Never has there been a genre where ‘difficult second album’ syndrome has been more prevalent than old skool hip hop. The last decade is littered with revivalists – Jurassic 5 and pre-R&B makeover Black Eyed Peas to name but two – who’ve breathed new life into the block party sound with their breakthrough album, only to smother it with their next.
And if their sophomore effort hasn’t been a total stinker, it’s at least signalled the start of a downward spiral; step forward the Pharcyde. How strange then, that it befalls Britain’s most dedicated B-Boy, DJ Format, who started his hip hop career as Jurassic 5’s UK van driver, to buck the trend.
“If You Can’t Join ‘Em…Beat ‘Em”’s not just a worthy follow-up to Format’s fantastic 2003 debut, “Music For The Mature B-Boy”, it’s a stone cold classic which kicks its predecessor into touch. Stacked with enough instantly lovable loops and call and response hooks to convert even the biggest rap cynic, along with rolling breaks dusty enough to impress heard-it-all-before obsessives, it checks all the old skool boxes without once straying into pastiche or filler territory.
It’s not rocket science. Having long-time sparring partner MC Abdominal, new arrival Canadian MC D-Sisive and Chali 2Na & Akil from Jurassic 5, delivering their humour laden couplets to a backdrop of nonchalant beats and a feel-good bounce of sixties beatclub samples is hardly revolutionary. But then that’s “If You Can’t Join ‘Em…”’s greatest strength. Applying if-it-ain’t-broke logic, Format concentrates on digging out a better selection of hip-shaking guitars, ghetto-strutting bass and organ-grinding shimmies for his cohorts to spin-out their slapstick wordplay to.
And the couplets are hysterical. As instrumentals, jaunty head nodders “Participation Prerequisite”, “Ugly Brothers” and “3 Feet Deep”, would be essential listening. Add quick witted tongue twisters about being harassed by rapping rap fans, having a hot sister and being tighter than a Cher face-lift, and, from start to finish, “If You Can’t Join ‘Em…”’s quality old skool entertainment.
by Dan Gennoe