Ty – Closer
October 11th, 2006 by rui
Even if you don’t arrive at the gig as a Ty fan, his lyrics, flows and presence ensure you leave a fan. Coming across as genuinely untouched by the fripperies of fame, he mingles with fans after finishing his live sets, chatting to them and occasionally selling CDs and vinyl in an admirable application of direct marketing.
It’s been three years since the biggest teddy bear in UK hip hop released an album. The last long player ‘Upwards’, propelled him in precisely that direction – earning a Mercury nomination, and pulling ever-increasing numbers of fans to gigs. But if he comes up to you after gig and offers you a copy of his new album ‘Closer’, what should you do?
Let’s take a, erm, closer, look at the highlights.
Kicking off with the single Don’t Watch That, you know who you’re listening to straight away, as he examines some of the things people say about him over some dusky beats.
Watch that! Everybody – all sticky beats, insistent stabs and analogue bass – is a killer riddim. He knows it, too, letting it run solo for a minute or two after the vocal stops. Ty’s lyrics hop and skip around the beat, and throw in chorus with a hook the size of the QE2′s anchor to make for a stripped-back headnodding highlight only two tracks in.
Arrested Development’s Speech steps up to guest on ‘This Here Music’ – a hymn to real hip hop. De La Soul step up to ‘The Idea’ alongside clipped pianos, old-school beat and squelchy bass. ‘What You Want’ is a Tyz-in-the-Attic moment. The Bugz aren’t actually there, but the broken beats, twinkly jazz chords with nine notes and squelchy bass fool you into thinking they are. ‘What you Want’ is a Ty-anye West moment. Brilliant hip pop, with a floaty flute and the kind inclusive, uplifting, positive lyrical themes that TY does so well.
‘Oh!’ sees Ty, Bahamadia and Zion I getting serious – rejecting fast cars and loose women presented through so much hip hop, with a monosyllabic chorus and digi-dancehall riddim.
Wumni and Sele Sosimi bring an afro-flavour and a wonderfully wonky chorus as it takes Ty back to his Nigerian roots on ‘Sweating for your Salary’. Eska’s spellbinding vocal contribution blends with some lovely violin scratches on ‘Sophisticated and Coarse’.
The final track ‘Hustle (That’s Why We)’ throws a vocal curveball at the album’s end as Rich Medina’s deep chocolate voice leads into a string-based groove that brings all the trademarks in for a last hurrah – sticky beats, fatalogue bass, and of course, Ty’s observations on himself and the world around him.
The wealth is shared – only the first two tracks don’t feature a guest vocalist. With different voices popping in and out through the album, and the beats and production lurching from New York to West London to JA to Hackney to Nigeria, you’d be forgiven for expecting a disparate hot-potch of songs, but the lead voice’s sheer presence glues the whole thing together brilliantly.
He might not be one of the leading talents of UK hip hop anymore, Ty’s staking his claim as one of the leading talents of hip hop worldwide. If he’s not there yet, he’s just got a hell of a lot closer.
rx
‘Closer’ by Ty is released on Big Dada 16th October 2006
Ty plays word association on bigchill.net
Ty’s touring in November…
Wed – 08/11/06 Bristol – Thekla
Thu – 09/11/06 London – Jazz Cafe
Fri – 10/11/06 Leeds – Faversham
Sat – 11/11/06 Coventry – Warwick University
Sun – 12/11/06 Glasgow – King Tuts
Tue – 14/11/06 Norwich – Waterfront
Wed – 15/11/06 Nottingham -Rescue Rooms
Fri – 17/11/06 Manchester – Fat City @ Mint Lounge
Sat – 18/11/06 Liverpool – The Picket
