Review Summary: Anti Hip-Hop Hip-Hop: Is Tim Fite a genius or just insane?
Hip-hop has, for the most part, followed the same formula since the 90’s. Sex and violence have been the main driving component for sales. The genre seems to be the icon for everything materialistic, often the artists tote expensive clothing, jewelry, and cars, along with big-titted women. This is a very exciting prospect for big businesses, music that sells while simultaneously promoting consumerism amongst its listeners. Tim Fite doesn’t like this though; in fact it pisses him off. “Over the Counter Culture” is his stab at the bloated and unintelligent hip-hop culture and the consumerism it advocates.
So we have a hip-hop album that hates everything that hip-hop stands for. The samples used throughout “Over the Counter Culture” are virtually unidentifiable. Clearly these sounds came from the bottom-of-the-dollar-bin albums at the local pawn shop. The overall sound doesn’t really pay homage to any particular era, region, or tradition in hip-hop either. The album often borders on the bizarre, crossing into to spoken word over scattered samples for brief moments. The range of sound across the album is truly baffling too, sampling from reggae sounds, funk sounds, and even Sesame Street. We even have an assortment of skits, most of which have an incomprehensible message. An exception is the short but sweet track “Bacon” in which Fite proclaims “The package says it’s made with real bacon, this doesn’t taste like real bacon.”
“Over the Counter Culture” is actually more of an anti-hip-hop album more than a hip-hop album. The lyrics are ironic, witty, and satirical. Fite talks directly about consumerism in the track “It’s All Right Here” with lines like “At the Best Buy, I wanna be the best guy. You know that I’m better than the next guy, even though we both sound exactly alike. Is that Jadakiss or is that Tim Fite? I don’t know but I’m still gonna buy it. Consumerism is the sh*t now try it!” The chorus further accentuates the irony of it all being very simplistic, stupid enough to be spoon fed to the mainstream. The track is really a parody of popular rap singles; it has simple hooks, references to purchasing his album and shout-outs to “all the women who want to be called bitches”. Fite displays his eccentric brilliance in the first track with the line "Tell me true," Tim asks "can you ever win back the limb you lose, or do you just lose your limbs? Again and again until your life lies limbless?" He finally decides "There's limits to how much independence you can give an appendage, before the end of the hand is definitive, that's why this tale is regenerative." His twisted creativity leaves us pondering exactly what he means with these phrases.
The album really shines with the two tracks “Camouflage” and “I’ve Been Shot”. The track “Camouflage” is an angry, yet very clever rant about the government’s militaristic tendencies. A protest to the pro-war stance that America takes all too often. He advertises that camouflage "looks good with everything, even capitalist, colonial commemorative pinky rings." He then proceeds to talk about the Patriot Act when he states “hold it, hold it. Acts and freedom, rolled up in camo so nobody can see ‘em.” This track possibly has the best sample as well, being the most funky and accessible sound on the entire album. “I’ve Been Shot” is right on point about commercial rap and is obviously aimed at 50 cent. Over a Sesame Street sample, he advises up-and-coming rappers that the key to success is being shot. He claims that "my exit wounds make record exec goons swoon. Sh*t, I've been shot so many times the bullets had to make room." The entire track is an uproar with relentless punch after punch about the rap game.
By the time we finish the album, though we’ve had our laughs, and though Fite has spurred a great deal of thinking on our part, something is still missing. This feels less like an album and more like a statement. At times the album is almost inaccessible; Fite’s off-the-wall insanity seems too difficult to comprehend. This is somewhat of a turnoff. Luckily the album simply screams with intelligence though, enough to make it very enjoyable. Fite's unique lyrics and style allow him to transform “Over the Counter Culture” into something completely refreshing. It truly is a hip-hop album that bends the very definition of what hip-hop can be. At the very least the tracks “Camouflage” and “I’ve Been Shot” should warrant your attention. If you enjoyed those, then give the album a spin.
