01.29.04

"There is a new Chinatown King."

Those were the words that greeted my inbox a few days ago. They proclaimed the coming of a new Asian American emcee, one that promised to rock the landscape of Hip Hop. Bold words for a relative unknown. It was easy to talk the talk, but could they back it up?

There had been a lot anticipation about this release, anticipation that had been compounded by a couple delays. I actually got a chance to preview the tracks before the release date. Being a fan of Nemesis Records and their unique Asian American vision of music, I was excited to hear the release.

Triad

The song, "Triad" was hyped as the cornerstone to Kast's debut and so naturally, it was the first song I chose to listen to. As I plugged my headphones into my Powerbook, I read the description of the song: “'Triad' is hard Hip Hop from a brand new perspective. Featuring the beautiful voice of fellow Nemesis Records artist Kristine Sa, the track is a gun opera taken to the most dramatic heights. Inspired by Hong Kong gangster movies, ”Triad” is sonic cinema." Hmm, sounds interesting.

I hit play on the song, and was greeted by the sound of a plucked/string instrument playing an Asian melody. Not bad, I thought to myself. The instrument quickly faded out and gave way to the moans of the poetic Kristine Sa. Soon after, the beat dropped in. As expected, it had an Asian feel. The beat was solid, but didn't really stand out in my mind.

Then, I heard Kast for the first time. Whoa. The voice was definitely unexpected. It was low and the flow was slow. I would be lying if I said I liked it at first. But like a lot of things that are different, it ended up growing on me. Lyrically, Kast was pretty good; the rhyme structure in the beginning of the second verse was straight precision. I liked the chorus, Kast XL rapping over a vocal aura set by Kristine. It had a dramatic feel that complimented the theme of the song.

Obviously this is a concept song, so Kast isn't really pretending to be a triad (asian gangster). The concept is one of those Hong Kong gangster movies and since I generally don't watch those types of movies, I didn't really get the numerous references in the song. Also, turns out that this isn't really Kast's flow. He only rapped that way because it goes better with the concept of the song.

Overall, I think this is a nice debut song. Like me, you might not feel it at first, but if you give it a chance, you might find it to be pretty hot. Besides, if you're looking for something new, it's a definitely unique perspective on hip hop.

Remember Hip Hop

The other big song that Kast released was "Remember Hip Hop." Unfortunately, this one is currently only available in the cursed Real Player format. Too bad Kingmin didn't fall for me trying to sucker him into releasing an mp3 version. This song had a vastly different feel than "Triad". It's more the standard hip hop song. That would make sense, since it is after all, an ode to Hip Hop. Once again, the first thing you notice about this song (besides the beat), is Kast's flow. This time, it sounds less forced than it did on "Triad". With his natural flow, Kast sounds a lot better. Lyrically, Kast comes on point. I like the way he shows his appreciation for hip hop on this song. The only drawback is that the beat sounds sort of cheesy to me. This is most apparent at the hook when the funky keyboard hits. I've heard that a lot of girls are diggin' it though, so who knows?

Other Songs

The other two tracks that were released are two battle tracks. These were from when he was still unsigned. On some parts of them, he has a delivery and voice that is reminiscent of the young Eminem. That's all I'm going to really say about them for now. You can check them out at his website.

The Verdict

So back to the question at hand. Can Kast XL claim the title of Chinatown king? The Verdict: It's too early to crown anyone. If Kast continues to work hard at improving his skills though, don't be surprised if you see a throne carried into the Nemesis offices.