There's always a time, with any music, when its practitioners start getting conscious of their heritage. A time when everything needs to be defined relative to the past. In hip-hop, this phenomenon is not new, but it got amplified when, by the early 2010's, a new generation took control; when, for the first time, rap had no competition, and it was practiced by people whose parents themselves had loved the music.
A good example is the Raider Klan's revivalist approach. The only female rapper in that crew, Amber Linwood, a.k.a. Amber London - or Vmber London, per the singular calligraphy these guys opted for - showed that on her 1994 EP.
Spaceghostpurrp's squad is known for being obsessed with one specific kind of rap: the one created in Memphis by the middle of the 90's, and popularized by Three 6 Mafia. As a matter of fact, Amber London mentions Gangsta Boo, the band's female rapper, as a major influence. Some others, though, are visible on her mixtape. According to this lady born in 1992, it is all the music her mother was listening to by then, when she was a child, that she wants to restore.
Based in Texas, Amber London was obviously exposed to the Houston sound. So, she uses the "chopped & screwed" style on the "Cant Fuck With Me" skit. And some versions of the 1994 EP will even end with one of DJ Screw's remixes, the one he did with MC Eiht's "Straight Up To The Menace". Also, on "Steelo", the rapper practices the rap and R&B mix that was popular in the 90's. It is another style, though, one from California, that she explores the deepest.
Amber London's funky sound, smooth tempo, liquid flows and insolent pose, often come from the g-funk subgenre. It is evident as soon as with the introductive "94 Cool Shit", or with "Four Twenty", the song that revealed her, in 2011. This is some piece of pure gangsta hedonism, like in the old days.
At times, she is even stronger than the originals, like with the best track on this 1994 EP, a song so good that Spaceghostpurrp chose it to open his God Of Black Volume 1 mixtape, and that Amber London delivers it in two versions: "Low MF Key". With its siren, piano keys, and lyrics glorifying a life made of riding cars, smoking weed and having guns, it is close to perfection. It confirms that, with the Raider Klan at least, rap revivalism can lead to great results.
Comments feed