The Answer Is In The Beat

Tay Sean: Leavings (Homeskillet, 2016)

October 16, 2016 at 4:36 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Seattle-based producer/vocalist Tay Sean is one of the founding members of hip-hop collective Cloud Nice and the group Kingdom Crumbs, and Leavings is his debut solo effort. His brand of spacey, futuristic hip-hop often comes close to the orbit of nu-jazz or broken or beat, dipping into neo-soul with the Badu-esque “Um Tryin”. He does rap, but his voice is often covered in trippy echo or other effects, and it seems like the vocals are just one small part of what’s going on here. Very off kilter and exploratory, with unconventional rhythms and song structures, but still very easy to get into. Lots of scorching guitars, some video game sound effects, and some excellent beatwork, especially on the drum’n’bass-leaning “Pisces Twilight”. Mostly very hopeful and optimistic, but the self-explanatory “FML” reflects the confusion and disappointment of everyday life. It’s nearly impossible to not compare this artist to Shabazz Palaces, but I think this album reaches toward a much different star, and I’m way more into it. Preview/purchase at Bandcamp.