Hip-hop, rap and the various urban genres they spawned have come a long way since they crawled out of the house parties and community centres of South Bronx all of those years ago. All of that time it has continued to evolve, cross-collaborate and be a vehicle for new sonic ideas to a point where some of its musical descendants would barely be recognisable to the originators. But there are some artists who manage to embrace the past whilst writing the next chapter. Greksu is just such an artist.
His embrace of those older values is evident, whether he is aware of it or not and Chillin’ in the Sun drives with the confident vocals and strident beats of those early days. But it also weaves more modern touches through its layers, clever textures and motifs that mark this out as music of the here and now, electronic counter melodies, deft sonic fingerprints which sit behind the main melody but which add gloss and beguiling riffs, depth and intrigue.
Lyrical flow and addictive beats top and tail the groove, dynamic interest is maintained with strange electronic waves and crescendos in the hypnotic middle ground t and what Greksu has created here is something new, something at the cutting edge of hip-hop but also something grounded in the history of the genre. This is very much today’s music and it certainly knows where it is going – into a bright new future, that’s where it is going – but more importantly, it knows where it comes from. And it is this blend of familiarity and freshness, this look to the future whilst tipping its hat to the past, which makes this track and the man behind it a hot prospect.
Check out Greksu’s music – HERE
