L.A. Not the Right Route for Hollywood.
It's low budget, short and without a label - but it's good.
Hollywood Holt
Holt Goes to Hollywood
Released on Nov 30, -0001
Yet when an artist’s only work exists in a low budget, thirty-minute sample, it can be difficult to assess. Holt Goes to Hollywood stays true to the form but if his delivery is any indication of the future sound of Chicago hip hop, he should almost certainly keep it central.
The production work consists of somewhat familiar though mostly under the radar hip-hop chopped with electronica and timorous rings resonant of Soundmaster T’s summertime banger “Watch My Feet.? Holt is notorious for putting his own spin on popular hip hop songs, substituting “Throw a Kit on It? for the better-known “Throw Some D’s?, a reference to Holt’s decidedly un-thug penchant for moped flair.
The mix exhibits cohesion unexpected from such an unfinished art form. Each two-minute track blends into the next via beat overlays and sound effects ranging from shotgun shells to sirens to weird Mega-Man like bubbles. The only interruption is a short segment lifted from an appearance on underground radio.
The intermission gives little insight into the mind of Hollywood Holt, save an impression that Holt doesn’t seriously believe in his own self-import as much as certain Chi-town rappers. Holt’s impromptu freestyle lifted from the radio appearance characterizes his exhausting, non-stop delivery.
Holt’s rhymes are often polysyllabic yet overly simple, though serve him well over fast paced tracks like “Holla At Me? and “Freshman,? his rapid-fire lyrical delivery flows well over the beats sampled in their entirety. His style hints at something superficial but not entirely unbelievable or inauthentic; the most clever of his lyrics are always underscored by the rumpshaking soundtrack.
“Rock? is a dumb fresh mix of deep house and a downbeat refrain interwoven with a sample from Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock’s 1988 one-hit wonder, “It Takes Two?. In fact, Holt’s style is like an 80’s hip hop jam done right for the 21st century, a sound unheard often in the industry. Unfortunately, corporate backing can stifle artistic freedom, not to mention limit access to which recordings are made available to sample.
Hollywood Holt’s greatest strength is his ability to combine break beat speed with b-boy rhythm and streetwise wit. While big label production and distribution will inevitably ensure the dissemination of Holt’s music, signing a record deal may ultimately inhibit his indiscriminate, multifaceted flow. Let’s hope he can keep real and live it local.
Hollywood Holt / Holt Goes to Hollywood / available for download at his website.
High Point
Low Point
Posted by Diego Baez on Oct 11, 2007 @ 12:00 am