Grant JonesOne of rap’s many benefits over other music genres is that the content can cover anything and everything. Eminem’s “Stan” wouldn’t work if it was screamed through the means of heavy metal, GZA’s “Labels” would lose much of its cleverness and simply wouldn’t be appreciated sung as an R&B ballad. Immortal Techinque’s “Dance With the Devil” would just be weird (and arguably more sinister) if a half-dressed boyband delivered it. It’s why we are continually impressed by where rappers take songs, topics and rhyme schemes, and why we also have little patience for regurgitated, played-out themes still clogging up the charts. “Animal Barz” then, is the type of rap album that puts a massive smile on my face. The premise is simple: grab a dope producer, and two hungry emcees, and restrict them to rapping about one animal on each song. The results are surprisingly strong.
“Animal Barz” is a collaboration between rappers Double A.B. and Nejma Nefertiti, produced by New York’s Dub Sonata, and it drifts between metaphorical verses and upfront celebrations of each specific animal. This may sound gimmicky, but each emcee treats it seriously, and if you’re the type of person who enjoys hearing a Vast Aire sample about pigeons, then you’re in the right company:
“They say that charity’s the cornerstone of most these religions
So why they always tell you don’t feed the pigeons (I’m just a pigeon)
I guess they’re mostly considered some little nasty things
rats with wings flappin’ passin’ through some acid rain
But that’s the breaks, they was made to fly – invade NY
They be cutting like a sharp blade straight through the sky
Masquerading with the flock headed straight to the park
Their favorite spot, where old ladies save them a spot
Where they can toss them bits of bagels until it’s dark
Then once their finally fat and full then they are able to depart
Back to the rest, nested on the side of a skyscraper
That’s why the black and grey is the perfect urban camouflage flavor
Every New Yorker’s flyest neighbor
Mike Tyson’s best friends, but still get odd behavior from a lot of haters
Angellic congregations soaring up above
And why they gotta be white just to be called a fucking dove?”
Nejma Nefertiti, with her higher-pitched presence, might initially seem off-putting, but her delivery is grimy and captivating, adding vital balance to what would usually be a male-dominated style of underground rap. Women often hold the shots in the animal kingdom, and Nejma’s memorable presence is a real highlight but is restrained enough not to cannibalise her male counterparts (which might explain why there are no songs about spiders).
Considering rodents are about as street as it gets, the song “Rats” lives up to the billing with Tone Spliff slicing up the vinyl over an imposing, haunting instrumental. This is something Dub Sonata consistently demonstrates a knack for – crafting beats that mirror the ferocity of the animal in question. “Rats” is grimy like the concrete corridors they frequent; “Cats” has a posturing swagger offset by some nice Masta Ace and Guru lines; and “Butterflies” captures the aspirational story of a caterpillar in its summer-breeze of a beat. “Bacteria” is a harder comparison, but the way it pounds you in the head with all the audacity of Apollo Brown ensures listeners get a much more enjoyable delivery of science lessons than through a school textbook. Considering the premise, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is condescending to the listener, or just a dry way of giving rappers topics. But it works! The animal-themed concept might feel unconventional, but the two sonically contrasting voices give each track a good balance.
Sir David Attenborough has nothing to worry about because each song is executed better than anything big Dave could write. At 98 years old there’s still time for the Blue Planet narrator to prove me wrong (he could suddenly drop a mixtape next week), but until then, “Animal Barz” more than serves its purpose as a nature documentary you can slam your neck to, without ever feeling overbearing or preachy. The features are well-judged, and each beat hits hard, justifying its re-release as an LP from its original two-EP release last year. Nejma Nefertiti, Double A.B. and Dub Sonata have crafted a project that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking, filled with metaphors and schemes that will delight both hardcore rap fans and any open-minded animal lovers.