Dash Speaks Leads Tour of His World With “Geography”

There is a sphere of hip hop that can be labeled “progressive”, with a lyrical foundation in intellect, and music a bit more experimental. Dash Speaks, a 24 year old “hip hop explorer”, lives in this world.

While some hip hop purists dismiss a “hipster” rap sound, there is something to be said for any sub-genre of hip hop that emerges to a level of being labeled. This particular sound is a kind of intellectual, often emotional, slightly experimental hip hop, often incorporating singing and electronica-based beats with an unspoken quest to be purposefully different than its hardcore, boom-bap cousin, has risen from the butt of jokes on hip hop blogs and message boards, to respectful heights, thanks to some high-profile efforts by folks like Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Wale and the like. For years, the question has been floated around whether or not this progressive approach to hip hop was the next coming, or simply an offshoot destined to flair out like others in the past (can you say, “horrorcore”?).

In an around New York City however, this type of sound is alive and well, and is producing an interesting assortment of new music for us to fish through. Some of it borders on the ridiculous, experimental for the sake of experimenting, while some has found its way out of the confines of the tri-state, and represent solid efforts at musical and lyrical newness that, while may need to be tweaked, are indicative of a new breed of MC. Independent, renaissance-minded, creative and smart. While the music business continues it’s (de?)evolution, it is this sort of artist that we predict will rule the musical landscape. We’re not there yet, but Dash Speaks might meet us there.

The spitter/singer/songwriting rocker-turned-poet-turned-rapper, who has performed alongside notables such as Lupe, Talib Kweli, Kid Cudi, Mickey Factz, Das Racist and Mike Posner, has returned to his New York roots from school daze spent is the now-buzzing state of Arizona, to craft, produce, record and perform Geography, an 11-track, freely distributed project released in February. This collection of songs, each “subtitled with a particular set of longitude and latitude degrees, to compliment the geographical theme, is led by “Tonight”, a loping well produced track with an ethereal vocal snippit dipping in and out,dancing among Dash’s rhythmic styling.

“My boys give me a hard time, say I’m on some hipster shit, I tell ’em I’m not hip, I’m cool, there’s a difference”

Maybe. But either way, “Tonight” is enough of a smoothed out effort that should  make you want to hear more, if you’re the type to dig this style of hip hop. Grimy, it is not, but as we mentioned, we suspect the audience for anti-grime is growing. If so, Dash should keep Speaking.

Tonight (50° 19′ 56.0194″ E 18° 2′ 8.5412″) [audio:tonight.mp3]

(We think that’s somewhere in Poland, but we don’t know what we’re doing, so don’t quote us.)

Download: Dash Speaks – Geography