You Are Not One of Us - EP
Naeem Oba & Brikabrak
Open iTunes to preview, buy, and download music.
| Name | Artist | Time | Price | ||
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1 |
ExplicitGo Hard | Naeem Oba & Brikabrak | 3:11 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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2 |
ExplicitHolding It All | Naeem Oba & Brikabrak | 3:14 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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3 |
ExplicitClap Music | Naeem Oba & Brikabrak | 2:28 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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4 |
ExplicitShow and Tell (feat. Sunkenstate) | Naeem Oba & Brikabrak | 2:52 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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5 |
ExplicitYou Are Not One of Us | Naeem Oba & Brikabrak | 3:53 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
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6 |
ExplicitI Dont Know | Naeem Oba & Brikabrak | 3:39 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
| Total: 6 Songs |
Customer Reviews
by Ru Johnson Westword Magazine
You know what they say, everything ain't for everybody. In the case of Naeem Oba's collaboration with brikAbrak on the EP "You Are Not One Of Us", this is precisely the point. Brazen, controversial and chock full of conspiracy, it is offensive and meant to incite. It's also relevant and it reeks of hard earned knowledge. This isn't your little sisters Hip Hop.
brikAbrak crafts sharp tones and witty samples around Oba's delivery. Opening with "Go Hard" Oba announces himself as The General with a boom bap heavier than a hand around your throat. Going right for the jugular, the MC calls Barack Obama a puppet and demands to have his case heard. brikAbrak provides a beat structure so lucid; the testimony comes across as eloquently contentious.
It's not all politricks and comfortable rebellion. "Holding It All" finds a lighthearted Oba telling stories of veteran hustling and days as a renegade in his home town of Minneapolis, MN. Using imagery of gun play and affectionately referring to his city as "Murderapolis", this track fills in missing pieces of the puzzle.
The Confidence produced "Show and Tell" elicits the best performance from brikAbrak. The architecture of the scratches and cuts builds a proverbial rap house. The militant samples and sarcastic jeers act as the threshold for featured MC, sunkenState and Oba to go in on the Federal Reserve, and the destruction of legacies like Fred Hampton. sunkenStae's verse is brilliant and controlled.
"Clap Music" is perhaps the strongest song and also the most controversial in content. There is an eviserating dis to Haile Selassie I, descriptions of "Mexican neck ties" and a Biggie sample to boot. A discussion of fear, the fact that Naeem Oba is an exceptional lyricist is not lost with the themes. brikAbrak facilitates the timing and cadence with perfection.
"You Are Not One Of Us" is the epitome of positive confrontation. There doesn't appear to be a solution to the ills, wills, and spills of society that Oba speaks of and brikAbrak paints with cuts, more so, this is a warning. Lyrically, the EP is devoid of patience. There is an urgency of awareness rather than resolution.
What brikAbrak and Naeem Oba have mastered is the art of the challenge. While demanding we pay attention, there is the underlying notion that we'll never quite understand. To hear them tell it, play it and display it, the MC and the DJ belong to an esoteric movement of which we are mere spectators. The project naturally carries a tone of futurism and stellar execution, it works to simply relax and take notes.
Ru Johnson, Westword Magazine
Denver Hip hop
This whole album Smashes
Reminds me of that 90s shi* with a modern twist
Top Albums and Songs By Naeem Oba & Brikabrak
| Name | Album | Time | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
ExplicitYou Are Not One of Us | You Are Not One of Us - EP | 3:53 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
ExplicitShow and Tell (feat. Sunkenstate) | You Are Not One of Us - EP | 2:52 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
ExplicitClap Music | You Are Not One of Us - EP | 2:28 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
ExplicitGo Hard | You Are Not One of Us - EP | 3:11 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
ExplicitI Dont Know | You Are Not One of Us - EP | 3:39 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
ExplicitHolding It All | You Are Not One of Us - EP | 3:14 | $0.99 | View In iTunes |
