Tinie Tempah - Demonstration (21/08/2014)
I actually really like rap/hip-hop. As someone who's wearing a Bring Me the Horizon shirt whilst writing this, I often find myself drawn to rap and hip-hop as it actually encompasses a lot of different genres; both into itself and out into others.
Whether it's Macklemore or Eminem or even J-Cole, rap to me is often done best when it's emotive. That can mean anything from angry and aggressive spits to soft, piano tracks that deliver "the feels" in copious amounts. Yet one thing that I need to like in order to find myself actually enjoying the song is the voice. There has to be an aesthetic appeal to the voice box behind the rhymes and unfortunately that is exactly where Tinie Tempah's Demonstration falls short. At fourteen songs, Demonstration is a hip-hop album that has a lot of hits and misses, which unfortunately holds more of the latter. At times the record is strong and powerful, with a diverse yet familiar sound to it throughout. There are also times where the album |
is lacklustre and for lack of a better term, average. These so happen to be pretty much all of the rapping section performed by Tinie.
It's the voice. I just can't get past the tone and the way in which he delivers his lines and as petty as it is, it's just too whinny and nasally for me to enjoy. I can really appreciate the level of work that has gone into Demonstration and some of the collaborations are with great artists. Yet the lack of a voice that just simply does not appeal to me really let this record down. It's a case of personal opinion and preference which is exactly why I will still continue to follow this man's hard working career.
Matt Sievers
It's the voice. I just can't get past the tone and the way in which he delivers his lines and as petty as it is, it's just too whinny and nasally for me to enjoy. I can really appreciate the level of work that has gone into Demonstration and some of the collaborations are with great artists. Yet the lack of a voice that just simply does not appeal to me really let this record down. It's a case of personal opinion and preference which is exactly why I will still continue to follow this man's hard working career.
Matt Sievers