Florence + The Machine: I have no idea where this one came from, but girl's got a big ol' voice. It's surprising to hear that much power coming from a vocalist these days, but especially so from one so young. And who knew white British people had soul? First Amy (she may be a hot mess in her private life, but she's got pipes and you know it), then Duffy, now Flo. Been listening to her take on quite a few covers and it puts quite the interesting spin on things. A lot of those have been of the rock and indie variety, but you can tell she's into history as well. Mad respect for anyone who's into Candi Staton. I just can't. Get. Enough. Wanna hear more, know more, and maybe marry her.Florence + The Machine - You've Got the Love (Candi Staton cover)
Eternia: This one caught my attention from Bob knows where on the interwebs. It's terribly hard to find good female emcees these days, people that have a sound that says style, a sound that says class, a sound that says this is hip-hop. And if that's what you're looking for, don't stop, cause you won't find it here. I'll give her that she's got something going for her, and I'll likely give her at least a second listen before I put her away and forget about her, but after hearing what she has to say on Get Caught Up I can't say I'm all that impressed. Certainly I can't understand why anyone would go so far as to claim Eternia is "the best female rapper alive"*, as I saw someone comment on last.fm. That's the kind of bold statement that, I feel, deserves a bit of inspection. There are a lot of subjective and hard to measure variables that could qualify one as being among the best emcees alive. To list a few: 1. A firm grasp of the four elements (if you don't know what those are, go back to hip-hop kindergarten). For that, the first that controversially comes to mind would be Fergie; I know, I know she quite possibly ruined the Black Eyed Peas, and she really went off the rails with that solo shit she pulled, but for a while there BEP was one of the rare contemporary hip-hop groups that incorporated break dancing. For that, they will always have my respect. Even if it's locked away in a time capsule from the days of their first two albums. 2. The ability to tell a compelling story that draws in the listener. When it comes to this, I have to say it's hard to be better than Brother Ali, Aesop Rock, Immortal Technique (though he will get a little too into it for my tastes), or Slug (more for the early- to mid-2000s; wasn't so much diggin on that When Life Gives You Lemons...). All of them make me feel like a little kid listening to a bedtime story that I don't want to end. The skill to lay absolutely dope verses over some fresh beats. Jean Grae, Psalm One or Lauren Hill (back when she used to be about hip-hop, before she went all crazy and came out with Unplugged) can all do this in a way that'll get the crowd jumpin. I do have to give Eternia at least some credit on this aspect; her flows and beats do not suck. But on my first listen, it didn't sound like she was talking about anything. Nor did it seem she was bringing an energy that I could connect to, and the beats started to sound a little repetitive and mechanical. Give me something original and laced with fire. Maybe I'm being a little hard on the girl, but I'm particular about my hip-hop. After all, someone's gotta stand up and make sure the world isn't overrun by a bunch of crap rappers.Eternia - Foul Child
*Technically, she said "raper", but we'll go ahead and let that potentially tragic typo slide.
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Now playing: Black Eyed Peas - They Don't Want Music [feat. James Brown]
via FoxyTunes
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