If you don’t go to a lot of hiphop shows in Eugene, chances
are good you’ve never heard of Animal Farm. If you do happen to
frequent the college town’s rap scene, though, you’re probably very
familiar with the quartet of emcees that bears that moniker. Rightly
so. They’ve opened up for just about every major rap act to pass
through the last two-plus years. Although the group is largely unknown
to our fair city, their debut release, er… The Unknown, aims
to bring them to the forefront of the Portland and larger Northwest
scene.
Animal Farm is a collective of four emcees: Hanif WondiR (brother of
Northwest favorite Karim of the Boom Bap Project), Fury, Gen.Erik, and
KWils. The four generously share the mic with each other throughout the
course of The Unknown and Gen.Erik himself handles the majority
of the beat production. Although the emcees do their part to shine
lyrically, the musical foundation Gen.Erik provides is one of the
biggest highlights of the album. Sampling adeptly from many genres and
sources, Gen.Erik, known in the Oregon hiphop community primarily for
his punchline-laced rap verses, makes a name for himself here as one of
the best producers from our state. The only fault you can really find
is in the sheer diversity of the tracks he brings to the table on
The Unknown. “Ragtime Gal” is a bouncy 1920s throwback, while
two tracks later “War” would not raise any eyebrows were it to appear
on the next Grayskul album. The track the crew is really pushing as the
single is “Peace,” a solid song featuring the legendary KRS-One.
Beats aside, Animal Farm is a group that is trying to establish
itself as lyrically dominant. While I would call the poetic output on
this release hit and miss, the majority of songs feature strong
performances by all the emcees. Fury, formerly of the group SoundProof
(a duo with fellow Animal Farmer Hanif), delivers the most memorable
vocals of all with a slick voice and fiery cadence that fits his chosen
name. Gen.Erik and KWils also serve well-constructed rhymes over the
beat pastiche, particularly on the forceful album-opener, “We Came to
Rock.” With four emcees trading off so regularly on the flows it can
sometimes become hard for the listener to distinguish one from another
but, since all four are talented, it’s not much of a bone of
contention. That said, there are brief moments of disharmony on the
album, notably on a few sing-songy hooks that fall a bit short of the
melodic bar set by groups like the Chicharones.
All in all, The Unknown is a solid debut effort for this
group from Eugene. Animal Farm is attempting to remind listeners of
what it calls “true-school hiphop,” a style that pays homage to the
roots of the culture and mostly succeeds in so doing. With an effort
like this out of the gate, it’s a fair bet that these four emcees won’t
be unknown for long.