Mixtape Review-New Wave by Ibn Inglor

by Dan-O

I’m old enough that if I told you I’ve only listened to hip hop I’d have to be lying. I grew into it and found that pathway in what my young mind viewed as the exhilarating expression of emotion. I found a direct link from Johnny Rotten to Ice Cube in the potency of the imagery and immediacy of the delivery.

While all of me loves Ibn Inglor’s new 9 track mixtape New Wave the kid that fell into hip hop to feel connected to the power of emotion through music…adores it. The last rapper you could feel this much hostility and fragility from at the same time was first album Eminem. On Selfish his tone of voice rips at the track in a way seemingly a quarter second from screaming and a half second from crying, while the bassline (by Kris Henry) carries us all away. In a little over two minutes Inglor tears into a team of doctors trying to take a loved one off child support “You see her fightin’ you see us cryin’ you want this burden on your F#%%ing mind?!” Inglor has a way with lyrics that connects everything to emotion. On Cold Storm he says “B#$%^ I ain’t even done talkin’ don’t ever interrupt me N…I had to deal with a couple N’s that love interrupting N’s.” His lyrical lashing out can be aimed at distrustful friends, fake industry people, but so much more.

All this graceful anguish is evocative but wouldn’t mean much without the right production choices. Inglor’s unique style of rapping and content construction is only half the story. The other half is the story telling done by Mhone Glor through the five track majority of the tape he produces. In the title track things find their way into the background that keep you engaged; church bells and chanting. you might hear animal sounds on a track if you really pay attention or that happy Miami club beat outro after Inglor cries and shouts shut up at the end of Everything. Glor’s production is every inch as interesting as the wildly repeatable lines you catch from Inglor.

New Wave has one feature (Drea Smith of PYRAMIDS) brought in for the hook on Fire. Handling all the rhyming himself isn’t to prove he’s lyrical, heck Gawdspeed should have proven that. This is a declaration that Ibn Inglor has a strong enough team to make great music without any help. My favorite moment might be the song Black Print/Justice where he focuses all seven levels of his frustration on the blogs and the media for comparing him to others. He shouts down Kanye comparisons and demands to tell his own story. If he does get more shine because of this mixtape and make it into the spotlight it will be because of his own artistic intelligence and the bravery he expresses to bare himself on every bar not because of a co-sign or a major producers magic touch. New Wave is the story of an artist demanding to tell his own story and I love that. No matter what genre you come from.

stream or download New Wave below:
http://www.djbooth.net/index/albums/review/ibn-inglor-new-wave-lp