Chef'Special

I've taken the last few days off from blogging to really build up a list of talented artists, and I thought I'd start off with a wonderful hip-hop group from the Netherlands who call themselves Chef'Special. Their sound is very similar to the well-known instrumental hip-hop group from Geneva, New York, Gym Class Heroes. The fact that Chef'Special is based out of the Netherlands should not be a deterrent for anyone who is a fan of alternative hip-hop, or even those of you who normally turn your noses up at the sound of rap music.

Musically, the instrumentation on these tracks is incredibly tight. You can tell that the band put a lot of care into crafting their EP, and it definitely shows. Each track has a unique sound to it that really makes it stand out from the others (for example, the opening track Colors has a funky feel to it while Slowdown begins by showing the spirit of second-wave ska).

The lyrics, however, don't move me quite as much as their melodies do. You can click the song names on their bandcamp page (link at the top of the review) for the words to that particular song and judge for yourself, but personally I prefer a little more depth with this style of music.

Despite their possible shortcomings lyrically, the EP is still definitely worth a listen, if for nothing else than the groovy instrumentation. - Music Industry Earthquake

3voor12:
“Worthy of a Michelin-star”

3voor12:
Major online Dutch music website
“Chef´Special´s funky hiphop pulls, impels, swings and draws everybody to the stage for a fabulous danceparty.” - 3voor12

Oor
Hollands no. 1 music magazine:
“Chef´Special delivers a streamlined and steaming hot liveshow. Somewhere between Relax and Gotcha!.”

- OOR