When rappers aren’t cleverly or mockingly dissing inferior rappers or rhyming about bling, money, girls and drugs, what themes arrest their songs?
Franklin Street is the extent of Allen Mask’s exposure to the concrete jungles that hip-hop came from, a rather domesticated area that lends to the innocent nature of his hip-hop. Mask, a senior at UNC, has created a distinct blend with Pilot Season that stirs up polished mixes of rap, jazz, rock and R&B.
Mask spits about his aspirations, family, love and a “second-story diva.” They’re attention-seizing subjects until their chronic facades dwindle the album’s allure.
But Mask puts a plethora of unusual instruments behind his rhymes. Violins add class. Saxophones jazz it up. Pianos root a polished eminence. And an appearance by UNC’s Clef Hangers takes care of the genre blending.
Music Review
Allen Mask
Pilot Season
Hip-hop
Dive verdict: 3 of 5 stars
Pilot Season
