Call ‘Em Out –  Nine Beats Collective (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

New musical forms don’t come along very often. And whilst the sonic building blocks of Nine Beats Collective’s music is pretty familiar, the trick, as always, is how you put them together, what you create with them. And what they build is fascinating stuff, spoken word nuggets of ancient wisdom driving a musical vehicle that blends modern grooves and more traditional sounds. Shimmering eastern vibes are soon joined by a drive and beat more at home in modern R&B and also sumptuous gang rap harmonies and whilst Call ‘Em Out isn’t exactly what you would call a hip-hop song, as measured by the usual yardstick, it certain is a musical style which hip-hop would be more than happy to hang out with.

A song such as this could just be about the lyrics and message, and whilst here more than ever that is the focal point, this after all is much more important than pop’s throw away banality or rock’s cliche ridden posing, it is the compelling music it works with which makes it much more than just a holier than thou spoken word piece.

They say that you learn more when you are fed information in a way that doesn’t feel like you are being educated, Nine Beats Collective have found the perfect way of passing on ancient knowledge, knowledge as relevant now as it was when it was first written, and do so in a way so musically astute that not only the smart set but the coolest kids too will fall for its charms