SCRUB

"Welcome to the Midwest, we got a lot more then insects and incest."


The opening line to "Country Thang" sums up Scrub's style; you can hear the midwestern influence on his music with his laid back, fun sound to it, but he also has a lot more to offer then most expect. Scrub has clearly been influenced from all over the map, different time frames, and many different artists from different genres within hip hop.


Everyone of Scrub's song has a unique blend of energy, wit, and personality that all come together to create one of the most aurally entertaining debut releases I've heard. Throughout the album Scrub's flow changes consistently throughtout the track, even multiple times in one verse. Scrub's flow compliments every track almost as an extension of the beat, completing and altering the sound of the song with his intriguing flow and delivery. The album kicks off with "Way Up There" and "5 Bucks" showing both ends of the spectrum when it comes to Scrub's ability to rhyme over any beat. "Way Up There" is a heavy beat, while not the fastest, that has a quick pace giving Scrub a track to show off his skills with a complex beat. "5 Bucks" is a more laid back beat that gives Scrub a chance to really show off his lyrical ability using wordplay, while throwing in punchlines and complex rhymes, proving his versatility form track to track. Below is a line from "5 Bucks" that shows his fun, witty style:


"Now I'm movin' and shakin',
See me boozin' and bakin',
See I'm cruisin' and blazin',
Even through the booin' and hatin',
Boomin' and breakin',
I'm being true to the game,
And I'm through waitin',
Dr. Kevorkian, I'm losing my patience"


Throughout the album Scrub blends old school with new school sounds, underground with main stream styles, even a midwestern sound with an urban influence. Scrub introduces such a unique style throughout the album that it's tough to predict what is going to come next, but you've got confidence that he will deliver regardless. Scrub's midwestern anthem "Country Thang" has a strong midwestern, old country sound to it and is immediately followed by "Test of Time," which is undoubetdly one of Scrub's more serious tracks on the album, where he goes hard on the beat and switches from his signature feel-good, old school style to a more modern Jedi Mind Tricks-esque underground style. Scrub proves his ability to switch between styles of music without sacrificing his dynamic personality.


By the end of the album I felt like I had heard a song that was influenced by just about every genre. In the last few tracks Scrub continues to show off his diversity throwing in a little electronica and even a track that appears to have a heavy jazz influence from the first half of the 20th century, found in "Super Tight" and "Too Many Problems" respectively. Scrub's versatitlity and originality really shines the whole way through "Big In Europe." - MicControl.com

Moving from the country to a big city can have a profound effect on an individual. For St. Louis rapper Scrub, culture shock aside, the move from Missoura to Missouri just gave him extra lyrical ammunition. He demonstrates this well in his recent release, Big In Europe.
Hailing from the middle of the country, Scrub - like many local artists - was provided with a range of geographic influences. Midwestern hip-hop is unique in that, instead of developing entirely as one isolated style, multiple approaches have been allowed to blend - the methods from the East, West, and South culminate to form an innovative fusion. Lyrically, Scrub seems to have adopted a Southern style of delivery on Big In Europe. West coast beats make up most of the album with a Southern anthem or two tossed in for good measure. It's like Ludacris meets Madlib, featuring Nelly.
Big In Europe's best feature is Scrub's light-hearted lyrics. Stories of growing up and being judged in the country are recounted with a grin, hyper-masculinity is put on trial, and neoconservative politics and the state of the nation are criticized through a workin-man's clever insight. To his Midwestern fans, this everyman appeal is his strongest characteristic. To Scrub, not being a star is only a temporary hurdle to conquer.

- Mike Gibson
- Eleven Magazine