Rob The Rockstar - Clap Ya Hands

Hear The Track Here

Another review request from the Rebelriffs blog, this time from MP3 Unsigned based hiphop musician Rob The Rockstar. Can't quite see where rockstar and hiphop mix but hey, we all know its been tried often enough. Still maintain that the only one that actually worked was Run DMC and Aerosmith. Still, it's just a name, right? Absolutely nothing whatsoever on Rob's page about who he is or where he comes from so obviously this is one musician who wants his music to say everything for him - as it should be. Mind you, MP3 Unsigned looks like its going through a fairly extensive revamp so the fault may lie with waiting for the new, updated site to take effect. Have to say, on the sites behalf, it's looking REAL good. If you haven't been there in a while, maybe it's time for a little swing by...

and tell 'em Gilmore sent ya....

Having been spoonfed a lot of demo quality indie hiphop over at Soundclick I have become inured to a lot of it - and that's probably a shame but par for the course. It's extremely gratifying then that Rob The Rockstar seems to grasp the principle that less is more, delivering in Clap Ya Hands a very slick piece of listenable hiphop. Moreover, the man has done it with a stunning funk feel that sneaks up and mugs you and you are going to love it. A few things need to snap into place for me to really get behind a hiphop track, principal amongst which musical ideas has to be top of the list.

And its amazing how many fail right there.

Ideas, musical progressions that make sense and propulsion and a lyrical flow that dominates are almost the entire winning recipe. Finally, I do like to hear a rap/hiphop artist who delights in their ability to - literally - play with the language and in Rob The Rockstar we have a very able lyricist indeed. Some lovely lines in this excellently produced and performed smokin' little track and I will put money on it, you hear it once, you are sold. It's a given, of course, that you should like hiphop and unsigned hiphop at that but Clap Ya Hands is way above the norm in every way that counts.

Highly Recommended hiphop.