Good evening, welcome to the end of the weekend!
Additionally welcome to day three of my never ending Doomtree Diatribe. Today we look at the working man's/thinking man's rapper, your favorite bad ass and mine, Sims.
Sims is another Hopkins alumni, having met P.O.S. in high school. After buying beats off him, Sims began recording his music with P.O.S. and soon got rooked into the rap game with the newly emergent elements of Doomtree. Having released his own False Hopes EP early on, the fantastic and now out-of-print False Hopes 4, Sims released his album Lights Out Paris in 2005. Both a damning look into American culture and a call to arms to better our country and lives, the album was a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a man who is both frustrated with the world he lives in while simultaneously tries to improve it in any way possible. The album sees him digging into such diverse yet interconnected topics as the free market society, the daily grind & navigating rush hour, Bush's political landscape and his relationship with his father and the impact it had on him. It's no wonder the album received so many accolades, including the Strib's Best of 2005 list and gathering critical adoration in the online rap community.
Unfortunately, the demand of both being a human being (working, paying rent, sleeping) and a member of the best damn rap crew around (touring, guesting, working on the highly anticipated crew album) kept Sims from the task of finishing his long awaited follow up, Bad Time Zoo. After all the pieces fell into place, though, it was finally released to the overwhelming approval of the local and national rap community. But while this album has been gathering a huge buzz, both online and via NPR (despite his understandable critiquing) what I find more fascinating is what happened between albums. To satiate the demand for his music and to satisfy his fans, Sims released an EP. Number 14 in the False Hopes canon, his EP is an interesting work in dynamics that really could warrant more love than it gets. Everyone is rightfully stoked about Bad Time Zoo, but we shouldn't forget about the EP that proceeded it.
Bearing beats produced by both members of the crew and a few outsiders, False Hopes XIV is an interesting peak into an artist in flux. At the time these songs were created, Sims was between the fury of his debut and the confidant consternation of his follow up. It essentially afforded the man an opportunity to exorcise some demons with the same demons plaguing the mood of a highly public release. While Lights Out Paris is full of clanging beats and despondent tones and Bad Time Zoo utilizes horns and strings to quantify man's plight, False Hopes XIV is a sparse, almost minimalist affair that serves as a playground for the artist fleshing out his ideas, seemingly painting as he goes. 'Like You Mean It' is a gorgeous, melancholic tune that is a fantastic warm up to the meat of the ten song EP. 'With The Fire In Its Palm' is a foggy, moody song that sees Sims spinning yarns about the people he's known, most movingly that of a soldier "who served and earned a medal - he made it home but the storm never settled". Sims is a man of the people and a heartbreaking story teller, capable of giving you just the right details to hook you in and see a real person in the lyrics. 'T C a G' utilizes a similar sharp piano loop as 'Like You Mean It' and the song shares the somber link of the tone. Showing further dichotomy to the ideas put forth, there are tracks like 'Rap Practice', where Sims shows he can still be playful and loose, not just focusing on societal strife. In it, he raps about jokingly and freely about how his "practice raps are soundin' better than your album tracks".
There is no doubt that Sims is one of, if not the smartest rappers around. Who else would make a repeating theme, and song, out of citing Kurt Vonnegut's phrase "So It Goes"? He's the kind of man who dissects philosphy between carpentry jobs, seeing the wisdom and application in both. I'm so grateful he's getting the recognition he deserves, now that Bad Time Zoo is out. But while you enjoy his newest release, head over to the Doomtree store and pick up this fantastic, under appreciated EP.
