GIF

After listening to his debut album ‘View of A Loser From On Top Of The World’ it is instantly clear that Gif is an artist whose music defies categorization. Gif uses his incredible gift for rhyming to discuss many diverse themes including politics, relationships, and religion. The intelligence and insight embedded throughout Gif’s lyrics place him in sharp contrast to most mainstream MC’s. At the same time, although socially aware Gif’s rhymes are not imbued with the unrelenting positivity that is often characteristic of so-called “conscious” MC’s such as Common. Gif’s voice is honest, real, and refreshing; he readily admits to his faults and frustrations, he is hopeful, but not unnaturally upbeat. Similarly, the beats he has chosen for this album also challenge audience expectations. Some of these tracks would be easily classified as radio ready street bangers while others display more underground sensibilities.

Gif’s music cannot be readily defined using traditional hip hop terminology, but I can definitely come up with a succinct description of this album; damn good. His genre-bending sound is innovative, a shot in the arm to a hip hop scene which lately seems determined to rehash the same series of themes. Gif’s unique and visionary approach to hip hop ensures that this is an album that will appeal to listeners with a wide variety of tastes. It is only a matter of time before someone in the industry catches on to Gif and one can only hope that success does not rob him of the distinctive qualities that make this first album so special.
- Freehiphopnow.com

Gail Worley

GIF
I’m not an expert in the hip-hop genre so I’ll stick to what I know when reviewing Gif, a soulful rapper from New York’s Harlem. “Broken” is a straight forward “I want you back, girl” rap with very little profanity and a cool backing track that sounds like it was sampled from a Delfonics song or something similar. “Changes” features a soulful backing singer alternating with Gif’s raps about wanting to make a change in the world, which gives the track a bit of a gospel feel in parts. Again, there’s a very melodic guitar and snare backing track that you’d more likely expect to find in the adult contemporary genre than in hip-hop. “Dangervill” is more in the gansta-rap style, but there’s a serious Christian reference in the lyrics. If you dig hip-hop that isn’t all about violence and profanity but has a melodic feel and features rhymes with a positive message, Gif is an artist to check out.

- STARPOLISH.COM