Lightheaded - Wrong Way

Long player number two from Lightheaded is exactly the sort of hip-hop Australians love. Think J5, Ugly Duckling and People Under The Stairs, a sound that is a throwback to the golden era but at the same time fresh enough to keep you coming back for more. Lightheaded is made up of MCs Braille and Othello and MC/Producer Ohmega Watts, who himself has a dope solo album The Find in stores now. But I digress, dropping their debut Pure Thoughts in 2001 Lightheaded immediately grabbed praise from critics and the ears of listeners, and Wrong Way can only further improve there rep.

Throwback hip-hop is an interesting beast, too often it comes across as gimmicky and a second rate copy of the mid 90s sound created by the Native Tongues collective. But when it’s done well it is so undeniably dope you forget what year it was made and just bob your head. Kicking off the tempo is straight party jams, In The Building, Individually Wrapped and Showcase are fast paced classic hip-hop as the MCs drop fun rhymes with subtle social commentary that made me think, “hell yeah, that’s why I love hip-hop!” There are smatterings of soul samples and smoother bass lines on cuts like Timeless and Bing Pong, whilst all three MCs show their ability as storytellers on the dope Eye to Eye – the beat one of only a couple produced outside the group. Another standout is Wrong Way, a mash up of live musicians and scratching courtesy of four DJs – Rob Swift included – providing a funked up background that the MCs relish.

Wrong Way might not be as innovative as the beats of Pharrell of bugged out lyrics of MF Doom, but it can only be described as hot. Music can often get caught up trying to outdo itself, with the end results becoming cluttered and a long way removed from what won over the genre’s fanbase in the first place. With Wrong Way Lightheaded provide a pleasant reminder that the simple things can often be the best.