Review: Two Fingers – Two Fingers
Although the artist ‘Two Fingers’ may not ring any bells, the names Amon Tobin and Sway should for any self-respecting electronic or Hip-Hop fan. Tobin is electronic royalty, releasing some of the genre’s finest albums of the past decade, specialising in a spacey, atmospheric brand of drum ‘n bass, while Sway is seen as one of the finest UK MC’s, a playful and charismatic lyricist with rare commerical appeal. Both team up with the lesser known beatmaker Doubleclick on this Two Finger’s self titled debut, an impressive album that shows what can be achieved by experienced talented artists mixing different genres and styles.
The production is exactly what you would expect – dark, sparse and nasty. The title track is the best example, complete with often random beeps and noises, the distorted, warped bass, simple snare and drums are nicely complimented by Sway’s confident and quick-fire flow. There is plenty of variety on display – both ‘Kenan Rhythm’ and ‘Jewels & Gems’ experiment with Middle Eastern sounds without moving too far away from the drum ‘n bass template set by the opening tracks, while ‘That Girl’, with its heavy, pulsating drums is complete with an indie style hook. Finally, ‘Straw Men’ has a multitude of sounds zooming in and out of earshot, giving the spacey, scattered effect that you would expect from Tobin, but his minimal style means that Sway is always the main focus. Sway’ s style is perfectly suited to the beats he is rhyming over – although his lyrics may not have the same amount of wit and creativity that we saw when he first came on the scene, he is consistent throughout, and offers an essential charismatic foil to what some may see as Tobin’s excellent but souless electronic beats.
Sway isn’t the only MC on show; female rappers Ce’Cile and Ms Jade, while neither are as impressive or creative as Sway, offer further variety. Ce’Cile’ s energetic flow and Jamaican accent entertain, while Ms Jade just sounds sexy as fuck on the verr simple, very minimal club tracks ‘Doing My Job’ and ‘Better Get That’. The few instrumental tracks are a little less successful, particurly the unremarkable anti-climatic closer ‘Moth Rhythm’, but this is one of a few small complaints (some may be disapointed by Sway’s more straightforward rhymes which lack much, but not all, of his trademark humour and introspection) that fail to take away from the tight overall product.
More then anything else, one hopes beatmakers and MC’s in both Hip-Hop and electronic notice and listen to this album, and take note. It would be a complete lie to say these kind of electronic/rap albums are something new, but when a couple of high-profile talented artists come together properly like this the effect tends to be impressive and novel. MC’s in particular should notice – we have enough underground rappers rhyming over the same old boom-bap, or RZA style beats, why not more experimentation with the electronic super-genre, and not just with the Techno-lite/electro stuff ‘pioneered’ by Kanye. This Two Fingers collab suggests its one of the many ways forward for rap.
Ratings: 4/5
Read More Tags: Amon Tobin, Ce'Cile, Doubleclick, electronic, Ms Jade, rap, Sway