Album: Die Already
Artist: The Gigantics
Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap
Year: 2008
Label: Camobear
It took me awhile to notice, but Seattle has a fairly interesting and strong Hip-Hop scene. Blue Scholars, Cancer Rising, Grayskul… the list goes on and on. The point is it’s got some great stuff, my favorite thus far being The Gigantics debut release Die Already. To call The Gigantics a group isn’t quite right, as the ensemble is roughly 50 heads strong, so perhaps army is the right word. Assembled and produced by Grayskul’s Onry Ozzborn, Die Already is a veritable who’s who of underground Hip-Hop and beyond. The thing that drew me to the album was Aesop Rock. A surreal master of slippery metaphor, Aesop Rock steps in to wax his way around the room on the albums second and best track “The Explanation.” The track is also home to MCs Reason (Onry Ozzborn) and Eligh, the latter of which has become one of my favorite voices of the many that populate the album. Many of the MCs were completely unknown to me, but the presence of Aesop Rock and Mr. Lif (both of Def Jux records) were strong swings in the albums favor. Admittedly, not all of the MC’s are from Seattle, but that doesn’t really matter in the long run as they’re all excellent.
Listening to the album for the first time, it quickly became clear that all is not well in the land of the Gigantics. There is a gritty urban darkness lurking in this album, the human kind that makes the horror show antics of bands like Slipknot look downright childish. Social commentary comes in the form of the fourth track on the album “Biological Nothing” as Candidt raps about life as a G raising his son to be just like him “You don’t hustle, you don’t eat.” Knowing that it was commentary didn’t make it any less horrifying. The albums pervasive feelings of doom and gloom are a little overwhelming at times, especially on track 15 “Memory Loss” a song that wears its subject matter on its sleeve. Personally, I can’t think of anything scarier then Alzheimer’s, so hearing Count Draven (Onry Ozzborn again) and Pigeon John rap about it left me cold.
As previously mentioned, Onry Ozzborn of Grayskul is the man with the plan, producing and assembling the album. I’d like to call attention to that production, because it’s distinct. With the myriad of noises coming from god knows where, the album has a very solid sound that you’d never confuse for anyone else. Ozzborn’s production gives off a cold, crisp and stark atmosphere that will chill you to the bone. That, combined with the aforementioned bleak lyricism, is what gives the album its dark nature. However, there are moments of pitch black humor which left me snickering quietly to myself and a skit at the end that left me holding my gut with laughter. I won’t spoil the ending for you, but rest assured, it’s funny. This album has very few weaknesses and a whole load of strength. It shows off numerous talented MCs and that Onry Ozzborn can hold his own masterfully in the production world. This isn’t Party Hip-Hop, but in my book that’s a good thing. Seattle may have its flaws (Public Transportation) but its Hip-Hop isn’t one of them.
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