat on my iPod since I got it, testament to it's local and hopefully future (inter)national success. - Annaliese - Ears To The Ground