Okay, so this album technically dropped in February of 2012, and I\u2019m a little bit late to the party. But what I lack in promptness I make up for in enthusiasm: Breakfast, <\/i>the debut album from rap duo Chiddy Bang (aka rapper Chidera “Chiddy” Anamege\u00a0and\u00a0beat maker extraordinaire Noah “Xaphoon Jones” Beresin), is by far one of the best albums of the year. It\u2019s a slice of hip-hop mastery that also manages to swerve into delightful pop, utterly catchy without being cheesy. <\/p>\n
Breakfast <\/i>comes on the heels of three two self released mixtapes, The Swelly Express <\/i>(2009), Air Swell <\/i>(released in the UK), and Peanut Butter And Swelly Express <\/i>(2011). All of this early work exhibits the duo\u2019s early promise and their signature sound: an almost childlike glee, combining creative sampling (see their inspired riff on MGMT\u2019s \u201cKids,\u201d \u201cOpposite Of Adults\u201d) with beats plucked straight out of video games. Xaphoon Jones and Chiddy make a tight pair, meshing the frontman\u2019s swaggering rhymes with energetic, eclectic beats that keep their work zipping along at quick pace. But it\u2019s Breakfast <\/i>where they\u2019ve really hit their stride. <\/p>\n
Every song here is polished and instantly listenable, emblemized in the disc\u2019s tongue-in-cheek lead single \u201cRay Charles,\u201d a flurry of piano trills and energized horns topped off with a retro, indelible chorus. But I find it hard to pick any favorite on a disc that moves this smoothly, ten tracks and two interludes on which every beat is enjoyable and earned.<\/p>\n
The only strange development on Breakfast <\/i>is the move away from utilizing samples, which were prominent on the duo\u2019s early mixtapes (see \u201cOpposite Of Adults,\u201d the joyously inspired riff on \u201cOpposite Of Adults\u201d that was a viral cult hit). Here, they move towards fashioning their own hooks, resulting in choruses that are deceptively simple and often recall children\u2019s chants or nursery rhymes. Both \u201cHandclaps & Guitars\u201d and \u201cMind Your Manners\u201d emblematize this sort of lighthearted yet nuanced sound. The former is full of electronic, shimmering swills and an insousciant chorus, while \u201cMind Your Manners\u201d (featuring Icona Pop) is a wink and a boast as Chiddy Bang arrives on the scene in full blaze.<\/p>\n
Even when they move into a poppier sound, like on the slick, almost lounge vibe of \u201cRun It Back\u201d or the dreamy \u201cOut 2 Space,\u201d every cut on this album is so jammed full of tonal shifts that there\u2019s no getting tired here. Chiddy\u2019s vocals are a perfect complement, the vigor to the verve of Jones\u2019 beats.<\/p>\n
But my absolute favorite is \u201cTalking To Myself,\u201d one of the simpler moments here that nevertheless manages to shine on its pure soulfulness, so earnest in a sea of swagger. The chorus gets delivered in a smooth falsetto \u2013\u201cIf you ever hear me talking to myself \/ I\u2019m just running through the words I have to say to you \/ Is it over or is it too soon to tell? \/ I\u2019m just trying not to push myself away from you\u201d \u2013 which pairs nicely with the breakdown of crooning and violins near the end of the song. While \u201cRay Charles\u201d and \u201cHandclaps & Guitars\u201d are the perfect place to start to see Chiddy\u2019s wit and humor, songs like \u201cTalking To Myself\u201d show an even deeper subtlety to their sound.<\/p>\n
As summer winds down, I\u2019m all the more drawn to the sun-soaked sounds of Breakfast, <\/i>reliving all the highs of the season with an album that\u2019s incredibly catchy, showcasing the sound of an incredibly cool new group.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":31052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8905],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-42736","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-chiddy-bang","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42736"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}