Typical Cats – Civil Service — music review
Okay, I’m no expert on hip-hop, nor will I now pretend to be one. I will not bore you with detailed declaration of the artists’ genius or omnipotent heights à la sold-and-bought critics. All I’m going to say is that Typical Cats are my dig.
Well, maybe I’ll say a little more: Typical Cats are just that. They are four (three MCs and one DJ) 20-something talents from Chicago. One sounds like squeaky Royme from the Pharcyde, one is a bit quick-babbling Eminem-esque. They casually guffaw at their past follies and frivolous “battling”, even though those competitions made them famous.
I think most people like their debut album, but I like this follow-up because it’s definitely smoother. Everything on their 2004 album Civil Service is a mellow high, with basslines pleasantly fractured on the up-beats that never strays far from a jazzy baahnum-bum-bum rhythm. Their tracks are almost akin to a Jurassic5 vibe; obviously violently catchy.
In (typical) mic-swapping fashion, they take turns expressing their views on empowerment through political and societal abandonment and blue-collar strife. In their online album description, they fortify their rebellious stance (rebellious even against their Puff Daddy peers) with the clever disclaimer:
Citizens: Our existence has become conflict itself, and our Enemy interprets our independence as hostility. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our independence is simply an expression of humanity in a bleak and alien environment. We are fulfilling the broken promises of the Establishment. We are the architects of our future, the makers of sound. The Most loves not the boastful. Civil Service for the hopeful.”
I really enjoy their stuff because of their non-confrontational non-ego fluff wit. In fact, in a 2001 interview, Qwel declared “tuck your pride in ‘cause all lyrics connect at the soul. It’s just language anyway– the attitude I have about the name ‘typical’ is, I’m not dope, everybody else is just wack.” Qwazaar supported that sentiment by stating, “personally, I’m a typical individual. I do typical things. I follow my nature, my instincts. I think it fits, it applies to all of us.”
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