Smashproof

Smashproof’s unrepentantly gritty hip-hop is a triumph.

Though reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated, hip-hop has gone through an awkward creative phase over the past couple of years. On the one hand there has been phenomenal success for the nursery rhyme endeavours of Souljah Boy and his ilk, producing simplistic ringtone rap that is ruthlessly effective, brazenly commercial and thankfully, quickly forgettable. At the opposite end of the scale artists such as Kayne West, Kid Cudi, Wale, The Knux and others have been pushing the music to its outer limits, incorporating strong, unapologetic influences from a variety of music and untypical lyrics. Even though it doesn’t always hit the mark, they are creating something new that suggests the future is light years away from the rigid confines of that old boom bap. Locally, the debate about American accents and influences became irrelevant with the breakout U.S. success of Savage’s Swing, proving that, with a little good fortune and a lot of planning and hard work, the right song has its own free trade agreement.

Amid this ever-changing environment, South Auckland trio Smashproof have been quietly building up a head of steam releasing several street mixtapes, and solo efforts (from Tyree and Young Sid), allowing them to arrive at their debut album in a position of knowledge and confidence.

However well planned - and The Weekend is a testament to rigid quality control and solid stewardship from their label, Move The Crowd - it’s unlikely that anyone involved could have imagined they would be releasing their album, as the lead single Brother, sat at the top of the singles chart for its fourth week. The song is a genius, bittersweet ode to South Auckland that encompasses dairy stabbings, gang affiliations, police rape, parental abuse, the P epidemic and more, although, typically it has garnered media attention solely for a couple of bars about the notorious Bruce Emerey “tagger killing”. The subject matter is hard and unrepentantly gritty, but the delivery - especially on the hook featuring the combination of rising star Gin Wigmore and Tyree - counterbalances perfectly. It’s a trick they use with ruthless efficiency throughout the album.

In a testament to the growth of the music in the southern hempisphere, it is hard to distinguish between the antipodean beatmakers, and those chosen from overseas. Once again, the triumph is in balance and tone, and there’s only a couple of the overly commercial cuts towards the end (All Night Long and My Crib) that detract from a refreshingly consistent album, musically and lyrically.

The loose concept, following the trio of Tyree, Young Sid and Deach from Friday afternoon knock-off to Monday morning’s resumption of 9-5, may just be perfectly in time with where hip-hop is moving. “Recession Rap” is the latest term to enter the lexicon, with Harlem’s Cam’ron recently releasing a superb song aimed squarely at menial workers and cubicle jockeys, called I Hate My Job, even though that experience is probably far more alien to him than Smashproof .

Naturally, it wouldn’t be a hip hop album if there weren’t a little braggadocio, but the overwhelming impression, at the album’s stunning conclusion Ordinary Life, is this is first class reportage, delivered with depth and honesty. Although so much recent hip-hop has been dedicated to little more than aggrandisement and the culture of me, on The Weekend, South Auckland is the star, and Smashproof are the vehicle. For all its grit and grime, there’s enough warmth, humour and strong sense of community to offer a more than fair representation of the group, and their hood. - Listener

Smashproof’s unrepentantly gritty hip-hop is a triumph.

Though reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated, hip-hop has gone through an awkward creative phase over the past couple of years. On the one hand there has been phenomenal success for the nursery rhyme endeavours of Souljah Boy and his ilk, producing simplistic ringtone rap that is ruthlessly effective, brazenly commercial and thankfully, quickly forgettable. At the opposite end of the scale artists such as Kayne West, Kid Cudi, Wale, The Knux and others have been pushing the music to its outer limits, incorporating strong, unapologetic influences from a variety of music and untypical lyrics. Even though it doesn’t always hit the mark, they are creating something new that suggests the future is light years away from the rigid confines of that old boom bap. Locally, the debate about American accents and influences became irrelevant with the breakout U.S. success of Savage’s Swing, proving that, with a little good fortune and a lot of planning and hard work, the right song has its own free trade agreement.

Amid this ever-changing environment, South Auckland trio Smashproof have been quietly building up a head of steam releasing several street mixtapes, and solo efforts (from Tyree and Young Sid), allowing them to arrive at their debut album in a position of knowledge and confidence.

However well planned - and The Weekend is a testament to rigid quality control and solid stewardship from their label, Move The Crowd - it’s unlikely that anyone involved could have imagined they would be releasing their album, as the lead single Brother, sat at the top of the singles chart for its fourth week. The song is a genius, bittersweet ode to South Auckland that encompasses dairy stabbings, gang affiliations, police rape, parental abuse, the P epidemic and more, although, typically it has garnered media attention solely for a couple of bars about the notorious Bruce Emerey “tagger killing”. The subject matter is hard and unrepentantly gritty, but the delivery - especially on the hook featuring the combination of rising star Gin Wigmore and Tyree - counterbalances perfectly. It’s a trick they use with ruthless efficiency throughout the album.

In a testament to the growth of the music in the southern hempisphere, it is hard to distinguish between the antipodean beatmakers, and those chosen from overseas. Once again, the triumph is in balance and tone, and there’s only a couple of the overly commercial cuts towards the end (All Night Long and My Crib) that detract from a refreshingly consistent album, musically and lyrically.

The loose concept, following the trio of Tyree, Young Sid and Deach from Friday afternoon knock-off to Monday morning’s resumption of 9-5, may just be perfectly in time with where hip-hop is moving. “Recession Rap” is the latest term to enter the lexicon, with Harlem’s Cam’ron recently releasing a superb song aimed squarely at menial workers and cubicle jockeys, called I Hate My Job, even though that experience is probably far more alien to him than Smashproof .

Naturally, it wouldn’t be a hip hop album if there weren’t a little braggadocio, but the overwhelming impression, at the album’s stunning conclusion Ordinary Life, is this is first class reportage, delivered with depth and honesty. Although so much recent hip-hop has been dedicated to little more than aggrandisement and the culture of me, on The Weekend, South Auckland is the star, and Smashproof are the vehicle. For all its grit and grime, there’s enough warmth, humour and strong sense of community to offer a more than fair representation of the group, and their hood. - Listener