This is quite an interesting concept. Ivan Ives is a Russian anti-capitalist rapper. Well at least according to the information. Hearing that I was very excited to give Iconoclast a listen. I mean I have an absolute fascination with Russia, the Soviet era in particular. So I was amazed that this could possibly exist. Unfortunately it doesn't quite live up to that hype, and instead is just a quite decent hip hop record.
It's well done but I was expecting something a bit more from it, perhaps some deep political statements that we really need to hear in this age, when capitalism is truly spinning out of control. I mean everything really is going to hell, and I don't think anyone would disagree that there is something fundamentally wrong with our society. And part of it is the foolish absolute embrace of a capitalist economy.
Anyone can see really all it is leading to is a great disparity between the rich and the poor. It's painfully obvious that the rules are not equal for everyone, that the free market is as twisted and corrupted as anything those naughty Soviets could ever have imagined. Don't get me wrong, they were a bad bunch, a really bad bunch at times. It's just that we are every bit living in a twisted version of a system as they were. Instead of coercion though we have mass marketing campaigns to determine the best way to convince us of what to think and feel.
One only has to look at the American invasion of Iraq and it's lead up to see how we can be convinced of something. No one really seems to worried that a government is willing to absolutely lie on almost every level to get something a few people want. That's fucked up. And our own government with all the scandals and stealing shit, and hiding money. And we don't seem to be able to see this as a problem.
So yes my expectations were high from an anti-capitalist record, particularly one that comes form a presumed outsider perspective. I mean that all said it is a very good album. There is even an excellent track on it, "Victory", which has a sort of militaristic Laibach-type feel to it. Sort of in that martial style and there are some nice (I'm assuming Russian) type vocals on it. That one really stood out. Yeah I really dug that. And the music you really can't fault.
I mean it is a well done album. At least it wasn't like that crap Blue Collar album I heard a while ago, by some artist that I have forgotten, that promised to be an invigorating discussion of the blue collar worker and all it was, was like blue collar likes bitches. Real deep pal. Sorry, but I have a huge problem with that idea of behaving like a stereotype due to your class. Working class means more than just drinking too much and being ignorant. Actually that's probably not such a nice thing to be exonerating at all. Oh well. I mean this doesn't fall into that crap trap at all. It's good and not about hos, but could have used more social commentary please.
- Got It
- Victory ft. Vast Aire
- Mad Game
- Carpe Diem Ft. 2Mex
- Olivia Josephs
- SOUL Ft. OC
- How It Is
- The Recipe
- Honor ft. Cappadonna
- Worldwide Hits Ft. Fresh
- Lay Low
- Rap Ethics
- Revenge
- Zzyzx Road
- Life Is A Bitch
