Review Summary: For a more pleasurable experience, drink to "SKP" and any allusion to Texas.
Also known as SKP, The SubKulture Patriots emerged as a hip-hop troupe from Austin, Texas in 2010. They have played multiple times at SXSW in Austin, and have grazed the stage with names like "Scarface" and "Three 6 Mafia". "The SubKulture Riots" is the second studio album they have released.
The instrumentals on this album are complex and interesting. The DJ wrote these tracks with samples from interviews, looped together smooth piano statements, and put some pretty nifty effects on the background music from time to time. The beats and fills do not come off as repetitive, and each track possesses a different feel. Fast paced tracks such as "Riot Gear" and "Elevator Music" really provide a contrast to slower, more meaningful songs, such as "Rodney Watts". Overall the flow from track to track is fresh and enticing.
With instrumentals that seem so full of life and appealing, the group had their work cut out for them as far as lyrics go. Unfortunately, the lyrics are repetitive and preach the same ideologies from track to track. The depth of these tracks rarely go deeper than "SKP's the ***!" and "I smoke P-O-T, like Snoop D-O-G". Even though SKP try to stray from the bull*** of the modern genre, The SubKulture Patriots have instead replaced the cliché street swagger they fear with the characteristics of a narcissistic governor. The gang rap about their supreme work ethic on "Classic," claiming "What does it take to go classic? We got that. The going down forever ***. 50 years down the line we are still relevant". It is quite ironic that a group with less than two albums under their belt can be claiming a message that would come off as cocky from even critically acclaimed artists. Next, the amount of times SKP hollers an allusion to the lone star state makes you wonder if they get compensated by the Department of Tourism. What really is the most upsetting here is that a couple of these rappers have some really sweet lyrics that get overshadowed by foolishness.
SubKulture Patriots manage to pull off a decent album. Though the lyrics get "cheesier than a grilled Texas Toast sandwich: Cheddar Cheese" (I swear to you this is a real lyric), these boys have potential, and ultimately they have made an album that is better than most of what is coming out right now.
