From their group name to their city of origin, there’s nothing particularly flashy about the Portland quartet Animal Farm. In fact, save a listen from their 2008 (conveniently-titled) album The Unknown, and chances are you wouldn’t recognize Hanif Wondir, Fury, Gen.Erik or Serge Severe if you walked passed one of them on the street. With that said, Hip Hop is better to be heard rather than seen. Animal Farm duly make note of this with their latest effort Culture Shock, best described as a revisionist take on golden era underground acts like Jurassic 5 and Blackalicious.
While other artists either clutter their track list with too many guests or simply choose the wrong features, Animal Farm appropriately pick out the ones that best suit their artistic endeavors. This is instantly clear from the outset when sharp deejay scratches from Rob Swift on the title-track sketch a portrait dripping with 90’s Hip Hop nostalgia. Similarly, Talib Kweli’s inclusion on “Test Of Time”
and Abstract Rude’s 16 bars of insight for “Music For Idiots” render outstanding levels of chemistry.
That’s not to say Animal Farm can’t hold their own on the microphone. “Down To Business” and “Hangin’” provide cerebral content that highlights their determination to make Portland a launching pad for budding rap acts. As a crew, Animal Farm generally have their word play and deliveries down, although some lines likely should have been omitted (“Straight embarrassing, like trying to take a shit on a flight”; “That’s a major fail like going to jail naked”). However, the biggest strength of Animal Farm undoubtedly turns out to be Gen.Erik’s production, who takes on the task by blending smooth, soulful tracks like “It’s Over” with firm and honest cuts like “Can’t Give Up.” Only in a few instances does his recipe of success falter, such as the dated bass line melody found on “Back In The Day” or the overbearing horns and sampling for “G.U.N.S. (Generation Under No Shield).”
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Culture Shock suffers the most when Animal Farm incessantly rhyme about their struggles as an underground act making it in 2011. To be fair, it’s a step up from the obligatory subjects of guns, bling and dance moves that drone on the radio. However, there comes a point when a listener can only hear only so much about passing out flyers at the mall for empty shows with little promotion (“DIY”) before realizing said act lacks the intangibles that separate hobbyist emcees from the ones that make music their career. Additionally, the group spends plenty of time sending disparaging comments toward commercial acts that arguably don’t deserve a spotlight, such as “Music For Idiots” and “In The Sky.” In the process though, they fail to irrefutably prove why they’re a worthwhile act for our ears.
Animal Farm stay true to their roots on Culture Shock with music that pays homage to Hip Hop’s earlier years. From a technical standpoint, they’re still rough around the edges; a weakness that can be improved over time. More importantly, their hearts seem to be in the right place, which can’t be said for many of Animal Farm’s peers.
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