.Review- The Greater Than Club Mixtape by Fly.Union

       What does it take to be great?  What does music need, in order stand out among the millions of other mixtapes that drop each day?  The biggest answer I can generate is the idea of being consistent.  Fly.Union does not need any training in consistency.  Want a vision?  They’ve got it.  Want a positive message? They’ve got it.  Want the kind of music that accurately details the lives of young, fun ambitious people with dreams?  Yeah, they’ve got that too.  Want to wear a fitted to support The Greater than movement? They even have those. See?  This is the consistency we need in hip hop.

       This mixtape falls under a themed pendelum of balance, the balancing of their dreams vs. their cash flow, their love for women vs. their divine need for independence.  Fly.Union takes us through personal lyrics, to boisterous beats and delivers a project that offers truly consistent persoective from start to finish, of being greater, being above, how they keep rising, what holds them down and how nothing holds them back.

    ‘Salutation’starts the mixtape off- greeting the listeners and offering them a very real track.  Fly.Union opens up about personal struggles, family responsibility and being driven.  Overall, the song sets the tone for the mixtape, we’re about to hear the good and bad stories of only having a dream in your pocket. “Ain’t nothing changed but the address, I’m just trying to see progress”.

  ’Hard Sell’ comes in next with on a happy note, describing the perks, the parties and reminding the listeners that its hard work and money over everything.  No matter what it takes. Fly.Union busts out in quick spits and the simple melody:“Lets make these dreams come true tonight” for the chorus- highlighting the come up and the groups dedication to stay on track towards their goals.  Powerful Mohammed Ali voiceover at the songs finale… The listeners know that they’re in for some passionate tracks to follow.

The next song, ‘Good to Go’ is the track where we can really start head knocking.  Count this one as the “we’re here to stay’ anthem. The bass bangs with a complimentary vocal sample while the group lets us hear their SWAG is certifiable.  The group has fun here, letting the beat build slowly and lacing it with playful, young-minded lyrics: “Oh that’s your girl? are you for sure? I plead the 5th, I aint know, Uh oh..” Money on their minds, women on their hearts, a theme most young adults can relate to.

Keeping it consistently moving, the next track ‘5000’ is a fun play on words with smooth chorus “I’m Audi”on repeat.  This track sheds the bass and replaces it with some soul, mixed with switched up lyrical styles and keyboard synths. This track declares Yes, they sing, Yes they move right along from money hungry hoes and yes, they sound GREAT doing it. You with them yet?

‘Finish Line’ and ‘Long Run’ are the next two songs, where the Fly.Unionfellas slow it down to truly describe the mindset of belonging to the ‘greater than’ culture.  Laced with soulful samples, and content based on moving on, things changing, rising above and not being washed away by the mediocrities of this life and this music biz let the listeners know just how for real these guys are.  These two songs are heartfelt, real and relative to anyone who continuously strives to be greater than the person they were yesterday.  A theme that everyone can take from and grow towards.

Next up, the track ‘Love for You’, begins impatiently with wanting it all right now rhymes and them slowly realizes that good things come slowly, moving into the portrait of perspective the group carries.  Through experience, they learn about fair-weather friends, and that you can’t always win.  Other topics on their minds include women, hennessy and the images of being ‘cool’, then, moments of wanting to live more righteously and family oriented, but knowing that ultimately they are just young, and it’s all love.  The song rides out with beautiful instrumental keyboard and piano duet, gorgeous notes.

It only takes the group 1min: and 07sec to completely switch up the tempo and direction of the mixtape.  The track ‘How to Act’ melts the speakers on its Cool Kids bass and synth mixture, and keyboard keys like a video game.  The track takes a quick jab at the current state of popular hip hop asking the listeners: “Where the bad actresses at?”on repeat. After that, Westside native Dom Kennedy lights up verse one of the track ‘Frends.Women.Money’ , doing his usual dope Dom thing.

‘Dont Call’is the mixtapes tell-tale song about the frustrations between men and women’s communication patterns.  The ongoing struggle to be alone, rather than responding, and the confusing intertwining of friends, sex, and feelings and the relentless battle to unravel those three.  “You cry a river, you build a bridge, you get over it, you burn the bridge”. If you understand pride, you understand this song. ‘Look Up to The Sky’ (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid and P.Blakk) moves the lens from relationships to the culture they live in, and again describing the back & forth between false images of success and their moral responsibilities to the culture, a great way to bring the listener to the next track: ‘Do it For You’, (featuring Pac Div & BJ the Chicago Kid) which serves as the quintessential ladies jam, but the more you listen to it, it could be a jam about the money, or a jam about their dreams. You decide, either way it sounds good.

The group does something unique for the end of the album.  Th song ‘Who You Wit’ is a celebration of who they are so far, incorporating an orchestra to help bring it all together and clink their champagne flutes to. Maybe their lyrics should join the elegance, (ahem): “Let’s make tonight unforgettable, almost everythin we doin is un-twittable, somethings are not mean to be told, to tell everyone u know I am un-fuck-wittable.” And the final track on the mixtape is not composed by Fly.Union at all, but rather a compilation of voicenotes of fans, supporters and people that identify with the ‘Greater Than’ movement. 

**** 4.5 Stars.   Amazing!!!

Mark Bradford

       Inspired by Los Angeles, and the public signage and information around the city, Mark Bradford creates works of art that are based on re-creating the realms of the imagination.  He grew up being asked to make signs for his mother’s hair salon, and took to the chore with flare and style.  He would work diligently on the price signs, teaching himself calligraphy in the process.  He describes his experience as having a background in ‘making’, opposed to having a background in ‘art’.  He has managed to create an n integration between the history of abstract painting, and the image of 21^st century cities.  The mixture makes a very intriguing view.

     He is a leading figure in contemporary American Art, noted for his large scale paintings using found materials, and concepts lined of social upheaval, poverty, African American men, and cities.  When I say cities, I really mean just that.  Bradford uses Google Maps often as inspiration and fuses it with abstraction, he views maps of cities as abstract scales, and as a great place to begin a much broader, much deeper translation beyond simply showing the layout of the land.

            His mixed media approach uses found items, everything from comic book pages, to advertisements around the city, to newspaper articles, perm papers, and everything in between.  Many of his works of mixed with Photomechanical reproductions, Acrylic Gel, and paint on canvas.   Currently at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, there are also three video production pieces by Bradford playing throughout the gallery.  His video segments are eye-catching, some showing the debilitating effects of poverty, another showing the fun crusade of young children making risky decision’s, and another showing Bradford playing basketball in his own interpretation of a L.A. Lakers uniform.

            If you don’t visit the ICA for the Mark Bradford exhibit, just check out the museum for the pure architectural feat of the building itself.  It has a new, 60 person, glass elevator and sleek, lost-in-perspective iMac Lab, with a steep staircase that falls down to a wide-view window that captures only the waves of Boston harbor, making one feel as though you are suspended in space, floating above the ocean.  It’s truly an awesome room to stand in.

 Exhibit is available from:  Now until March 13^th, 2011

General Admission: $15

Museum Hours: Tue. and Wed. 10 am - 5 pm

Thu. and Fri. 10 am - 9 pm

Sat. and Sun. 10 am - 5 pmTue. and Wed. 10 am - 5 pm

Thu. and Fri. 10 am - 9 pm

Sat. and Sun. 10 am - 5 pm

Museum Address: The ICA is located at 100 Northern Avenue on Boston’s waterfront