N Talekt - Stay A While

Hear The Track Here

When I first met N Talekt when reviewing I Got U (February 2006) I wrote 'judging by this example there is some way to go before he is the ****' and that - for me - is some pretty strong criticism. The problem, as I see it, is that the one area that is most competetive of all on Soundclick is the hiphop genre. Let's face it, there is a LOT of crap out there and we really don't need any more. The bar on Soundclicks hiphop scene is actually pretty high; a lot of the beatmakers see to that. Where it generally falls apart is when a rapper takes those beats and murders them under a nondescript, bland or profanity filled rap. That is pretty much the barrier that N Talekt crashed against a couple of years ago and since then, he's been applying himself as Diamond (Decmber 2008) and Keep Dreaming (January 2009) amply show. Both tracks, btw, got a highly recommended from me and that's a long way from what I first wrote about this hiphop artist.

So Cold appears to be the title of his latest project, with Stay A While being one of the tracks from it. There are a couple of other So Cold tracks on his Soundclick page but Stay A While doesn't appear to be one of them so hopefully N Talekt will be along soon to provide you with a link. For me, the key to enjoying hiphop is the marriage of beats, music and words, and that balance is hard to maintain. Its not a question of stuffing the track as full as possible, or rapping as fast and loud as you are capable. Nope for me it's a case of riding that beat, the musical touches helping to define the emotions the rap is conjuring up. A feat I have found almost impossible with the softer strains of the genre.

No doubt that Stay A While is from that category, a love rap if ya will.

Not my favourite part of this genre that's for sure, but to his credit N Talekt doesn't overload the lyrics with the usual saccarhine coating that is IMHO the bane of this style. It's also a frisky little beast and that always helps to put this kind of track across better. Despite it's laid back opening and laconic rap, the music charges along as if its ass was on fire, helped by some excellently rendered percussion. Much more to the point - with a couple of not-so-right moments (odd tunings in the vocals) - N Talekt's rap takes the lead, his pacing and flow is as good as most of the better hiphop artists. No idea who he roped in to do the music and beats but this is a very good example of what Soundclick's hiphop community have to offer. Tight music, tight rap. Take your coat off and stay a while.

Highly Recommended Indie hiphop.