An international hip hop head since…well…before it was cool — I have always been drawn to music that mirrors my own personal experience. Growing up between hectic Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), gritty Nairobi (Kenya), sleepy Lusaka (Zambia), and the capitol of the Western world (aka Washington, DC), I have always been drawn to the urban sounds that reflect my own nomadic upbringing. But in those days, living in another country did not make it any easier to get away from American hip hop or music that imitated it. Naturally, American hip hop dominated my case-logic (remember those days?), as it did everywhere else (obvious highlight: Fugees, The Score).
So when I stumbled onto French super group Saian Supa Crew, the tables began to turn. Saian Supa Crew was the first hip hop crew to solidify my interest and appreciation for hip hop’s various and always unique manifestations around the world. It turned out to be a slippery slope. Instead of going to grad school or ‘growing up,’ I find myself completely and helplessly immersed in the world of international hip hop music and activism. Who woulda known?
Enter Nomadic Massive (www.nomadicmassive.ca). Several years ago, I booked a good friend of mine, an extremely talented Canadian/Iraqi emcee by the name of Narcy (or the Narcicyst) for a Festival I’d organized in Connecticut. Narcy, of course, murdered his set and solidified his place in my all-around top emcees list. He was affiliated with a crew back in Montreal called Nomadic Massive. Some internet research and a CD purchase later, I became the Nomadic Massive superfan (little known to them). I like to call the crew the greatest international hip hop concept group that I’ve ever heard. By that, I mean that the crew actually, physically, represents the global phenomenon that hip hop has become. Made up of 9 official members (and many affiliates), the crew includes musicians, singers, and emcees, who perform in English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Arabic, and more. Their sound runs from the French Banlieue’s to the Pyramids and North African sand dunes, up into the Brazilian Favelas, through the surf of Haitian/DR/Carribean beaches, and finds itself half-frozen in Montreal’s frigid winters. Their first release “Nomad’s Land,” is an interesting piece (complete with the International Hip Hop Anthem “Nofy’s Peace”), albeit too short. Finally, the crew has released a full length album entitled Nomadic Massive.
What is there to say about this album other than I am really feelin’ it! There is a fine line to be drawn when hip hop groups use or incorporate live instrument sounds into their albums. The danger is in going too far and losing the hip hop sound that should be the album’s core. On the other hand, too many albums today lack any kind of musical sentiment. Nomadic Massive does a nice job of finding a balance. The album incorporates live music and instrumental sounds from all over the world without giving you that “oh no, not another world music album” feeling. Trust — the beats here are not only gonna have you head-nodding like a classic Primo album, but also moving your hips like your favorite salsa album and stamping your feet like the illest djembe percussion solo (it’s even got a bluesy banger with “Higher”). Lyrically, the emcees aren’t playing games. In fact, they aren’t playing games in not one, but up to three different languages. So, as far as I’m concerned, not many emcees out there are touchin’ em. Another refreshing aspect of the album is the strong presence of female singers, rappers, and dancehall emcees. Narcy comes correct on multiple tracks, especially murdering his verse on “Where I’m From”.
To recap, you better buy this album before it sells out, and you better watch out for when the crew tours your area so you can catch their live show which I have heard is extra dope. There are so few albums that, when listening to them, you feel like you are at a live show, and you start getting tired from the dancing you are doing in your head (or in your chair). Even better, each artist in the crew has solo projects which are extra dope. My particular favorite is Haitian emcee Vox Sambou’s solo project Lakay.
Buy their album here.
By Magee McIlvaine for Nomadic Wax
(For your records: Nomadic Massive is not affiliated in with Nomadic Wax. We just love the group, and the name!)
