Freeflow
Throwdown
By
Mike Mac
This release is one of those from the crates. Originally
recorded a few years back with Mike freestyling over some beats it has been
brought up-to-date polished up and is now in the light of day and soon for all to hear.
I don’t want to give this one a huge intro so I’m just gonna
dive straight in…
The Intro is a proper boombap head nod beat that
forms the backdrop for a host of big names to drop shouts to the man himself
so, just let this one sink in damn. 3 Styles Official hits your ears
with more of that slammin’ head nod vibe and nice guitar adding that extra
dimension. Mike starts by dropping some shout outs before telling how the
project came together and really kicking off that freestyle feel. Next, we
slide into Get This which features TRZ, it’s a nice piano heavy upbeat
track with a sung intro and chorus and is really all about the good times and
what makes you feel good. A big beat with melodic organ is the sound for Social
Media, which see’s Mike wading in on the popular apps and website that not
only keep us connected but, also invade our space and, to a point, control our
lives. From the ups and downs of social media we drift into banging beat with
some piano and electronic elements that see us look into the life of a Lab
Rat. This one looks deep into Big Pharma, prescription drugs, G.Ps and the
whole idea that it is not about a cure, because there is no money in a cure.
Break Down is a proper upbeat piano fuelled head nod
beat and the track is all about breaking it down about life, it’s just that
simple. It’s time to get funky with Love & Respect which has a such
a wicked guitar and those hand claps just make you wanna move to the beat. The
track is all about being aware of those negatives in your life but, keep that
in its place for the thing you want to bring to the surface is your positive
awareness, which will keep you where you want to be. We end with the New
Style Outro on an upbeat mix of synth and brass elements, this the kinda
short freestyle flow that this is all about and why an emcee does what he does.
For me I really liked how this was done. That freestyle vibe
to it really gave the whole thing that authentic Hip Hop vibe and made me cast
my mind back the early 80s when I first got into Hip Hop and the whole
freestyle thing was so big with freestyle battles and emcees throwing down that
was what gave rap that extra dimension and energy and Mike has ably captured
that here with Freeflow Throwdown. I know it is not entirely freestyle but, it
does have that feel about it. At times it feels gritty and raw, with areas
where you feel it could be a bit more polished, such as with the New Style Outro,
where the lyrics are almost hard to discern at times But, all this adds to what
I feel he was trying to achieve here and it certainly gives it that element of
the underground.
The whole idea for this release was to take concepts, ideas
for titles which were suggested by friends on Social Media and then to create
the individual tracks around that and you can’t help feeling that he has
achieved exactly what he set out to do. The project is cohesive both musically
and vocally, you can throw it on and get a real buzz out of it. It also shows
exactly what you can achieve when you come up with an original concept for a
project.
The fact this is a few years old does not take away from its
relevance in today’s climate and it is definitely a release you should not
underestimate.
Freeflow Throwdown is due to be released sometime in the future. If you really want to hear this then drop some comments and who knows what might happen...
Peace,
I’m out,
Steve
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