XoC - Abuse Remix(Childhood) 1st Draft

Hear The Track Here

XoC standing for 'eXaggeration Of Chris' apparently. A new name to me, this New York City based hiphop musician seems to have been on Soundclick since 2005, but hiphop is the biggest audience in the site so that's actually no surprise. Like a lot of people, I can see the appeal in a lot of hiphop, especially some of the more polished Soundclick veterans who show a damn sight more style and wit than most of their more commercial counterparts. Ooops, is my bias showing there? See, the thing I like most about Soundclick HH musicians, is that they range over a variety of subjects that wouldn't see the light of day in the real world - because of that very same content.

Serious rappers don't do to well, do they?

As you can tell, XoC decides to delve into his own childhood to conjure up a scenario that will be intimately familiar to a great many people, and in a painful way. Can't say in all honesty that I am not much taken with the basic backing track, but it's a simple structure that shows off the rap all the better. It's needed too because this is a wordy little track, as it needs to be. Making a subject like this the centre of the track means that your imagery better be spot on - and it is, regardless of the sparseness of the track.

Moreover, in style and delivery, XoC takes it back to the days when hiphop meant something, giving us a clear, legible story that's easy to follow - again, as befits the seriousness of the subject. You could do a track like this in only two ways I think; as a rage-filled diatribe against the world and his brother or as an act of personal enlightenment. As in yeah, it might have been tough, but I was tougher and I survived to tell the tale. Surprisingly enough, given the content, the track itself is an easy listen - especially if you like intelligent, coherent rap with a story to tell.

Highly Recommended hiphop.