Posted on 05/15/2009
The common denominator of the most enduring rap albums is a strong sense of place. Be it Wu-Tang drop kicking us into the visceral grit of the slums of Shaolin, or Outkast rocketing us to the outer reaches of Stankonia, hip-hop has long been the most apt of vehicles to transport listeners into the distinct world of the artist. It’s out of this tradition that Tanya Morgan invite us into Brooklynati, and after a couple of spins of their triumphant sophomore album, many a head will want to take up permanent residency.

Named for the home towns of group members Von Pea (Brooklyn), Donwil and Ilyas (Cincinnati), Brooklynati sonically embodies the colorful vibrance of the former and the more relaxed pacing of the latter, while the MCs paint a picture of a place that should feel at once familiar and fresh to ‘80s babies raised in the vaunted ‘Golden Era.’ It’s a place where playful braggadocio is spit over airy jazz samples on “So Damn Down,” unencumbered by snarled threats or cliched gun talk. A place where the fairer sex is pursued with shameless gusto instead of coarse misogyny, on the Latin infused, “Bang & Boogie.” A place where the struggles of real life are confronted with determination on the soulful opener, “On Our Way,” instead of the bitterness and cynicism that often mires ‘grown man’ hip-hop.

In short, Brooklynati feels like where the hip-hop of the mid-’90s would have gone to grow up, without selling out; a sanctuary where it could maintain it’s youthful energy while gaining a mature perspective. The album also feels like a coming of age for the group that everyone used to think was an R&B singer. While their debut was as notable for the fact that the group had formed via the Okayplayer message boards as for the vintage flavor of the music, the back-story is now an afterthought. The chemistry, which reaches it’s apex on the back and forth mic toss, “Just Not True,” feels like the trio has been trading verses for years.

While the sonic consistency succeeds in giving the album a unique aura, the abundance of mid tempo, sample based grooves can become monotonous after awhile, and the album probably could have packed a harder punch with a few higher BPM moments, or a slightly shorter run time. Likewise, no track quite rises to the level of a “Check The Rhime,” or “Potholes In My Lawn,” the type of stand alone bangers that can encapsulate the sound of a rich and unique album in three succinct minutes, and imprint it on the brains of a wider audience.

Still, Brooklynati as an album, a place, and a state of mind, carves out a unique space for Tanya Morgan in the rap world, and it’s a space in which ears, souls and minds would be well served to immerse themselves.

- Jeff Harvey