Buck 65

Situation - cd review

Buck 65's lyrical styling has been gracing the "underground rap" section of music stores since 1992. With his latest release, Situation, the junkyard aesthetic and indie-rap continue to shine.

With socioeconomic themes of sexual deviance, law enforcement, and street life Situation has the presence one would expect from most rap/hip hop. The differences here are the rockabilly leanings referencing old cars and a direct quote from Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" kicking off the second track of the album, "1957." As with most anything underground, it's easy to get pedantic by breaking it down in terms of how it relates to society. This is all well and good, and definitely important, but this here's a music review and the fact of the matter is simple: the music is good.

Buck 65, in person, has a stage presence of a laid-back good ol' boy in plaid shirts and, occasionally, flannel suits paired with converse sneakers. This persona doesn't keep him from writing songs about drugs and hard life on the streets, although admittedly his songs do focus more on falling through the cracks, sex and humorous and catchy riffs illustrating life as a cop or a pornographer. His vocals sound like a young Tom Waits and the beats are a lot like what was fresh back in the late 80s. Music aside, Buck 65 seems like a prolific art student with biographical Polaroid-esque photographs littering his website describing the way the days pass. The cover art for Situation is highly stylized with a watercolor treatment to 1950s propagandist illustrations. See how easy it is to start using big words?

Situation opens with a short "Intro" with a sound similar to dub step, leading right in to the fresh sounding piano sample and energetic beat track of "1957." Some songs on the album, like "Dang" and "Shutterbuggin'" enjoy a sense of humor that is a nice relief in a repertoire of songs with heavy social connotations. Amid the humor and the hurt, Situation hits a soothing stride nearing the end with a succession of "Beatific," "Mr. Nobody," and "The Rebel" which offer a nice cool down on the way out.

Buck 65 is on tour in Europe and Australia through the end of the year, but keep an eye out for the next time he’s in the area. A storyteller at heart, his live performances are even more of a good time than the album.

Originally published in Spare Change News 12/06/07.