The Unusuals - Pressure (self-released)

Hip-hop and all the sounds and styles it has ushered in over the last forty or so years has come a long way. But longevity is not always a good thing. Look at some of the descendants of that once socially revolutionary, sonically pioneering scene, look how watered down the intent has become. Look at those mumbling, would-be gangster rappers singing about how tough life is from their parent’s house in suburban Connecticut and tell me that this is what the legends of the South Bronx intended to create. So, given that the benchmark for such music is dropping year on year, it’s refreshing to come across a crew like The Unusuals.

Firstly, there is the music. “Pressure,” their latest, feels like a direct connection to those early pioneers who first rewired those decks to create their music, which represented their lives rather than supported some distant record executive’s luxurious lifestyle. It is built on skittering modern trap beats and deep, pulsating bass lines, of deft and dexterous salvos of words and brooding, spacious atmospherics. It has an inherent groove that draws on slow jam, R&B vibes and an infectious, lilting rhythm. Remember that cool sound? The Unusuals do.

And then there is the video. Forget your streams of guys wandering around waving money at a shaky iPhone cameraman or the cliched, “Hey, look at me in the club, how important am I?” schtick, “Pressure” comes with a video with Hollywood production values. It is slick, action-packed and mesmerising. Some videos are just about selling the single, a promotional tool and nothing else. This is a separate film in its own right, something that could be watched and enjoyed separately, even with the sound down. How cool is that?

I saw one comment left on their page that said, “Could this be the rebirth of hip-hop? It very much could be. Watch this space.

The Unusuals
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