Busy Signals - Pretend Hits
(Sugar Free)
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of combining hip hop and pop is artists like Puff... excuse me... P. Diddy, and all of the other crap that's out there littering the airwaves of MTV and the radio. That's why I was shocked and amazed when I first heard The Busy Signals. Howard W. Hamilton III (the sole member of the Busy Signals) has succeeded in combining hip hop, pop, and several other genres in the most unique, creative, fun, and interesting way I've ever heard. The record starts out with a clever acoustic-based pop song called "The New You," then goes into the more hip hop-based "Buckle Down" which feature MC Phonte and Har Mar Superstar. Then it goes into my current favorite song on the record, "The Freeway," which features Robert Schneider (Apples in Stereo) and continues to weave its way through dub, trip, hip hop, and pop, all the time staying really interesting and fresh. Hamilton said it was his goal to create a record that felt like a mix tape that you'd give to a boy or girl you were interested in, "a party record for people who never went to parties.' He definitely succeeded with his goal, but the album still has a continuity, and makes sense in its own odd way. In a perfect world, these wouldn't be just Pretend Hits.
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