Soso

In the mood for something fun and uplifting? If so, stay far clear of Soso's Birthday Songs. It is an extremely depressing album, thanks to Soso's very open personal revelations. Birthday Songs contains brooding reminisces about his ex-girlfriend ("It Goes"), death ("For Ruby" and "We Always Thought She'd Be The First To Go"), and pregnancy ("Birthday Song"). The lone vocal track that departs from the depression of the rest of the album is a sad but humorous confession entitled "Dyke Look," and is probably very different from all thoughts currently running through your head. It's not just the subject matter that is unorthodox with Soso, as his voice and flow are in the same general class as other underground Canadian MCs like the Peanuts & Corn roster, the Sebutones and his Clothes Horse Records partner Epic, while his beats only bear a resemblance to hip-hop through drum loops and other samples. And it's for these beats that most people will know Soso, especially with his production on Epic's debut, 8:30 in Newfoundland. On Birthday Songs, Soso includes two fine instrumentals: album opener "Waiting For The Harmonica To Drop" and "Hand To The Plow," which nearly delves into the space-rock territory of Sianspheric for the latter half. It may not be as appealing as 8:30 in Newfoundland, but it will find a core crowd, which will likely spread easier outside of the hip-hop market.