Overview
Brooklyn's El-P is one of the most prolific voices in hip-hop in both senses of the word. He's contributed productions and guest rhymes to albums by everyone from Dizzee Rascal and Das Racist to Beck and Cat Power, and as a rapper he eschews the commercial to the extent that you hesitate to even call him a rapper.
Many of his tracks are marked not by blatant lyrics but by future-dystopian Philip K. Dick post-9/11 themes. He's also a white guy of Irish-Cajun-Lithuanian descent, and doesn't try to pretend he's anything else.
El-P's latest release is the labyrinthine Cancer 4 Cure. "The Full Retard" (a reference to Tropic Thunder) is one of the album's catchier songs, but you can't call it simple. Other tracks you can't describe as anything other than a convoluted mix of militant vocals, Gameboy-era lo-fi aesthetics and heavily distorted beats. Things that are smart aren't usually easy to unravel.
Nevertheless, El-P inspires motion. You might not be rhythmically gyrating but you certainly won't be sitting still if you're luckily enough to be in his audience this festival season.
Information
When
Thu, Feb 7, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
8:00pm
Where
Oxford Art Factory38-46 Oxford Street
Darlinghurst