Oh Canada. In all honesty, your music is hit or miss in a hard way. I’m talking full frontal lobe penetration from an M4 Carbine Assault Rifle with a Rail Adapter System and a hollow-point bullets. Classified’s album, Handshakes and Middle Fingers, feels like a medley of some amazing artists that have hailed from the awe-inspiring American music industry. This is Classified's (aka Luke Boyd) fourteenth album and he has brought his skill, fast rapping and amazing beats this time out, but the album is still missing the x-factor that we crave in this day and age.
Let’s start with the introduction. “Intro: Ups And Down” is a track that I swear I have heard from every underground hip hop emcee on the planet. It’s the complaint track. It’s the “I can’t seem to kill it” track where we hear the woes but, in the end, we see that he’s ready to rock us. But the walk through of his day reminds me of Ms. Black’s “Friday.” It wasn’t a great way for me to be introduced to Classified.
"That Ain’t Classy” isn’t my favorite track from the album, but Classified made this the single from the album and apparently hit something like number forty-five on the Canadian Hot 100. Not that it matters. In the hip-hop industry, hailing from Canada isn’t classy. No offense Canada – you have some good looking girls – but leave the hip hop to California, New York, and the Dirty South.
Disturbed by the first few songs, I understood the follow-up track “High Maintenance.” Let’s make the connection here before you hear the song; “High,” “Hip-Hop.” You catching the vibe or should I pass it for another hit? I can’t help but think about Kid Cudi’s “Marijuana” track on his most recent album as a comparison, but let’s not compare. That’s like comparing the Mona Lisa to a Jackson Pollack. The beat on this track is fun, but it definitely lacks the lyrical ingenuity that we are on the level with these days. Granted, this is on the same level as something that we would hear from our dear friend Wiz Khalifa, but that’s a completely different vibe.
On the topic of Luke, he’s a Nova Scotia-born individual, and the 4:20 vibe he has carries into the beat and vocal vibe that matches artists like Cypress Hill. He makes his home in the city of Enfield, N.S. (population 3,245) and the small-time vibe is exuded by his music; there's weed, small city folk and hip hop. It just doesn’t seem to be what we want to say is our representative, unless we are one of the 3,244 neighbors he has.
I know that I am harsh on many rap artists in the game that have been in the industry for nearly a decade (over a decade, in this case) but I feel justified in asking for something legendary from these people. Is it just me or do we only get it from the newcomers who then fall off once fame hits them in the face? I feel like Luke is one of these people. As he preaches to us in “Step It Up,” he walks us through how to make it in the music industry. Let’s be honest Luke, it’s not about making it in the industry; Will.I.Am is one of the biggest in the industry right now, and that’s saying something. You do give the listeners great advice in “Step It Up,” but the track itself seems a little superficial. I feel like most of these tracks are about a weed smoking, successful rap artist from N.S.
The album isn’t anything to jump over a ledge for if you happen to drop it. It’s not even a filler track album for me. I just can’t find anything on this album that I would recommend to my close friends. I will keep an eye on Luke in hopes that he produces something amazing in the future, but for now let’s hold of on any purchases until we see him slowing down on the greens and concentrating his mental ability on musical delivery.
Artist:
www.classifiedofficial.com/
www.myspace.com/hiphopclassified
www.facebook.com/classifiedmusic
www.twitter.com/#!/classified
Album:
Handshakes & Middle Fingers is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
