We are now living in the dawn of alternative dance music collaborations where musical acts like Big Boi and Phantogram fuse together to create an even bigger synth hip hop entity called Big Grams. With two successful albums from that duo, more hip hop and electronic acts are joining together to birth some space-age music that not only brings together genres, but also two different groups of music fans, that might not otherwise come together. To continue on with this progression in the music industry, Scott Heron, better known as Atlanta-based producer Prefuse73, and Boston-based MC Michael Christmas have banded together to create the duo Fudge, with their debut album Lady Parts.
In the past few years Atlanta has become the experimental hip hop hotbed with acts like the quirky ILoveMakonnen and Young Thug showing a different multi-faceted side to hip hop. It is clear that Prefuse73 has been thoroughly influenced by the eccentric part of Atlanta hip-hop with Lady Parts. Influences from experimental producers Clams Casino, Arca, and even a little Aphex Twin are evident on tracks like the hauntingly gorgeous “Young Vet”, which acts as the second track on this album. Michael Christmas’s gruff East Coast injected flow works perfectly on this with effortlessly delivered lyrics that manage to sound natural on such a futuristically choppy production.
The only two features on the album are definitely highlights on Lady Parts. The track “In My Shoes” is a smooth neo-soul song with Brooklyn-based songstress, Alex Mali, caressing the nostalgic ethereal beat with her melodic vocals. The track “All Points South” is definitely my favorite on the album. “All Points South” is a sinister, foreboding track featuring up and coming versatile hip hop vocalist, D.R.A.M showcasing his extremely unique crooned that produces a strained effect that adds on to the emotional aspects of this standout track.
What makes this album great is that each track would sound great as just instrumentals. I would easily go see a whole set by Prefuse73, but the unapologetic vocals of Michael Christmas add as a suitable enhancement to each of the complex manifestations that Prefuse73 has produced on Lady Parts.
This is a solid debut for Fudge and as they continue to grow along with the ever changing dynamics of the music industry, I am looking forward to what else they have to bring to this new progressive electronic infused hip hop table.
Rating: 8.0/10
