Black Purple and Green Lights is the sound of the reggae groove getting an ambient make over, of the same sultry vibe being torn down and rebuilt using electronica and rap deliveries. Over a lazy and sultry hip-hop groove he hangs soulful vibes, cool and unhurried grooves, sensual brass calls from the distance and the vocals are somewhere between relaxed and wonderfully world weary. It beats with a hip-hop heart but it also evokes a timeless blues bar jams, late night parties and a strange blend of otherworldly soundtrack and urban street smarts.
But I guess that is how the whole scene rolls forward and you can run a thread through blues, reggae and soul that eventually takes you to hip-hop and then beyond as that in turn has evolved into its own offshoots and sub-genres But they all come from the underground, form honest expression, from the heart, which is why blending them together seems such a natural thing to do. So natural that it is amazing that no one has managed to weave them together this brilliantly before. Then again, there always has to be someone who gets there first!
And even though there is a wonderful familiarity to the song, Black Purple and Green Lights does feel like a first, a bold step forward, a post-genre style, perhaps called swamp-hop that pushes beyond the rules and regulations, ignores the fickle finger of fashion and has no time for musical guardians and narrow-minded pedants telling it what hip-hop should be about.
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