Review by Chrispy
Overproof are helping to redefine the sound of Sydney hip-hop with their debut offering The High Life. Far from rehashing the tried and true b-boy beats and brag-and-boast rhymes of their Western Sydney counterparts, the trio of Swarmy, Abuse and Fame have forged their own path to deliver a polished effort characterised by crisp beats, thoughtful rhymes, strong concepts and plenty of personality.
Overproof are a seemingly incongruent trio – on paper, Swarmy’s deep-voiced bombast, Fame’s cocky Lil Wayne-esque swagger and Abuse’s deadpan delivery appear to be an unlikely mix. On wax, however, the three emcees’ varied styles combine to ensure (vocally at least) that there’s rarely a dull moment on this 17-tracker.
From the opening bars of the title track onwards, one thing becomes clearly apparent to the listener: in-house producer Fame’s beats are on some next shit. Taking a detour from the Aussie rap staples of straightforward kick-and-snare patterns and dusty loops, Fame has obviously studied the Just Blaze/Scott Storch manual and combines samples and synths to create a sound that is variously innovative, club-ready and riot-inducing. After some stellar work on 13th Son’s The Hero, The Trickster and Spit Syndicate’s The Future’s Bright mixtape, Fame ups the ante yet again to deliver some of the most world-class beats yet heard on these shores.
And while Fame is no slacker in the lyrical department, Swarmy is clearly the group’s star, hogging the limelight with taunts at ‘bed-wettin’ trendsetters who claim to stack the cheddar/but only got wet fetta’ on ‘Better Than You’ and telling lesser rappers to ‘bet your bottom bunk (cos) I’m on top of this’ on ‘Rock To This’. However, Abuse is never far behind, and although his monotone voice and flow appear to hint at Len One levels of vocal mediocrity, repeated listening reveals a dry sense of humour and some biting observations on life – The High Life, the low life and everything in between. (Plus any emcee with the good sense to rhyme ‘D cups’ with ‘deez nuts’ is alright by me.)
Overproof sum up their style on bangin’ cuts like ‘Get Ours’, ‘Takeover’ and the aforementioned ‘The High Life’, but manage to vary things up nicely with the reflective, string-laden ‘The Worst Things’ and the radio-ready ‘Sunshine’. ‘On The Set’, their ode to the adult entertainment industry, is a little too much for this reviewer to handle – the mental image of a naked, sweaty Swarmy gettin’ down and dirty with some nubile young beauties is not one that bears repeating – and the album tends to drag towards the third quarter, with repetitive production and some less-than-thrilling guest appearances blighting an otherwise entertaining debut.
Despite these minor missteps, though, The High Life is a great first attempt from Overproof: a quality product that offers a different spin on Aussie hip-hop amid a sea of carbon-copy crews. To paraphrase Abuse, you’d do a lot worse than to throw on your Bettina Liano and enjoy the luxurious pleasures of The High Life.
Overproof on MySpace
Broken Tooth Entertainment
Posted by chrispy1 
Posted by Writin' Exact 
Posted by Writin' Exact 
