Solareye
Somniloquy (Fabrikant Records)
Solareye is out to bring hip-hop to the mean streets of Airdrie. Instead of riffing about bitches and bling, MC Dave Hook tells of “ripped trackies and hi-tecs”, just to quell any idea that he’s hailin from Brooklyn.
He takes the honesty of guitar artist Popup and gives the record a right good scratch, spinning tales of drugs, gangs and the utter melancholy of modern Scottish culture or lack of therein.
The Scottish twang is slowly creeping into mainstream understanding, thanks in no small part to the strides of Glasvegas and Attic Lights in recent times, and this is as broad as the brogue can get. It is still an accent that splits audiences, as some still cringe at its elongated enunciations.
If you are part of the latter, this will have you reaching for the remote, but I urge you, stick with it because there are slick lyrics and proclamations to be found here, far more encompassing than other self-indulgent hip hop can be. Sure, there are the usual boasts;
“Am not the worst MC, and not the best MC,
Am the pest MC,
Am a prodigy”
The beats just keep the rhythm for Hook to take centre stage, and it’s most definitely the most unique thing to come out of North Lanarkshire music scene for some time.
This is the archetypal love/hate record, but for ingenuity, it deserves the upmost respect.
Donny
