Review Summary: Take a ride in the time machine
In 2013, Big Daddy Kane, the legendary emcee renowned for his bravado and hailed as one of the greatest rappers from hip-hop’s Golden Era, emerged from a near fifteen-year recording hiatus and surprised the world by releasing Back to the Future, a collaboration album with Motown-style crooner Showtyme and funk band The Lifted Crew. As the title implies, Back to the Future is a musical time machine, seamlessly blending sixties R&B, seventies funk, and eighties hip-hop into a project both nostalgically throwback and completely original.
Back to the Future is characterized by an overarching sense of positivity. Absent are the drugs, violence, and shallow sexuality that plague contemporary music. Instead, Las Supper channels the subject matter of civil-rights era soul collectives, riffing on subjects like classic love and social advancement. This uplifting atmosphere is established on the opening track, “I Believe in Love Again”. With its infectious hook, a bouncy rhythm joyfully similar to the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love”, and a fantastic bridge verse from BDK, the song will have you tapppin’ your toes like you’re at a 1960’s dance in the high school gymnasium.
Most of the (limited) press surrounding this album focused on Big Daddy Kane’s return from retirement, and while it’s been close to fifteen years since he’s stepped foot in the booth, he shows no signs of rust. On many tracks, BDK’s bars are utilized primarily as a side dish to the musical main course. “Child in Me” and “Shhh” pair Showtyme’s vocals with Kane’s lyricism in a lively call and response interplay, while “A Mother’s Love” has the rapper whispering over a quiet instrumental bridge. But Kane shines brightest when given free reign to unleash the verbal acrobatics that cemented his reputation as a hip-hop heavyweight. “Last Chance”, “Shackles O The Mind”, and “Where Do We Go (From Here)” thematically recall the socially conscious lyricism of 1980’s hip-hop, and are easily his fieriest bars since Long Live the Kane.
Back to the Future’s soulful vibe is anchored by Showtyme, whose vocals are so throwback you’ll be surprised you’re not listening to a dusty Temptations LP. “My Day Without You”, with its sweeping strings and background “ooo’s” and “ahh’s”, is reminiscent of slow jams like “I Wish It Would Rain” or “Since I Lost My Baby”. The unsung hero of this album, though, is The Lifted Crew, whose intricately crafted rhythms and mastery of seventies funk cement the album’s vintage aesthetic. “Lifted Express (Don’t Funk With My Beat)”, the only instrumental track on the project, features an infectiously funky brass line and percussive elements that recall deep-cut Earth, Wind and Fire.
Big Daddy Kane explained the group’s name, Las Supper, by stating, “Basically it’s saying that for those that love vintage soul and vintage hip-hop at a time in music today where it seems that soulful flavor is going out the door, this is what we’re bringing to you. We’re telling you to go ahead and eat up because this might be the last supper.” So sit back and enjoy this smooth ride into the past, because this is revivalism at its finest.
