Though it now
lays claim to a Wikipedia
entry, "cloud rap" is still a nebulous subgenre.
"Dreamy" is a word that consistently comes up when describing the
style, but it’s far from a concrete descriptor. My idea of dreamy is nodding
off on a couch and floating around in the ether. Someone else may prefer to be
swaddled in bed sheets and slip into a world where they're a superhero.
Defining "dreamy" or "dreams" in general is somewhat of a
fool's errand because they're involuntary and random; and quite often like
snowflakes no two are the same.
However if you
were going to tackle the task of defining "cloud rap" in 2014, Rome
Fortune's collaboration with electronic artist Four
Tet would be a tremendous aid. The pairing of the upstart Atlanta rapper
and the English producer reads as awkward, but a listen to Fortune's stellar Beautiful
Pimp from 2013 says otherwise. That first installment of the now burgeoning
series was rife with the same type of spacey, exploratory beats
Four Tet's been doing for a
decade-plus. The only real difference being that after 10-plus years in the
game, Four Tet's exploration has an end goal in mind. And for the gorgeous
"One Time For", he imparts the wisdom of his wandering intentionality
on Fortune. The verses are chock-full of chaotic militaristic drum rolls and
noodling synthesizer, but Fortune stays focused on his "heaven-sent
grind." When Tet gently eases the dial down during the chorus, to the
point where only muted beats remain, Fortune could easily put a hat over his
face and doze off. He doesn't. Instead he pushes further and demands an answer
to "that hatin why you do that?" For all of Four Tet's
"dreamy" production, Fortune stays wide awake and creeps up on one of
rap's best tracks in 2014.
(According to Fortune's Soundcloud page this is one of two tracks between Fortune and Four Tet, but an entire album of this music would be tremendous.)
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