Rustik - Fade Away

Hear The Track Here

Not looking like there is much chance of Rustik fading away any time soon. After scoring three Tracks Of The Year 2010, this is one Soundclick hip hop musician who is not likely to be resting on his laurels. Whatever that means. In short, Rustik is one of a new breed of hip hop rapper who is not afraid to stretch the ol' envelope. Out of the three tracks that most affected me last year, only Monster is still hanging on in there but that is because it really is IMHO his best track yet. Still, there is always another track innit? Rustik - in a short space of time - has become one of those musicians whose music I actually do look forward to hearing, even in its most commercial forms (which he has been known to do).

And you know how I feel about commercial hip hop...

One of the main appeals for me with Rustik has been his production values. Right from the start, he has shown that home-produced hip hop doesn't have to be as rough as a bears butt. The man is full of great ideas for arrangements too, even though - at least in this case - the dreaded Autotune (or it's equivalent) is a prime mover in the proceedings. Forgivable when treated with respect, aural dog whistles when it isn't. Rustik, to his eternal credit, at least uses this much abused effect with some modicum of sound ideas and he mostly pulls it off and considering my hatred of it's use I'd say that was a good result.

Ultimately though, as always, it's going to come down to the song and in all the Rustik tracks I have reviewed this has never, ever been a problem. The guy just knows how to put things together in an interesting way. Sure you will have heard something similar, that's for sure, but at least Rustik works hard to make it an enjoyable experience for the listener, even if hip hop isn't normally your thing. This is where, I believe, this new wave of hip hop musicians are going to score. When you actually straddle genres like Rustik tends to do, your reach is much, much wider.

Excellent, despite Autotune. Highly Recommended and MUST HAVE for fans.