Theophilus London – Timez Are Weird These Days (25/07/2011)
In the world of the urban rap and hip hop scene you really need to stand out from the crowd, especially on your debut release. Trinidad born Brooklyn bred Theophilus London has managed to put forward en eclectic album that mixes neo-retro hip hop beats with synthpop and has a healthy smattering of both rap and singing from our leading man as well as sampling.
It’s hard to forget a name as unique as Theophilus London but just in case we had in the minute or so it took from removing the CD to playing it, ‘Last Name London’ refreshes our memory with an addictively hooky earworm of a chorus and solid fuzzy bassline that reiterates ‘...last name London, first name Theophilus...’. This almost seamlessly shifts into ‘Love Is Real’ which features the silky smooth vocals of Holly Miranda and some shiny synth in a playful back and forth call and response style. ‘
The real surprise on this record is the understated ‘Why Even Try’ which features Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara fame. Quin’s vocals are reminiscent of an eerie 80’s feel which play sublimely against London’s edgier rapping that seems disparate against the dreamy synth chimes and stealthy beat. We are then immediately pushed along into the brash ‘Stop It’ with its stomping beat and more modern take on rapping and sampling. This carries through to the following track ‘Girls Girls $’ however unfortunately this track is probably the weakest on the album as it just sounds like any other standard fare offered up in the urban rap genre, not just lyrically but even from a production perspective.
Considering that three of the four tracks from London’s earlier EP release ‘Lovers Holiday’ feature on this album albeit they are tweaked, it would’ve been far more prudent to utilise his debut for material that was fresh and completely new. In saying that though, this record has been greatly assisted by the production spells weaved by the likes of John Hill, Jokke and Ariel Reichstadt on the tracks they worked on respectively.
This is a record that is attempting to redefine the boundaries of where rap and urban meets indie and electro. It doesn’t entirely break down those stereotypes but London and his cohorts have had a good crack at it. Surprisingly it’s the tracks that are less urban and more indie-electro that has the most heart and soul and probably better portrays the inner machinations of what London is attempting to express in his songwriting. Whilst the urban and rap laden tracks are the ones that seem to just typify the norm of what that genre is and is about, thus becoming its own typecast.
Carina Nilma
It’s hard to forget a name as unique as Theophilus London but just in case we had in the minute or so it took from removing the CD to playing it, ‘Last Name London’ refreshes our memory with an addictively hooky earworm of a chorus and solid fuzzy bassline that reiterates ‘...last name London, first name Theophilus...’. This almost seamlessly shifts into ‘Love Is Real’ which features the silky smooth vocals of Holly Miranda and some shiny synth in a playful back and forth call and response style. ‘
The real surprise on this record is the understated ‘Why Even Try’ which features Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara fame. Quin’s vocals are reminiscent of an eerie 80’s feel which play sublimely against London’s edgier rapping that seems disparate against the dreamy synth chimes and stealthy beat. We are then immediately pushed along into the brash ‘Stop It’ with its stomping beat and more modern take on rapping and sampling. This carries through to the following track ‘Girls Girls $’ however unfortunately this track is probably the weakest on the album as it just sounds like any other standard fare offered up in the urban rap genre, not just lyrically but even from a production perspective.
Considering that three of the four tracks from London’s earlier EP release ‘Lovers Holiday’ feature on this album albeit they are tweaked, it would’ve been far more prudent to utilise his debut for material that was fresh and completely new. In saying that though, this record has been greatly assisted by the production spells weaved by the likes of John Hill, Jokke and Ariel Reichstadt on the tracks they worked on respectively.
This is a record that is attempting to redefine the boundaries of where rap and urban meets indie and electro. It doesn’t entirely break down those stereotypes but London and his cohorts have had a good crack at it. Surprisingly it’s the tracks that are less urban and more indie-electro that has the most heart and soul and probably better portrays the inner machinations of what London is attempting to express in his songwriting. Whilst the urban and rap laden tracks are the ones that seem to just typify the norm of what that genre is and is about, thus becoming its own typecast.
Carina Nilma