Review: Oktayne – Self Explanations

Oktayne – Self Explanations
2008, Chozen Swag Entertainment

Rodeo, California’s Oktayne has a plan. Not one for simply thriving on a dance beat, Oktayne raps and rhymes about whatever is on his mind, whether it’s dreams of being a rap star, social issues, having fun and partying or even bringing a little Barry White smooth to his rhymes. Born in 1987, Oktayne has deep respect for the history of hip-hop, with influences including Ice-T, 2PAC, Jay-Z and Nas. Oktayne’s debut album, Self-Explanations, was released in 2008, and continues a slow-but-steady build in internet buzz.

Self-Explanations opens with What I Am, a declaration of self in song that's fairly stereotypical for Hip-Hop/Rap. The rhymes here are strong but Oktayne doesn't really offer much that's new or interesting. Hat Game is a bit perplexing. I had a hard time figuring out whether Oktayne is praising the trend of wearing/collecting different team hats or making fun of it. On one hand there's a fair amount of sports knowledge and love expressed by the song, but there's also a tendency in the song to change teams like the wind depending on whose winning. I Am Tayne is a much better intro song that the opening track. Oktayne gives you a look at who he is and why. Unlike a lot of popular rap artists who might decry the world for their own betterment, Oktayne gives the impression that he lives for the music itself.

Oktayne takes some time to praise the fairer sex on I Wanna Be High. Barry White smiles benevolently on this song as someone finally figures out how to bring the slow jam vibe to a rap song and does it right. Oktayne is a student of Hip-Hop as well as a performer, and pays tribute to its Soul and Funk roots on California Soul. Oktayne distinguishes himself in the Rap world with Neva; a gooey love song that says all the right things about love, commitment and family. It's a positive image that is often left aside in popular rap. Sexademic, however, could have been written by Luke Campbell himself. Fans of old 2 Live Crew material will love it.

Juicii shares mic time on Till The Sun Up; an entertaining if highly charged song about sex. I guess it's no good being a rap star if you can't brag about your prowess a little. Sosa The Champ sits in on Hold It Down, a great danceable song with real commercial possibilities. Sex appeal and dancing come together on Fast To The Ground, where it's all about the booty. This should score big for Oktayne on the club scene. There's real potential here. The dance-oriented material continues on Leaving With Me, although this tune is a bit more bland. Oktayne gives listeners a tour inside his mind with The Dreamer, a song about striving for what you want; growing up and taking responsibility for your own destiny. It's a hungry song; a positive message from someone who perhaps hasn't gotten where he wants to be yet but is certainly on the right path.

Oktayne scores major points on See You Again, a touching tribute to his aunt and uncle. See You Again is extremely well written, having a strong narrative that illuminates his loved ones quite well; it's very apparent how strongly he feels and yet done without sounding cliché. Oktayne closes out Self-Explanations by calling his own generation out for their lack of direction and seriousness on Focus. He reaffirms his own drive to succeed and calls on others to take their lives in their hands. This is one of the more energetic performances Oktayne gives on the CD and is my personal favorite.

Oktayne scores big with Self-Explanations. I thought the dance/club material was the weakest on the disc and yet still scores decent marks for quality while providing some of the most marketable songs on the disc. Oktayne is profane at times, but poetically say; he's got a lot to say. While the delivery might not always sit well with all listeners, there's always a dash of good humor in Oktayne's voice that makes even the most difficult of messages go down easier. Self-Explanations has flashes of the poetry of 2PAC, a pop sensibility that Kanye would be proud of, an occasional killer lyrical instinct in the vein of Ice-T and a whole lot of Will Smith's good guy machismo all wrapped up together. Oktayne has a great start here, and he's only going to get better.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Oktayne at www.myspace.com/therealoktaynepage or http://www.therealoktayne.blogspot.com/. You can purchase Self-Explanations digitally via iTunes.

Review: Sleeper Cell - The Time Is Now

Sleeper Cell – The Time Is Now
2008, Sleeper Cell Recordings

Drawing on influences ranging from Tupac Shakur to Eminem, Sleeper Cell blasts out of Indianapolis, Indiana with their debut recording, The Time Is Now. The album opens with a sample of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “This Day Will Live In Infamy” speech on the title track. Whether or not intentional, the use of an event that signaled the coming out of the United States as a world power is a strong and pointed message in a song about Sleeper Cell’s self-introduction to the world. Sleeper Cell seems to struggle with its own best intentions throughout The Time Is Now, at times expressing deep yet subtle socio-political commentary while at other times falling prey to the stereotypical conventions of Gangsta Rap. Move Forward is a song about survival and can be heard on many levels given the current economic environment. This is one of the things that makes Sleeper Cell so unique and concurrently so frustrating. In one verse you might think they’re talking about life on the streets and in the next it may sound like they’re talking about life in the boardroom. This could be intentional, and if so it shows signs of lyric genius. The ability to essentially tell a parable that applies to both the street and the boardroom with the same moral is a rare gift. But given some of the more mundane material presented here it is hard to know whether these moments are cases of transitive genius or pure luck.

Just for the record, we’re leaning toward the transitive genius argument, but it’s still open for discussion. Best Effort addresses the corporate race to the top in street vernacular, exhorting listeners to give their all but not to forget themselves along the way. Once again the song could apply to many different settings and speaks to an ability that is uncanny. The backing vocals provided Lynda Sayyah are amazing. We don’t know much about here, but suggest that if she hasn’t already considered recording some material of her own that she do so. My Mistress takes a turn for the more mundance side as Sleeper Cell falls into a stereotype that diverges from the path they’ve chosen thus far on The Time Is Now. The trend continues through Pay For What, Husslin’ For Mine and Time Flies.

I’m Not The One stays with the stereotype somewhat but at least shows a little more depth. It also makes use of some interesting dialogue samples of Steve Carrell from The Forty Year Old Virgin. Always On The Grind returns to some of the higher minded intellect that Sleeper Cell shows early on. Blame The Game adds some funky guitar work to the mix in one of the more personal and well thought out rhymes on the disc. Respect is a song that anyone who’s ever worked for a living can identify, like an apt epilogue to the movie Office Space. Get Paper expresses the thought that rhymes are the motivation for Sleeper Cell, not money or notoriety. Based on the material here I would guess it’s at least partially true. What’s Your Profession would seem to support this idea as well. The set closes out with I Don’t Matter, a big Drum N Bass rhyme.

Sleeper Cell create some moments of genius on The Time Is Now. They also fall prey to their own baser instincts at points on the album. This is a group with real potential to lift Rap Music back up to the level of art form that it once was. Sleeper Cell believe they’ve grown as artists in the four months since the release of this album. Based on what I Hear on The Time Is Now I’m willing to take that on credit. Sleeper Cell has the ability to reach for higher concepts in street terms and speak to a slew of fans for whom they hyperbole of profanity and base concepts generally turns them away from rap. At their best Sleeper Cell are masters or rhyme and reason. It will be curious to see what comes next. For the moment, The Time Is Now is an outstanding debut.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Sleeper Cell at www.myspace.com/sleepercellcrew. You can purchase a copy of The Time Is Now at Underground HipHop.com.