We've already seen how a television network can inspire a series of awesome singles (The Adult Swim Summer Singles program) and now we're hearing a shoe company is doing the same thing. Converse just wrapped up CONS EP Volume 2 and we're gonna check it out. Although much smaller than the Summer Singles collection, CONS features performers seen as unlikely collaborators doing just that: collaborating. Music Times will be listening to hear how well the respective groups involved can stick to themselves while producing a coherent single.
04) "Modern Mayhem" featuring Flatbush Zombies and Trash Talk
This, admittedly, was one of the more unlikely pairings that we were hoping for big things from. Trash Talk is hardly unfamiliar with the idea of hip-hop—it is signed to Odd Future Records after all—but it's still ultimately a hardcore punk band. Flatbush Zombies meanwhile have been one of many much-discussed hip-hop groups coming out of Brooklyn. So how well does the pair of acts smash up their sounds? The phrase "modern mayhem" was what we expected but song "Modern Mayhem" was underwhelming. Perhaps the band played the actual jangling beat, maybe even lent some guest vocals for the hook, but overall it's the Zombies running this show from beginning to end. Had you told an unsuspecting listener that a hardcore band was involved you would have gotten confused looks in return.
03) "Now Or Never" featuring Black Milk and BADBADNOTGOOD
Our first thought when reflecting upon "Now Or Never" was that it didn't sound like a collaboration. It sounded like Black Milk had been gifted with an especially brilliant beat and went to town with it. We mean this in a good way: The electronica contributions of BADBADNOTGOOD are the opposite of the band's title, taking a backseat to the emcee's lyrics while never remaining stagnant. Some DJ's have the ability to employ minimalism with success—a la DJ Mustard—but too many these days go to the same sample, the same drum machine riff and recycle it over and over again, sheer laziness. Beats shouldn't be at the fore but they should be somewhere because they, even more so than hooks, entice listeners to come in. "Now Or Never" represents the idea that great hip-hop can have great back tracks that rival the rappers blow-for-blow, much like what Kanye West or El-P have been doing for years. This single certainly does that as do the following tracks.
02) "Rage" featuring Dillinger Escape Plan and Jarren Benton
Following the mission statement we just gave between the relationship between instrumentals and hip-hop, we've certainly put a lot of pressure for the rest of these tracks to live up to it. Plus we've already seen a supposed hip-hop/hardcore collaboration fall through, so that adds to the hype behind a track featuring "mathcore" outfit Dillinger Escape Plan and Georgia rapper Jarren Benton. And they pull it off. The question had to be whether Dillinger could apply its patented disregard for valid time signatures and general heaviness without confusing the hell out of someone in the world's most flow-oriented genre...and the answer is yes. The band pummels away with a stuttering, disjointed style that's essentially footwork (the Chicago electronic genre) played with real instruments. Although Dillinger's vocalist Greg Puciato isn't present, Benton comes at the mic so angry that it might as well be any other Dillinger release, just with a substitute teacher.
01) "Made" featuring Vince Staples and Bad Rabbits
Admittedly, this collaboration has a somewhat unfair advantage over the rest featured in Converse's song series. Bad Rabbits is a fully-qualified band but vocalist Fredua Boakye has never shied away from dropping a few short rhymes. Which is good, because he ends up handling more than just the hook on "Made," taking the second verse for himself. It's almost unfair to Vince Staples, who's more than competent on his own verse, but between the funky bump of Graham Masser's bass guitar and the soulful input from the Talkbox of Salim Akram, Bad Rabbits might not have just helped create the best track on CONS Volume 2, but perhaps one of the year's best songs in general.
