Metermaids Make The Rooftop Shake

posted in: Features • Urban

Attention hip hop fans! OurStage’s own Metermaids, an underground hip hop duo hailing from Brooklyn, have just released a new album! If you aren’t already familiar with the duo of emcees Sentence and Swell then you should get acquainted, because they’re taking the underground scene by storm. After releasing the Smash Smash Bang EP in late 2009, the pair caught the attention of acclaimed producer 9th Wonder and underground veteran Sage Francis, who signed the group to his label, Strange Famous Records. Since then they’ve been building buzz with a series of mixtapes and EPs until finally dropping their album Rooftop Shake last week. And it is definitely worth the wait.

First and foremost, this is an album for beat-heads. The production duties are split between 9th Wonder and M. Stine. 9th Wonder is an experienced producer who has produced tracks for the likes of Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Murs, among many others. M. Stine is a relative newcomer who handled production on Metermaids’ earlier EPs, but he has the skill to hang with any big name producer today. Stylistically, their production is rooted in samples, but they expand upon that sound with pianos, keyboards, guitars and a slew of other instruments. There is definitely an influence from legendary producer J Dilla here, but with its own unique twist. For example, the track “Graveyard Shift” uses a distorted guitar and pounding drums to create a hard hitting beat that just sounds huge. In contrast, opening track “8MM” uses a looped string sample interspersed with flourishes from a flute to create a smooth sounding and unique beat. And to top all of that off we have Metermaids’ self proclaimed “honorary third member” DJ Rob Swift, who provides scratching over the whole album, giving it a vintage vibe. His standout moment comes on “Victory Blvd,” where the song ends with a long instrumental section letting him go crazy on the turntables.

But don’t think that these dudes can’t rap! Stylistically, think of Atmosphere. Often referring to themselves as “the Bad News Bears of hip hop,” Swell and Sentence have a somewhat self-deprecating style similar to that of Atmosphere’s Slug. The first line that you hear on the album is “you’ll never see me posing for a photo,” and that sets the tone for the lyrics of the whole album. The lyrics are not braggadocios, which is a refreshing change of pace from a lot of mainstream hip hop today. “Rooftop Shake” features the great line “if Bill Buckner could rap it would sound like this.” You won’t hear any lines about their “other, other Benz” on this album. The main theme of the album is a self reflexive account of two people moving to Brooklyn and dealing with the ups and downs of life in the big city, something that many of us can relate to. And some big name guests show up to drop bars along with the two emcees. Label boss Sage Francis shows up on two tracks, one of those also featuring underground hip hop veteran Buck 65. And in addition to his production, 9th Wonder shows up for two verses, which is extremely rare for the producer. Overall, this is a great record from rhyming to production that any fan of hip hop will appreciate.

You can buy Rooftop Shake on iTunes. Still not convinced? You can stream the whole album for free right here:

ROOFTOP SHAKE by Metermaids by Strange Famous Records