Y Society - "Travel At Your Own Pace"

Y Society - Dizzy (Tres 2007)

Y Society - Travel At Your Own Pace / Tres

What happened this year with hip-hop? Initially 2007 was hyped as "The Year of Detroit" and Phat Kat got the ball rolling for sure, but Guilty Simpson and the rest never really hit as hard as was initially anticipated. Then it seemed like the NoW Coast scene had picked up a sufficient amount of steam to gain serious exposure, but the problem was that those groups haven't yet found a way to beat the collective "It's positive!" rep. As the year begins to draw to a close (with plenty more on the way, but let's be real here: We're in the last quarter), I find myself looking for artists and beatsmiths who lie somewhere off our beaten path of Detroit, NoW and Anticon, even if the sounds are similar. What is everybody else doing? It can't all be Educated Consumers (incidentally given a shout-out here) or Shape of Broad Minds, after all.

Brooklyn's Junk Science are one recommended duo that I've been spinning a lot lately. This is the other: Transcoastal duo Y Society. Currently living in Boston, Insight is a respected MC, producer and DJ (though not necessarily in that order) who has heard compliments from Mr. Lif and Edan for starters during the course of working his musical magic for over a decade. Washington DC resident Damu the Fudgmunk (or Damu, or Fudgemunk, but I doubt his mother calls him either of those) first landed as the DJ for Panacea, a Dead City collective who released the The Scenic Route earlier this fall to critical acclaim.

For Y Society's debut here, the delineation between DJ and MC are, much like the music, uncomplicated and immediately accessible. Though both produce, Damu plays the role of DJ with occasional vocal accompaniment, but Insight does most of the business on the chrome. The art and science of crate-digging and the two men's sheer appreciation for Golden Era soul and funk are plainly evident on Travel At Your Own Pace, but instead of minute snippets that tease (I'm looking at you, Beat Konducta), full songs unfold with beautifully laid-back soul samples ("How Many of Us?") and empowering pop hooks ("This is an Introduction"). "Hole in Your Pocket" even has a sample clip of holes in your pocket and this serves as a song that grabs you from the get-go and gets you moving. It's just easy to like, that's all there is to it. Enjoy.

No largely positive-minded hip-hop album would be complete without a little vinyl hiss, and given that Damu is using samples it's not really a problem, but this goes back to the straightforward nature of the release. A little scratching here, a little anthemic chorusing there (and "In Command" has both), go home satisfied. I don't mean to say that this isn't a good album, because it is. It's satisfying because it pulls no punches, makes no mistakes, and has a strong foundation of competent rhymes and engaging beats. Comparing this to something like Abandoned Language is kind of missing the point. In fact, though both Insight and Damu are East Coasters, Travel At Your Own Pace sounds like it would fit in well with the NoW battalion. "Never Off (On & On)" is both an album highlight and a perfect example of what we're talking about here.

At its core, Y Society have what Drowned in Sound correctly described as flow. This album flows smooth as Jameson on the rocks and that's about as good a compliment as you can get when you're not going for either ear-twisting lyrical abstraction or genre-crushing Statement Records. This is neither of those things, but I don't mean to demean, if you see what I mean. Rather, this is the debut of two men who are simply looking to get their talents out there to a broader audience with an album that exploits their strong suit: Positive hip-hop with a healthy helping of the best samples vinyl archeology can buy. For listeners who want a strong album rather than just a decent collection of songs, Y Society deliver with the flexibility that their title delivers. Pick this up. Or, as Damu puts it, "you know, unfortunately, with the whole Internet thing, you can catch us all on MySpace." Few things are as pleasing as a little Internet cynicism. On that note: Touché.