In this little series I'll be looking back at some of the tracks that have sparked a life-long passion for music... Some tracks will be well-known, others were completely overlooked or forgotten. The one thing they have in common is that they have managed to earn a permanent spot in my heart's playlist. Corny, right?
Let's take it back to the end of the nineties for 'Life Guy with Glasses', the debut album of Ghent-based emcee and producer Krewcial. Quite the milestone, and not only because it's the first Belgian hiphop album that features the English language exclusively. Listening to this record two decades after its release, both the musical and lyrical quality are irrefutable. Tracks like 'Live Guy with Glasses', 'Mr. Stereotype', 'Just Don't' and 'Vinylators' still seem to be pretty well-nested into my brain.
The stand-out track here is of course single 'The A.L.' - short for 'amateur linguist'. The track, co-produced by Belgian keyboard wizard Peter Lesage and cut up by Gus, seamlessly pairs poignant observations on politics and policies with soft-spoken braggadocio and hilarious insider-references only folks from Belgium's northern half would be able to grasp. Lines like "acting shady like Benjamin Netanyahu, suddenly changing the way they walk when they pass by you" or "satisfaction is what you're getting from these self-written rhymes and home-made breakbeats based on analog drummers / 'cause this is hiphop man, not Willy Sommers" still crack me up today...
Krewcial went on to release his seminal sophomore album '25/8' via BBE and a collection of Blue Note-remixes with buddy Lefto in 2004, before shifting his focus to production and engineering. He is currently making upbeat funky stuff and releases his music via the We Play House imprint...
Give 'The A.L.' a spin below, enjoy!
Comments
Post a Comment