Released - October 2009
Label - Unsigned
BLURB - What an awesome mix tape. Thank you Mr. Tom Ruhf for the recommendation! 'The Swelly Express' was created from Chidera Anamege and Xaphoon Jones as story based mix tape detailing the two's frequent bus trips to New York City from Philadelphia. The album elaborates on the struggles and journeys experienced for two young kids trying to get a hip hop record deal. While a little rough around the edges, this is some good stuff. The production reminds me of early Kanye in that there is great instrumentation and is very sample-heavy. They flaunt their new school vibe with samples from both Passion Pit and MGMT, two of the more recent ground breaking indie acts. Don't know what will come of Chiddy Bang, but it's a great first step...and people are listening.
Rating - 7.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - What's great about 'The Swelly Express' is the pure creativity and originality. It's one thing to just throw some tracks on a mixtape and promote it. But these former Drexel students found a clever way to add some humor and story telling throughout the 18-track mix tape. You can tell they had a good time doing it. In between the majority of the songs are these little skits between Chiddy Bang, producers, bus drivers, label executives, taxi drivers, managers and everyone in between. The only thing is that after hearing this record so many times you just want to listen to the music and not have to deal with the skits.
The best song and beat can be found on the track, 'Now U Know.' The chorus features a well placed, '...and if you don't know, now you know' Notorius B.I.G. sample that really fits the song well. The production is very smooth and upbeat with cool little riffs and synthesizers throughout the track. The emceeing is very upbeat and has an indefinable swagger to it. You can feel the confidence on the track, and that is something that is great to see from an up and coming act.
'Get Up in the Morning' is the lead song on the mix tape and is also filled with the same swagger. While serving as the prologue to the entire story line to the record, it also readies the listener for Chiddy Bang's playful style of rapping, which is very easy going, laid back, yet confident. The duo is also not afraid to flaunt their Philly roots either as they make references to Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. It may be just me, but if you can find a way to work in Philadelphia baseball players, you've got my attention.
And now we move into some of the big samples, the first of which being 'Truth.' This song samples and features a chorus from Passion Pit's 'Better Things.' Of all the songs this track is the most danceable and has a huge amount of energy. This track also shows the group's versatility as they clearly can take care of the 'laid-back, chill out' jams, but they can also throw in some club music too. In the skit directly after this track, a fake 'label executive' tries to describe this song and says, 'I heard Truth, it's really cool, it's like rap but it's not rap, and it just blows my mind.' While simultaneously making fun of the executive they also indirectly illustrate just how great that song is. It is like rap, and it is not like rap. Through the Passion Pit sample Chiddy Bang is able to fuse underground hip hop, pop, indie and dance music into 'Truth,' making for a really amazing interpretation of where music is currently at.
The next huge sample comes by Chiddy Bang's sample of MGMT's 'Kids,' aptly titled 'The Opposite of Adults.' The music is based off of the main riff from 'Kids' but isn't nearly as tight as 'Truth.' The verses aren't as polished as the rest of the album, but it's not that far of a departure. Don't really know why I don't like this song that much, but to me it just has this feel of a couple kids in the basement hanging out and rhyming. Like maybe once they came up with the MGMT sample, they didn't really put a lot of effort into the rest of the song, I don't know.
All things considered, this is a fun record that combines the worlds of indie hip hop and indie pop. It is definitely refreshing and if you are just looking for some good music to hang out and party to, this will probably suit you well. If you want to pick up the mix tape you can get it here. Enjoy.
Tracks
1.) Get Up in the Morning
2.) Never
3.) Danger Zone
4.) Fresh Like Us
5.) Now U Know (feat. Jordan Brown)
6.) Welcome to Major Label Inc (Skit)
7.) Truth (feat. Passion Pit)
8.) Meet Mike Hoffman (Skit)
9.) Pro's Freestyle 1.0
10.) Awesome (Skit)
11.) Dream Chasin'
12.) Silver Screen
13.) Slow Down (feat. Black Thought & elDee the Don)
14.) Decline
15.) Call (Skit)
16.) The Opposite of Adults (KIDS)
17.) Voicemail (Skit)
18.) All Things Go
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