Blogarhythms

The term “throwback Rap” has become something of a byword, associated with brightly-colored hipster fashion, tight pants, retro-futuristic graphic tees and a couple of oft-profiled rappers fond of drum-machine beats and synthesizers. Being a fan of 808 kicks and stuttery sampled vocal hooks myself I really don’t have any sort of beef with that. Still, I can’t help noting that a handful of other acts — like People Under the Stairs, Ugly Duckling, Giant Panda, Edan and Time Machine — have been leading their own ’80s-and-’90s Rap revivals for some time now but receiving far less ink for their efforts.

Time Machine and Giant Panda have new full-lengths out this week which continue on in the tradition of progressive old-school resuscitation established on their earlier releases. For both it’s the aesthetics of Golden Era Hip-Hop — creative sampling, fun, party-ready vibes, social consciousness and story raps — that informs their brand of retro-leaning Rap more than merely making music that imitates (or dressing like) some old-school hero or another. So even if you can hear the influence of the Native Tongues, the Juice Crew or countless other groundbreaking Hip-Hop artists in their music, it’s just that, an influence which pervades a thoroughly modern viewpoint (validating the old through the new and the new through the old) directed towards creating something new, not a desire to replicate, recreate or replace.

Made up of Comel, Jaysonic and DJ Mekalek, Los Angeles-based (by way of Providence and Washington D.C.) Time Machine have been dropping humorous and thought-provoking sample-centric Hip-Hop since 2001. Their 2004 debut Slow Your Roll was, in my mind at least, an unheralded classic that reflected the qualities of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Nice & Smooth, Biz Markie, EPMD and Da Beatminerz for the post-shiny-suit generation. Their new one Life Is Expensive builds on their already solid foundation, broadening the group sonic palate to include more electronically created sounds (peep “Mountains”), sampling more Disco and Electro in addition to the usual dusty drums and jazzy grooves, expanding in more experimental directions and embracing the dancefloor friendliness of late-’80s Rap.

Even when they’re doing something entirely new, like the drumless New Age psychedelia of “Survival Kit” or the Gnarls Barkley-esque Wall of Sound/Brill Building clap-a-long “Something We’re Becoming” with guest crooner Maggie Horn, they stay level-headed and keep their sense-of-humor & story-telling abilities intact. And guests, like hook-master Greg Nice on “The Unfortunate Twist” and Blogarhythms favorite Cool Calm Pete on Discofied story-song “Here Comes That Sound,” enliven the proceedings even more.

Time Machine “The Groove That Just Won’t Stop”

With a title like Electric Laser I was half expecting rapper Maanumental and rappers/producers Newman and Chikaramanga of Los Angeles’ Giant Panda had gone 100% retro-Electro on their new album. That’s not the case at all though. Like the guys from Time Machine they’ve opened up to the sounds of synthesizers and other electronics, which decorate almost every track on the album in some way, but their sound is fundamentally the same; sample-based beats with crunchy drums and soulful loops aplenty. Lyrically they’re still on some goofy story-rap shit with party-time overtones, an eye towards social relevance and an ear towards the shortcomings of today’s Hip-Hop artists. The artists who influence Giant Panda probably aren’t much different from those listed above in reference to Time Machine, but their more pronounced Californian-ness bears a resemblance to early ’90s Cali crews with The Pharcyde (particularly on “Same Old $#!+”) the most notable.

If the title’s futuristic nature has a presence on the album it’s on a song like “Laser Ray,” which tells the story of a visitor from space who comes to Earth to “save the day.” Similar space or sci-fi-themed topics pop up here and there. But the album as a whole is concerned mostly with earthly pursuits familiar to denizens of the 21st Century like thumpin’ bass (and making a difference in one’s community) on “Speakers Pop,” watching skin-flicks on “CinemaX” and acceptance for alternative lifestyles on “Pops.” Anybody familiar with my love of all things robotic should already know why the body-rocking outer-space b-boy jam “Do the Robot In Cyberspace” is my favorite cut on the album though.

Giant Panda “Do the Robot In Cyberspace”

So, if you’re one of the people who’ll be looking for The Cool Kids‘ debut The Bake Sale at the record store digital retailer tomorrow, think about picking up one of these joints to supplement your neo-old-school fetish too. Alright?