Ever since the mid 80s, hip-hop has become more and more prevalent in the music mainstream. It exploded as a genre in those days because of the various talented MCs and rappers that are now considered legends. Titans like Tupac, Biggie, A Tribe Called Quest and NWA all mastered their art from themid 80s through the late 90s in what is now affectionately called the golden era of hip-hop. This has no doubt inspired many emerging artists who wish to reach the same level as their idols. However, hip-hop has changed so vastly since then that the old school sound seems to have been completely snuffed out. That is, until the extremely talented 18-year-old rapper A-F-R-O (All Flows Reach Out) came onto the scene with his producer-partner Marco Polo. Since blowing up on YouTube because of his insane flow and freestyle skills, he has appeared on various talk shows such as Jimmy Fallon and finally released his debut EP “A-F-R-O POLO” on July 15.
The most successful hip-hop is the most wholesome. What truly makes a great hip-hop cut is a high-quality beat backing up high-quality and creative lyrical content delivered smoothly and skillfully, and I have to say that almost every track on this debut record delivers exactly that. In the first cut “Long Time Coming,” Fro raps about the struggles he has gone through to get to this point and how he’s ready to deliver. The rap is backed up by soulful piano progressions paired with crooning echoes of his words, staple record scratches and hi hats of the good old days. The cut “Fro Armstrong” uses space as its theme and provides funky and almost psychedelic horn samples, deep bass riffs and plucky string synths straight from an 80s disco. While the lyrics on this cut don’t necessarily mean much, as Fro is just rapping about how his raps are cosmic and transcend space, they are delivered with the same quality of flow and smoothness as in the rest of the cuts.
My two favorites on this record, however, are “Nightmare on Fro Street” and “Use These Blues.” “Nightmare on Fro Street,” along with “Lair of the Black Worm,” shows that Fro is a horror fan. Aside from the title reference to the cult classic horror film “Nightmare on Elm Street,” the instrumental uses staple horror sound effects like wavering piano chords and cheesy 80s horror movie chimes. In these songs Fro spits lyrics comparing himself to a serial killer in the way he kills all of his flows and uses imagery of zombies and skeletons as a metaphor for his resurrection of old school hip-hop style. “Use These Blues” takes a vastly different approach and especially struck an emotional chord with me. The instrumental with its soft guitar chords, playful bells, synths and samples of a soulful woman’s choir reminds me of classics like “Can I Kick It” by A Tribe Called Quest. The lyrics explore depression and hardship and provide inspiration as Fro raps about how you need to believe in yourself and allow the love of your friends and family to uplift you.
Although I love the record just the way it is and am very impressed with both the musical quality and the creative lyric writing, there is one thing that disappoints me. Fro became well-known on the internet before this record for his ridiculously fast and smooth flows as well as his lightning-quick thinking during freestyles. However, none of this is showcased in this record. All of the tracks take on slow to medium paces and, although they all flow very well, Fro is too comfortable. He never introduces anything too complex and seems content with keeping the entire record going at the same pace. Regardless of this shortcoming, this very talented individual has not only been given the opportunity to share his music, but also brought old school back. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.
