You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. That's a quote we've all heard 1000 times in the last few years. You can be a hero all you want but eventually you'll sour and become the villain. But, Magneto was right. Sometimes the villain is right. Sometimes you have to cheer for the villain.
I first came across Tef Poe when I was on Twitter. He had released a song called "War Cry." After the death of Michael Brown Jr. People were saying the song was overly violent and a bunch of other things I didn't agree with. I thought it was a great song that vocalized the desperation we're currently facing as black people in America. I decided to dive into his discography and landed on his first album Cheer for the Villain.
The first thing you're going to notice about Tef Poe is that he's a heavy critic of many different societal norms. However, this isn't your average rapper attempting to drop bars about things he truly doesn't understand in attempt to sound deep. Tef Poe seems to have researched his topics greatly. This gives of a feel of honesty and leads you to believe that he'll back anything that comes out of his mouth. It's not an album simply thrown together just to release a project. Each song is thought about thoroughly and serves a purpose for the album. Even the intro sets the tone for a gritty album that isn't going to be the nicest thing you've heard.
While Tef Poe proves to be heavy on the social conscience he also proves that he can provide you with the typical hip hop song. "Hog In The Lane" is the track that is going to give you the best feel for what a "typical" track from Tef Poe is going to sound like. By typical I mean a track that you may hear on the radio. While it's definitely a track about balling it still involves a message. Even while talking about jewelry, blowing money and nice cars he still takes the time to tell the youth that you can have that without selling drugs.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum the song "So Long," is like a modern gospel song. It starts with Aloha Mi'Sho singing what sounds like something you'd hear from your local gospel choir. It then switches when Tef Poe provides contrast with his gritty voice.
With the first listen of the album I admittedly felt like Tef Poe is the guy who gets high and tells you how life works. The guy who spouts conspiracy theories one after another with no proof. On the second listen I started to pick up on themes that I missed on the previous listen. While the album has a few tracks that are upbeat or catchy like "All I Know," it's a sad album at the end of the day.
It make take you a few listens to fully appreciate the album, but once you appreciate it you'll like it for what it's worth. It's not an album about trying to have the next radio single. It's also not an album that's deep for the sake of being deep. The refreshing thing about Tef Poe is he isn't concerned with being like the next rapper or, different from the last rapper. He's just Tef Poe. Sometimes he says things you won't agree with. He doesn't mind playing the villain. Sometimes the villain is right. That's when you Cheer for the Villain.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
I first came across Tef Poe when I was on Twitter. He had released a song called "War Cry." After the death of Michael Brown Jr. People were saying the song was overly violent and a bunch of other things I didn't agree with. I thought it was a great song that vocalized the desperation we're currently facing as black people in America. I decided to dive into his discography and landed on his first album Cheer for the Villain.
The first thing you're going to notice about Tef Poe is that he's a heavy critic of many different societal norms. However, this isn't your average rapper attempting to drop bars about things he truly doesn't understand in attempt to sound deep. Tef Poe seems to have researched his topics greatly. This gives of a feel of honesty and leads you to believe that he'll back anything that comes out of his mouth. It's not an album simply thrown together just to release a project. Each song is thought about thoroughly and serves a purpose for the album. Even the intro sets the tone for a gritty album that isn't going to be the nicest thing you've heard.While Tef Poe proves to be heavy on the social conscience he also proves that he can provide you with the typical hip hop song. "Hog In The Lane" is the track that is going to give you the best feel for what a "typical" track from Tef Poe is going to sound like. By typical I mean a track that you may hear on the radio. While it's definitely a track about balling it still involves a message. Even while talking about jewelry, blowing money and nice cars he still takes the time to tell the youth that you can have that without selling drugs.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum the song "So Long," is like a modern gospel song. It starts with Aloha Mi'Sho singing what sounds like something you'd hear from your local gospel choir. It then switches when Tef Poe provides contrast with his gritty voice.
With the first listen of the album I admittedly felt like Tef Poe is the guy who gets high and tells you how life works. The guy who spouts conspiracy theories one after another with no proof. On the second listen I started to pick up on themes that I missed on the previous listen. While the album has a few tracks that are upbeat or catchy like "All I Know," it's a sad album at the end of the day.
It make take you a few listens to fully appreciate the album, but once you appreciate it you'll like it for what it's worth. It's not an album about trying to have the next radio single. It's also not an album that's deep for the sake of being deep. The refreshing thing about Tef Poe is he isn't concerned with being like the next rapper or, different from the last rapper. He's just Tef Poe. Sometimes he says things you won't agree with. He doesn't mind playing the villain. Sometimes the villain is right. That's when you Cheer for the Villain.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
I know this is a good album because you didn't even give it a rating lol
ReplyDeleteLol you can't put a score on good music.
DeleteAye that's very true
Delete