Videos : Toteking & Shotta : Mi Política
Videos : Toteking & Shotta :
Mi Política
Who Are Toteking & Shotta?
At a time of shortages and
bottlenecks, rhyme country needs more than ever the freshness, wit and bile of
Seville faction formed by brothers and Shotta Toteking. Inbreeding, if any,
comes with an added factor in plasma that runs through their veins: the most
abundant element is by far the hip-hop. And it shows. Since the beginning of
this century, the Andalusians have absolute dedication cultivating the art of
rap, sowing the history books of the genre with memorable characters and
reference discs. However, for consumers of Spanish hip hop is not the news, the
news is that a decade after the cult album "Your mother is a Seal",
the brothers return to record a full LP together, a massive work and ambitious
destined to raise the bar of the Spanish scene.
From the years of "Your
Mother is a seal" until the last stop, the lyrical and musical universe
and Shotta Tote has expanded exponentially. The stakes have risen. The
experience speaks. Dexterity is now unstoppable. Those brothers who were made
known from the trenches Andalusian for over ten years have learned to care for
your notebook with Stakhanovite dedication. The evolution of his speech is
palpable, the leap in quality that separates "Your mother is a Seal"
from his new album is huge. The brothers have perfected their flow, adjusting
their stories to the street today, agreeing with incendiary rhymes aimed at an
audience in need, more than ever, of messages with substance. Each with their
style, their particular tricks, but providing reflections that are worth
listening to. Because "Hero" is just that: a rap record that cries
out to be heard, a disc necessary for hard times.
After serving one of his more
elaborate LPs, "The Dark Side of Gandhi" (2010) and anchored for
years in the Olympus of the most popular Spanish MCs, arrives Toteking become a
voice that speaks for speaking his rhymes, full of biographical references,
humor sprinkled sulfuric lethal when put in the spotlight to fakers are like
razor sharp shurikens that are stuck in a rush in the listener's brain.
Meanwhile, Shotta treads the sand after publishing their best work, the
sensational "Deep", concocted with Griffi. The Seville comes armed
with a more mature book, but also with a more incendiary proclamations ever
profiled by only looking sharp lyrical jugular. The statistics do not lie: you
could say well that both have decided to record together in the prime of their
careers, and the fruits of "Hero" testify to this: this is not fun,
this is a record of concrete and rhinestones, a contemporary rap album you want
to pass on to posterity.
For a return of this magnitude,
the Sevillian have spared no resources in flank. You had to be at or even above
his last solo albums. In this sense, "Hero" not only appeals to the
epic in its title, is also a mammoth musical effort that is cleverly designed
to transcend the closed circles of rap and reach much wider audiences. And all
without losing a second the road to quality and the utmost respect for the
essence of the genre. It is the perfect balance between ambition and quality,
two variables that both have always Shotta Tote as solidly handled in their
respective solo careers. And the truth is that they have managed to find a
voice that will satisfy the hunger of the hip hop headz, but also come to the
iPods of countless young people without rhyme and hype as the only ingredients
of your musical diet.
The album works as an engine
perfectly tiled in two dimensions that define an exercise in hip hop to use:
lyrics and bases. In poetry, enough to have followed the path Shotta Tote and
to verify that the brothers have signed some of the best verses of his career.
Rhymes developed, sharp, clever, witty, full of cultural and sports references,
the profile that defines the style of Seville. A style that, while remaining
true to its origins, evolving as the years pass, looming increasingly on social
injustice, the cynicism of politicians, economic crisis or the tomfoolery of
television, among other things.
This crude reflection of reality
soaks abundantly the tracklist of "Hero," a work that not only
appeals to the classic battle rhymes, but also delves into the current problems
facing youth perspective free of clichés that knows no compunction. Just listen
to the texts of "My Policy" to see how far they can get scratches
verbal Andalusian duo. Nothing new on the slopes and haunting Shotta Tote:
rhyming skill of the brothers has always been unquestioned, but its depth and
substance in this album reaches a level, if anything, more deeply.
The high-born rap practiced in
this album deserved a sound package to rise to the occasion. And in this field,
has put all eggs and many talents in one basket. In the section of producers,
the Sevillian Baghira beatmaker takes the cake, leaving a hip-hop electronic
ultra dense, a sort of cross between Beatminerz, Just Blaze and Araabmuzik
shining razor sharp cuts like "Hero" and "Big Guns".
Including Griffi as master manipulator in two courts is also one of the major
claims of the disc. The Catalan producer returns to gel-based magic and
choruses steaming liquid funk on "OK" and stands at the forefront of
our country with a digital rock punch that makes gums bleed in "Na not
understand." We can not forget the contribution of a highly respected
veteran throughout the hip hop community in our country. Frank T gives us one
of his classic experiments with futuristic beats and classical music in
"Sanse". Meanwhile, the magnificent Cookin 'Soul, fellow sufferers of
Mucho Muchacho in recent years, do what they do best, ie funky grooves
piecework launch one of the best tracks on the album, the adrenaline "Naah
Nahhh Naaaah ". The Andalusians double contribution is not Heavy Roots
feat. The strings of playful fun and food "Fat", and the low
meandering "nohay" are cinnamon.
There are also contributions
from the other side of the pond in the manufacture of bases. We can not
overlook the inclusion of one of the greatest hip hop producers of Americans,
neither more nor less than Nottz, cult beatmaker who has worked with the greats
of the game (Busta Rhymes, Notoroius BIG, Fat Joe, etc.) And that holds to his
credit the exciting album "You Need This Music". Also, the New Jersey
Illmind alchemist street ragweed produces two of the most complex and
international courts of record, the tense "after a decade" and the
gorgeous, dark single "My Policy". By the way, this song, and the
whole entire album has been remastered in 24-bit, the sound quality to
computers and MP3 players, a format that has not been used in any national rap
record and, Of course, another plus gives the disc.
Even the always inevitable guest
rappers section, "Hero" is shown as an ambitious work in which there
is no place for choirs or filler rhymes. Collaborations are solid and are borne
by the best of the Spanish scene. Juaninacka, Rapsusklei, Kase O, Griffi
SwanFyahbwoy and even rap do their part to finish a body chiseling
intimidating. They are the icing on a very complete LP whose rappers look to
the future rather than lick their wounds. A disc needed to revive the native
scene and return the luster of his best years. "Hero" not only shows
that unity is strength, also points the way forward for rap homeland in the
uncertain future that awaits us. Lyrics and music written in blood, hot blood,
the same that runs through the circulatory system of the deadliest tandem there
right now in the court of the Spanish hip-hop.
Contact Toteking & Shotta
Contact Toteking
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