Ginsberg's Inkling

If Buck 65 had never turned his back on hip-hop and remained independent, I imagine this is somewhat how he would sound today. A Maritime transplant now living in Calgary, Ginsberg’s Inkling (aka John Creary) has obviously been influenced by Buck 65. The Halfpenny Marvel mixes Buck’s older hip-hop-heavy production-style with his newer spoken word raps (but without the fake old-man voice) to create the sound old fans probably wish Buck was doing now. Ginsberg mixes coffee house artistry with b-boy posturing, adds a touch of the sex rap, and never scrimps on cuts and scratches (provided by Braille) from the first song to the last. The piercing horns of opening track "Blips of Art” brings to mind the early production from the Soul Assassins camp for a throwback boom bap track, and then kicks in harder with some Sesame Street cuts, a heavy guitar beat and distorted vocals for "Save the Ales!” And with those two songs you get a pretty good inkling of what Ginsberg’s The Halfpenny Marvel is all about. Now, hopefully Buck’s rumoured return to hip-hop will sound just as good as Ginsberg’s impressive debut, which also happens to display plenty of future potential.