Plastique (Fake Four)
Rating: NN
Co-founder of the Anticon record label, Sole has had something of a black-sheep career. His unapologetically non-rhyming rapping style has pissed off more than a few purists, and his awkward post-apocalyptic beats have relegated him to a bit of a niche.
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On Plastique, instead of trying to win over a new audience, he takes his formula to the next level. The addition of the Skyrider Band – an atmospheric noise group with rhythmic tendencies – brings Sole to the very cusp of hip-hop, with middling results. His raps range from cryptic environmental messages on More to face-palm political clichĂ©s on Mr. Insurgent.
Sole gets poignant on Pissing In The Wind, but then devolves into pretentious, thinly veiled attacks on the media. In other words, the album could benefit from a fully instrumental treatment.
Top track: Pissing In The Wind