Cloud 9

By Renee Taylor
STAFF WRITER
Is it time to change the CD in your car, but you can’t find any new music to replace it with? Well if you enjoy hip-hop that introduces you to all kinds of beats, then I think I have something for you. It’s a local group right here on the SUNY Brockport campus.
The Beat Snappers are four guys with some undeniable talent. They’ve independently written and recorded their new album Upstate of Mind. Consisting of 16 songs and four skits, this hour long CD will not disappoint you. So who are these talented guys?
There’s Mike Tangney (Tags), Doug Fredericks (Hy-Deph), Matt Scott (L.S.), and Tyler Bowen (Tybo), who all come together to produce a professional sound even though they are still amateurs. You can learn more about the members just by listening to their lyrics. For instance, the track “How it Began” takes you through their experience of coming together and making music.
Besides the four guys, you can’t help but notice the eye-raising talent of two girls who sing in some of the songs. Sarah Bulka and Andrea Vergara (Drea) definitely add to the whole album with their unique singing voices. The song “Cryin’ Shoulder” has a soft melody with a hip-hop feel. The transition between the guys rapping and the girls singing the chorus sets a great mood for the song.
Their CD is a combination between old school and new school hip-hop. You get something different from each song. Most of them tell stories, while a few are just fun to listen to. The song “Exhale” is basically about doing drugs, but it still makes you want to get up and dance when you hear it. The best way to describe the song is swing meets hip-hop.
Even though they have some Eminem and 50 Cent similarities, they are by no means clones of them. They stick to their own beats and their own style. After listening to the CD only twice, I already found myself singing some of the songs in my head.
The fact that an independent record can have an impact like that really says a lot about the music.
But you should definitely find out for yourself by grabbing a copy of the Beat Snappers CD, Upstate of Mind at Trader Shag’s CD Emporium on Main Street in Brockport while they last.
A Beat Snappers performance in the Union Ballroom, presented by The Stylus, is planned for early next semester.
If you love hip-hop and aren’t offended by a little explicit language and occasional drug references, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the Beat Snappers. Plus, if they do become famous one day, wouldn’t it be cool to say that you knew them in college?
- The Stylus