No gimmicks here. Nocando's official debut is heavy in the lower ends, but the kid's got theory in a format that all to often lacks substance.
As resident master of ceremony at LA's Low End Theory club, Nocando has been immersed in psyche, IDM, glitch and dub sounds, so it's no surprise Jimmy The Lock lowers the boom, while the high ends are laser sharp razor synths. The record is produced by Low Enders like Nosaj Thing, Nobody, Daedelus, Thavius Beck, Free the Robots, Maestroe, Th' Corn Gang and features scratching by Gaslamp Killer.
Rarely does the conjoining of hip hop with the blap bounce of IDM and glitch produce a high grade substance, both thought provoking and brain dead danceable. Usually the producer has to simplify his backdrop in order for a subpar emcee to operate. The result is bastardized electro-rap with pededstrian lyrics like “I'm on top like ramen.”
Nocando is no toy. On lead single “Hurry Up and Wait,” he ignores hip hop's cries to kill autotune and samples it up. It's a slow hand clapper with bass that bwomps, giving Nocando room to kick back and show how much swagnostic flavor he possesses with lines like, “Life is so hurry up and wait / like a city bus driver with an attitude that's late / in rush hour traffic while there's standing room only / my job sucks too, kill the attitude, homie.”
Jimmy The Lock is out now on Alpha Pup Records.
