http://dispossessedrecords.bandcamp.com/track/a-delicate-balance
Honestly, on first listen I didn’t care much for this. The reason is his voice takes a minute to get used to. He has a voice that, to me, at first sounds like a very young white guy. I know that’s weird, but it was off-putting for a minute. But that’s only on the surface. Once you get past that extremely shallow aspect of the music, the song is pretty dope. This is track telling a few different stories about people going through real shit in life. He has a great poetic story telling ability that reminds me of Slug or even Sage Francis. He doesn’t sound like a lot of other rappers, but his cadence sometimes even reminds me of Scifentology 2 era Yak Ballz. Listening to this, it’s obvious that he has a real skill at formulating songs. While this wasn’t completely mind blowing, it was totally refreshing.
I’m sure many will just dismiss this as emo, but I’m an old man. I remember when emo wasn’t used to describe hip hop at all and was left to the genre it was originally created by. But, in my opinion, labeling something emo doesn’t mean shit anyway. It just means that the singer/rapper isn’t afraid to show emotion. And if that’s the case, then, cool. This track is definitely emo, because Paul Thompson is definitely not afraid to talk about shit that is not hip hop stereotype friendly.
The production. I’m not sure who produced it, but I really really dig it. It’s got some great instrumentation with the piano and strings. It’s really nicely layered and goes quite well with the lyrics and story.
Overall, I think this track was pretty dope. I’ve actually listened to the entire album, but this is the track Paul sent me to talk about. The entire album is nice, but give this track a listen first and see what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if you’re feeling it or if you think I’m fucking crazy and it’s some straight up bullshit.
“There’s a fine line between fortune and talent. Don’t mistake fate and luck. It’s a delicate balance.â€