PNC - Bazooka Kid

Rating: * * * *

Verdict

:

Second album from Auckland rapper well and truly sets local hip-hop on a renaissance course

It's a bold call, but with his austere and tough vocal style, PNC comes across with a musical charisma similar to Jay-Z. He's stealth, yet oddly soothing, even when he's spitting about what's in his pants, and like Jay-Z he doesn't bark and descend into posturing.

PNC is funny too, and the cheeky line "Looking for the chicks with Brooke Fraser lips", off new single

Tonight

, gets a chuckle everytime as does the obligatory mention of league players Manu Vatuvei and Roy Asotasi.

However, it's musically where Bazooka Kid is most inspired. This bloke, originally from "Palmerston North City" (hence the PNC initials), is grounded in hip-hop but gets down to everything from Smokey Robinson, to the Grateful Dead ("Guess I used to vibe to it when I was in her stomach," he says), to arena rockers Boston and Toto. He even admits listening to a lot of Human League and Phil Collins during the making of the album. While the latter is cringe-worthy, the 80s new wave and synth pop bent of

Human League

is what gives

Bazoooka Kid

its uniqueness. It is brimming with soulful, sometimes pumping, and often shrill synthesiser along with other computerised delights including vocoder (or Auto-Tune, or whatever you call it these days).

As well as synth pop, the album has a seedy, pulsing club mood akin to more dissonant dance acts like 808 State and Future Sound of London, with a little arena rock bravado thrown in, all the while staying true to its hip-hop roots.

The album highlight is

Bazooka's Theme

, which comes on like Rock It-meets-Planet Rock; the slinky and saucy

V.S.O.P.

samples Smokey Robinson's

Being With You; It Doesn't Matter

is a moochy and seductive sonic jam; and then there's

Take Me Home,

a ridiculously bouncy and over-the-top, attention-seeking chart tune which brilliantly samples Eddie Money's cheesy 80s rock anthem

Take Me Home Tonight.

Bazooka Kid

is a rare and remarkable coming together of musical styles and along with the commercial success of Smashproof's album

The Weekend

, and rap poet Tourettes' recent masterstroke,

Who Says You Can't Dance To Misery

, it is solid proof that Aotearoa hip-hop is back on form after a lean and less-than-inspired period.

- Scott Kara