The long awaited debut album ‘Hastility (H1)’ from the UK/US duo consisting of producer Configa and Queens, NYC emcee HaStyle drops tomorrow (Mon 29th August) and boy it’s been worth the wait!
I’ve been a fan of Configa’s dope Boom Bap production style and repped his music in the past and knew of his love for the Golden Era sound that is evident in his music. Then he hooked up with the like minded creative NYC lyricist and storyteller HaStyle. They introduced themselves swiftly as a duo to watch out for with two well received EP’s during 2015, ‘The Calm Before HaStility’ and the aptly named ‘A Good Combination’
A year later we now have the full length debut album from this talented duo. After previously whetting our appetites with the fore mentioned EP’s, Configa and HaStyle come with deeper content and a darker, heavier vibe with this banger of an LP with features from El Da Sensei, Prince Po, Chino XL, Rashan and dope cuts from UK turntablist DJ Madhandz.
We are living in times of great social injustice, racism is still prevalent, Police act with impunity, the use of propaganda and media manipulation is rife, more and more areas of our world are engulfed in conflict and war and people like you and I are fed up, disillusioned and angry with our governments not just in the States or here in the UK it’s a global issue. ‘Hastility (H1)’ hits on and encompasses those thoughts and feelings as HaStyle draws on that anger and address the issues waxing lyrical with an effortless flow over the musical canvas Configa provides with his characteristic neck snapping beats that come with a grittier, moody edge to them.
There really isn’t a weak joint on this album all the guest features deliver to the standards you’d expect, but Configa and HaStyle are not over shadowed in the slightest and obviously the talent and creativity from the pair of them is what makes this such a DOPE album. Here’s a few joints that caught my attention.
The record starts with the Dr Configa Intro (Configa really is a Doctor on Hip Hop ya know, man has a PhD!) this concept sets the scene for the direction in which ‘Hastility (H1)’ is going to take us.
‘Mind Control’ sees HaStyle address how history can and HAS been manipulated and encourages the listener to seek knowledge for yourself whilst at the same time warning our governments can control, watch and invade citizens privacy at any given moment and features a dope verse from El Da Sensei.
With heavy boom bap drums from Configa ‘Channel Zero’ examines peoples dependency on TV and its ability to brainwash the masses with constant 24 hour news ramming negativity and fear in to our living rooms.
HaStyle examines his dreams in the joint ‘Nightmares’ whether they are his dreams or a reality, accompained by Configa’s head nodding beat and Madhandz dope cuts. The track comes with a newly released visual today, Shot by Peter Clark (Attic Studios) and the Video Edited by Nate Pommer. Check it out here
‘Hastility’ was the first single and title track taken from ‘Hastility (H1)’. Rather than me tell you how dope it is, check out the video directed by Nick Light here
The track ‘Substance Abuse’ speaks for itself there aren’t too many towns and cities across the globe that aren’t touched by the scourge of substance abuse, whether it be alcohol or drugs. I myself still have my own demons that I fight and have lost friends to both drink and drugs. HaStyle doesn’t come across all preachy however, just offering pearls of wisdom to those that may be in that spiral or advising family and friends to look for the signs, this track resonated with me.
‘This World’ featuring Rashan is a more laid back vibe with HaStyle exploring finding your way in life, trying to stay on the right path whilst acknowledging the traps, pitfalls, stereotypes and prejudices that we can encounter on our journeys through this often unpredictable life.
We then jump pace again with the sick joint ‘World War Rap (Remix)’ featuring the legendary Prince Po, i’ll let the music do the talking for itself……
As I previously mentioned there really isn’t a weak joint, if I haven’t mentioned a track it’s not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t want to bore you with my ramblings! ‘Hastility (H1)’ flows seamlessly with cleverly worked samples and cuts that compliment the music without over powering.
There is also a clear chemistry between both Configa and HaStyle which shines throughout the album. A lot of time and effort of travelling between the UK and New York has gone on to create this great piece of music and I think it’s that personal interaction between the producer and emcee which makes this stand out above a lot of submissions we get.
I have said in the past it’s almost criminal the amount of UK rappers that sleep on Configa’s production, but its their loss, and where many rappers can rap, many can’t story tell like HaStyle so it’s a win win for the pair of them and also for us as fans of Hip Hop.
It’s far too easy these days to buy a selection of beats of a handful of producers and throw a project together, but the real craft and art is building something together from the bottom up and that is what Configa and HaStyle have accomplished with ‘Hastility (H1)’, a record that oozes the Golden Era Sound, whilst commenting on the issues that face us today.
Words; Stix
You can Pre-Order Configa and HaStyle’s debut album ‘Hastility (H1)’ digitally and on CD but it is released and available to purchase tomorrow (Mon 29th August)
Physical copies available here https://confighas.bandcamp.com/album/hastility-h1
iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/hastility-h1/id1140537178
Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hastility-H1-Explicit-Configa-Hastyle/
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