Review Summary: Bad Karma, great music.
Bad Karma, great music.
Swedish rapper Rebstar, best known for his single "Without You" featuring Trey Songz, has a track record of working with heavyhitters in hip hop. From Drake to Rich Boy, to singers Rock City and Ray J. Perhaps in a conscious attempt to prove that he can stand on his own feet, the Swedish up and comer features no notable artists or star-studded producers on his album Bad Karma.
Rebstar showcases his lyrical talent and diverse flows over superb production mainly handled by up and coming American producer DJ Pain 1, with additional production by Kid Klassic.
Temptations / Kodak moments serves as the intro of the album and begins with an unorthodax approach to a rapper introduction. The song kicks off with Rebstar singing, however with no eerie effects that usually cover up a rapper's inability to sing. The honesty in his (lack of) singing is rather refreshing for an artist who is in the category of boasting and fabricating pretty much everything. It continues to transform into a rap song with dialogues from Larson von Trier's film Dogville. The excerpts from the film play a vital role in the overall theme of the album, which is bittersweet and self-conflicting. Throughout the first half of the album, Rebstar comes off as an arrogant and reckless individual with no regrets. However as the album progresses, you get slowly realize that there is an underlying factor to his I-Don't-Give-A-*** attitude. Gems such as "Falling" and "Let It Go" depict the artist as broken - something that artists are far too familiar with.
As the album unravels itself, the songs become puzzles that you need to put together to really see the whole picture. The best song is the vulnerable "Let It Rain" in which Rebstar gives the listener a front row seat to family abuse from a child's POV. The album ends with beautiful piano and honest content in "Crash".
As much as I don't want to turn this review into an issue of race, one cannot ignore the fact that Rebstar is from Middle Eastern descent, born and living in Sweden. In contrast to his European neighbor, Tinie Tempah, Rebstar's music is less club-going and more introspective.
The curse of being undiscovered has a tendency of overshadowing great music seeing as we do not easily entertain new artists. But as soon as one of the heavyweight rappers - most likely Kanye West or Drake - finds out about this Swedish wonder child and co-signs him, the world will be introduced to a new and refreshing talent to whom we will come to love as Rebstar.
Oh, and did I mention this is a free download?
4/5
