“To provide artists with a creative outlet without limiting their artistic freedom. To produce progressive music that accurately reflects its culture. To help blur the very sharp lines between popular music and “underground” music by presenting quality music accessible to both audiences. To present Hip-Hop culture in its most authentic form, with the hope of eliminating many of the negative stereotypes attached to Hip-Hop today.”
Goodness, these are lofty goals. Yet since the 2001 inception of the rising star label Halftooth Records, founding producers David Schrager and Zach Gordon have been attacking them all. From their first encounter in Madison, the record company was an inevitable endeavor. Gordon brought an enthusiasm for a broad range of musical genres and a concern with the current trajectory of the specific hip-hop culture. Schrager was industry-savvy from interning with the likes of Cornerstone Productions and working as a college representative with The Fader magazine.
The culmination of their abilities as producers is first demonstrated in the showcase album You Don’t Know the Half. And with this glimpse of what will come from the label, the hype it has created is leaving everybody with an eager anticipation of the other half.
Take J-Live’s “Who Do You Call” as a prime example of the offerings.
The call and response style of the chorus with the up-tempo beats make it irresistibly moveable. The lines asking, “Who do you call when your ears need mouth to mic resuscitation / and your headphones are suffocating / Who do you call when you loose patience for the station’s over saturation / Stunting your maturation” boldly demonstrates that goal of freedom to express insight into his musical environment.
The album tends to focus on the abilities of the signed artists, like Oddisee, Kenn Starr and Wordsworth.
It is amazing that Kenn Starr has previously remained so under the radar. Though he has been rhyming since his youth, Starr has remained quietly, just outside the limelight. “Walk the Walk” finally shows him sitting center and soaking it up. With a soft scratching record of a female sonata in the background, Starr’s lyrics keep the downbeat, rather than the drums keeping his time. Honesty is his forte, as shown with lines like, “I’m not thug, never was / Probably never will be / I gotta talk about drugs for y’all to feel me.” Starr sits back and spins his philosophy as if writing out a grocery list. He presents his reality in a very matter of fact manner and his chill sounds support it.
While much of the album pushes a jazzy sound, even relying on some neo-soul moments, Wordsworth’s “Here We Go Again” offers some drive.
The song starts out with the sounds of a drill team. These beats set a tone that feed into a storytelling reminiscent of the sharing of rhymes not unlike the graffiti art on the album cover. As a Lyricist Lounge All-Star, Wordsworth’s abilities in creating lines are undeniable. Holding a degree in English Language and Literature (often writing papers in lyric), his intellect is irrefutable. Not only can he spit entertaining lines off bouncing beats, but also his intonation adds depth. The combination of this playfulness the ironic tone he brings to the song makes it a highlight of the album.
The sampling on the album makes for anticipation as to what Halftooth will put out next. With the bleating horns in Dash’s “In the Middle,” the soul backdrop of the collaboration among Starr, Asheru and Talib Kweli in “If” and the keyboarding bases of Phonte and Big Pooh’s “Long Time Comin’ (Makin Moves)” there is the premonition of a new hip hop era. Though the lyrics may be a little too heavily culture-conscience after an hour, the lines with meaning provide a common base from which artists are free to explore the integration of other genres. That use of creativity in expression makes this a record label that will not know what hit them when the demand for more comes. Luckily, You Don’t Know the Half shows that Halftooth has the beginnings of a strong artist base that can most definitely supply.
Grade: A
