The genre of hip hop needs no introduction. Originating in the Bronx in 70's, it's impossible to escape the fact that the majority of the early hip hop performers were of black descent (descended from the African diaspora). However, a lot of fans today are not only quick to remind people of this, but they're also notorious for ignoring the music of any hip hop artist that isn't black and wasn't/isn't struggling in the hood. To those fans, I say grow up! Contrary to the belief of the mainstream rap listener (and the aforementioned brand of hip hop head) Puerto Ricans (and other latinos) and Caucasians have contributed a lot to the growth of the art form of hip hop and have been around for a great part of it, and I'm not even talking about The Beastie Boys or Big Pun. And since hip hop is global, and you can find rappers in France, Sweden, the Middle East, and Japan, it shouldn't be a surprise that representatives of those ethnic groups in America are now picking up the mic as well.
Case and point: Vacaville, CA native emcee Uptown Swuite shouldn't be ruled out because he's ethnically Samoan. In fact, his new mix tape Beneath the Lights shows that dude can really flow over a beat and can release projects of consistent quality. Maybe we'll hear some more young Samoans stepping in the booth too (Hell look what they're doing in the NFL...watch out!)
From the jump Uptown starts with the flow, dropping bars over the phenomenal instrumental from Common's "Be", expressing his desire to do his ancestors proud with his music. The use of the instrumental and his lyrics giving the feeling of home, particularly staying true to his roots and conveying it properly and with quality. With lighter, but upbeat instrumentals, Uptown Swuite weaves stories of his hometown Vacaville and his dreams/experioences into his bars, maintaining his timing and rhyme schemes like a seasoned spitter. "Small Town Living", "Humble Beginnings", and "The Come Up" all fit in here, with the latter being even more up tempo and energetic.
However, the most prominent of the tracks with this feel is definitely "Cukui (Forever)"which features his The Seed partner Kahlee as they rhyme about those special days where they can go pick up new clothes from clothing brand Cukui. With FourFive on the production, and a brilliant use of tremelo, Uptown puts together a song that could've easily been about a woman or the best day of his life, instead focusing on his favorite clothing brand. Honestly I'm about ready to drop some dinero on some Cukui since they feel so strongly about it.
No matter how nostalgic a project can get though, in today's day and age, people want to hear the grit. They want to know a rapper/emcee can spit that raw over a hard beat. It's here that Uptown really shows his hardest metal, with songs like "Go Hard" ft. Kahlee, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League produced "Halfway Crooks" again with Kahlee, and "Underground" proving his worth with iron bars. The biggest standout here though is "Exhibit" which features Uptown on his own, stepping out with some of the hardest and most heart filled lines on the whole project. He opens up with "they told me living ain't easy, death is the hard part/exterminate your cap like Pol Pot, what's wrong dawg?/want to own your masters 'fore they master the pen" and continues on to express his issues with his current level of success, fan response, and what people are saying. This is the song that put the project on repeat for me.
The production throughout is dope, with original beats coming from FourFive, 1PM, Jahlil Beats, and DJ Shagg. And though "Exhibit" really got me hooked, the biggest standout on the whole project is "Night Sky" ft. R.E.K.S. and S.O.L. with R.E.K.S. proving why he's one of the better spitters out right now and S.O.L. dropping off a pretty solid first impression.
Since I loved Uptown's first mix tape Church Street Blues it was kind of hard to imagine him being able to measure up to the last one. Here he does it one better with better features, better lyrics, and more heart. Though the project isn't perfect, there aren't any really notable flaws here. For the first Samoan rapper I've heard as an emcee, Uptown Swuite's definitely making good impressions. Definitely should check this one out.
Lyrics 9/10 Beats 8/10 Originality 8/10
Overall 8/10
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