N Talekt - Keep Dreaming

Hear The Track Here

One of the things that fascinate me about the current hiphop/rap scene on the net is the sheer amount of confidence in their talents these particular artists have. Now I understand that it is an integral part of the scene that you big yourself up as often and as loudly as possible and, as we have seen so many times, that can often backfire horribly. Probably THE most competive unsigned musical market around just has to be the hiphop/rap genre, it's sheer size dwarfs most other forms of music even on a musician-centred site like Soundclick. That can, of course, lead to a certain amount of friction between the endless wannabees and Soundclick's more established (and older) musicians. A couple of years ago much forum time was spent evading the myriad 'peep my shit' requests, and the attendant screams of rage from the older community. All of whom, I might add, have maybe forgotten what it is to be young, full of sass and vinegar and an innate certainty that you are indeed, the One. Cold fact is, I like a lot of hiphop and grime and crunk and endless other permutations that show a genre in full flower, and everyone has to start somewhere right?

and r-e-l-a-x...

On that score, being a fan of the genre from way back, I am not the kind of reviewer to come up against if you work is in any way half-assed. There are several worthwhile artists on Soundclick and despite the roughness of their approach have the right salt to actually pull it off. Where many of them fall down is by not paying as much attention to the musical backing track (even if it is a few beatz) and others where they think the point is to stuff as many words as possible in the track allotted time. It's a rare thing indeed where both those things come together and work properly but when they do, these are the ONLY hiphop tracks I transfer from Soundclick into my own extremely voluminous pockets. N Talekt found out just how picky I can been when I reviewed I Got U (February 2006) where I wrote 'judging by this example there is some way to go before he is the ****'

Towards the end of 2008, N Talekt popped back into view with a track called Diamond (December 2008) which showed that the intervening time hadn't been put to waste. In my view it showed a maturity and ease with the style that wasn't present before. So two some years down the road I have to say that Keep Dreaming came this close (holds thumb and forefinger as illustration) to sliding into my pockets bound for Always. The reason it didn't isn't down to anything this rapper did right or wrong, merely a personal opinion and not something I think is relevant for this review. It isn't a Parental Advisory thing either because this rapper is one of the few who can actually make sense without expletives encrusting the affair. Somehow, though to my ears it lacks a final touch and I couldn't tell you what and then it would really cook. As it is, this is a fine track for the genre and one I am sure will gain N Talekt more listeners.

Highly Recommended hiphop.