When I research things it inevitably makes them more obscure to me. Because I had never heard of Herma Puma (and I like to do my absolute best for you, dear reader) I had a quick look at who they were. Don’t thank me…it’s all part of the service. It turns out that this is a collaborative project between Simplex and Pimpernel Jones. So I would have called this Pimplex but I guess not everyone can be as (insert adjective here) as me.

My attention was corralled immediately because the first MC / rapper (Elemental) was English. And I don’t mean Sarf Larndahn English, I mean possibly from the Cotswolds or Home Counties English, received pronounciation and everything. I’m willing to say it’s the first posh rapper I’ve ever heard and he’s pretty good, most notably because he makes up a bunch of stuff about being underwater. Consider the lines :

It’s all happening here

In Elemental’s atmospheric bathysphere

Or :

Sea horse drawn carriages, sideshow attractions

Naïve prawns, indecisive plankton

            The second tune is clearly allegorically referring to other rappers as litter, but I prefer to think of it as a straight up encouragement to put your rubbish in a bin. The musical backing is pretty standard hip hop so far….think A Tribe Called Quest meets Mr.Scruff.

I have no idea of the merits of the remixers involved, because I never heard the originals. The general standard is high and I ended up only disliking the odd tune (“Snapscale” because the lyrics are lazy and I hate the delivery / “Royal Flush” because I fucking hate rappers who say “dollar sign” and “spending the cash”) but it’s also not totally mind-blowing either. So a review that sits obstinately on the fence and refuses to do anything useful. Well done me.

http://hermapuma.bandcamp.com/

Kim Monaghan

About Kim Monaghan

Kim is reviews editor here at Sitting Now, Overlord at http://daddytank.co.uk, and member of the shadowy League of Cat Fanciers: Birmingham division.

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