Steve 'Flash' JuonIf you know Paper Tiger it’s fair to say you know Doomtree. His sound can be found on classic albums like “False Hopes” that remain high water marks of both indie rap in general and the Minneapolis rap scene in particular. Unfortunately with 20/20 hindsight it’s also a better time for the crew in general — a moment before unsavory reports about P.O.S surfaced. Still you can’t help but think of Paper Tiger when you think of the group, even as the life of the man born John Samels took him away from Minnesota and at last report found him chillin’ in Brooklyn.
Historically the term paper tiger has been used to describe something that looks fearsome but could be ripped apart with your bare hands. The irony may be why John chose the name as a producer, because when I listen to the “Summer EP” I not only hear classic Doomtree, I hear the chops of a man who is the opposite of his name. He may not look fearsome but his production techniques rival that of better known producers like Alchemist and Madlib. I love the multiple layers of sound stacked on top of each other in “Gold Pass” — more drums, more pianos, and an inscrutable singer who is making a melody without actually saying any words you can discern. The elements are the same throughout but the way they are rearranged is masterful.
“Greatest of All Fridays” is a song from a different era in so many ways. It has the mournful wail of a gospel singer, the horns of a vintage Pete Rock remix, and the straight up D.I.T.C. funk of Diamond D. I feel like there’s some subtle wordplay going on with the song title too, because if Paper Tiger had called it “Greatest of All Thursdays” instead the abbreviation would’ve been “G.O.A.T.” The implication is clearly that he’s one day beyond the greatest and listening to this instrumental you’d be hard pressed to disagree.
It’s both indicative of my failings as a writer and the over-saturation of the musical landscape in particular that songs like “The Pleasure, the Privilege” only had 66 views on YouTube when I was writing this review. Perhaps I should have spoken about the “Summer EP” earlier, but why would that fall solely on me and not the entirety of the hip-hop writing diaspora? Even if we all sang the praises of Paper Tiger would that make a difference when the amount of releases seems to increase exponentially every year? What’s mind-boggling though is that Paper Tiger didn’t need to be noticed when this EP dropped — he already had been. His work was known and praised, and yet somehow people just haven’t listened to this one. If you’re reading this, change that.