Canada via Cali

I was searching for Pearl Jam's "Corduroy" a few minutes ago in a fit of nostalgia, and accidentally came across this track by Estea Elements. And snap, yo - like a breath of fresh air.

As a fan of pretty much everything under the 'hip-hop' umbrella, I do have to admit to a certain amount of fatigue with the continuing grandiose, hyperbolic direction of mainstream rap, and the hyphy electro stuff that you can't quite bang at a pool party. So whatever, underground isn't and hasn't done either of those, but they flirt with that consciously minimal (read: bad) production and make equally as exhausting claims about how real and incisive they are. YOU'RE RIGHT ATMOSPHERE, WE JUST DON'T GET IT LIKE YOU DO.

Estea Elements, however, seem to be a young group out of Canada (where else?) who are kicking a flavour of rap that's a soothing blend of some almost-p-funk with an inescapably Jurassic 5 flow. It's like late-90's skate vid music and I love it. So while the snow approaches up in the Northern reaches, my antipodean brothers and sisters can look to this as some great summer-vibe music.

Estea Elements - Corduroy B-Boy (feat. Miles Repeated)

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