Tomas Olesen unwraps the new TY album.
Some albums you just have to sit down and listen to from beginning to end and this is one of those. It sounds classic and fresh at the same time, warm and welcoming but not cheesy or cliched. As you would expect from TY, the rapping is consistantly top notch, flipping between deep observations and silly references without blinking. It is, however, the music that makes this stand out so much sonically. It's hip hop but completely unique to TY. There's elements of it that remind me of SA-RA or Slum Village but it doesn't sound derivative of American hip hop and it's a fuller sound, less stripped down. Other than 'Emotions', stand out tracks include 'Heart is Breaking' which features Sway. Sway is a perfect foil to TY's rapping and it's a partnership I hope to hear more of, 'Something Big' is classic TY with understated horns and Carroll Thompson providing the sunny chorus. Me, featuring Eric Rico, is another immediate classic, but then most of the album is worthy of such comments. I think this is TY's best work to date, it's certainly his most complete album. It's thoughtful and personal and, as a result, thought provoking and life affirming. This should definitely be part of the soundtrack to your Summer and beyond.
If you've never listened to TY's amazing first album Awkward and, arguably, the even better Upwards or the star-studded and also excellent Closer, then you're sleeping on one of the finest talents in UK music regardless of genre. If you loved those albums then you're guaranteed to be seriously excited about this, his first release on BBE.
Everything about this album screams craftsmanship, even down to the cover art, which sees TY imortalised by Benjamin Wachenje as an 'Nkonde' nail fetish with a mess of nails making up his hair and facial hair. There's no discernable attempt to pander to mainstream hip hop, the first single, 'Emotions', is definitely one of the stand out tracks and the line 'I'm prepared to give it to you regardless of the status quo', rings truer and truer the more one listens to the album.
Read what TY had to say to Tom about loving his sampler and not wanting to dress up as a woman here.
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