Scroobius Pip is most well known for the wittily poetic lyricism of his previous work alongside collaborator Dan Le Sac, most famously the YouTube sensation ‘Thou Shalt Always Kill’, which led to two albums ‘Angels’ (2008) and ‘The Logic Of Chance’ (2010). For this latest release, ‘Distraction Pieces’, Scroobius Pip’s has returned to solo work for the first time since his self released 2006 debut ‘No Commercial Breaks’.
The overall feel of ‘Distraction Pieces’ is far darker than his previous work, with the angst that has always simmered at the surface now allowed to boil over, especially on tracks such as ‘Death Of The Journalist’ and opener ‘Introdiction’, where Pip spits his well informed bile at the ignorance and injustice of the modern world. This darker lyrical content is backed up superbly with a heavy musical backing, thanks in part to collaborations with the likes of Renholder (NIN, A Perfect Circle) and Richard Russell (XL, Gil Scott Heron). To balance the harder edged tracks, Pip also delves into his own psychoses with tracks such as ‘The Struggle’ and ‘Broken Promise’ that deal with his distaste of the relative fame that he has achieved, along with neurosis about his own feelings of inadequacy.
Fans of the music of Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip will not all get along with this side of Pip’s work, but those that embrace his style of witty satirical poetry will find plenty to admire in this homage to free thought and socio-political awareness. Although not a typical Hip-Hop record, this can be counted near the very top of my all time favourite Rap albums.
‘Distraction Pieces was released on 19/09/2011 by Speech Development.
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