Holistic goodness

Here's my review of Holistic's album Technicolor


Can the retro sound from popular TV shows and pop music of the 60s’ fuse with hip-hop? A range of artists have tried to answer that question and this is what the group Holistic has done with their latest album Technicolor.

Holistic is comprised of three young men who originally hail from Indiana, but have been based in NYC for several years. The Iron Sheik, Iz Inferno, and Rad Nice are all emcees, and the Iron Sheik and Iz Inferno double up as the producers of the group.

The three members each bring something unique to the emceeing table: Iz Inferno has a deep, addictive, voice; Rad Nice has catchiness and thump; while the Iron Sheik gives listeners lots of rhythm. Their verses cover a seemingly bizarre range of subjects, from watching NBC in the morning to the trauma of police brutality -- Holistic aren't afraid to rap about what they see around them.
Many songs on the album feature sounds reminiscent of the 60s’ era, hence the retro-sounding title Technicolor. In theory, one may think that sounds reflective of the Woodstock generation would not mesh well with hip hop rhythms and rhymes, but I found that Holistic make it work, and it works well.

Check out “NBC” for example, which appears early on in the album. The song features an intriguing loop that seems straight out of a classic TV show. With low, rolling bass, the boys of Holistic enter the tune with their verses, and show how hip hop can evolve by using the unlikeliest of sources from the past.

Another example from the album is “D’Accord”, where Holistic display their fondness for the French language. Here, the main layer of the song could be right in place on an album that’s over 40 years old. The group display a flair for coming up with a revitalizing sound for a hip hop track.

“Supercool” is another top track, and is their latest single (check out the link below for the stylish video, directed by Rad Nice.) The song is more conventional in its production than the other tracks with vintage elements, but still provides plenty of head-bopping and can be put on repeat.

The song from Technicolor that truly showcases the emcee skills of the trio is “Summertime Sky”. Listening to Holistic’s voices, heavy rhythms, and lyrics, on top of a relaxed beat, makes you think of, well, summertime. In my opinion, “Summertime Sky” deserves lots of airplay.

Holistic have an experimental style of hip hop, and don’t limit themselves to targeting Muslim-only audiences or topics, which is a refreshing change from some other Muslim acts. Give them a listen and you will also be hooked - and might find yourself repeating, “The world looks mighty good to me, I start my days with NBC! Whatever it is, I think I see, I think I see!”

Go here to see Holistic’s website.

Check out their latest single "Supercool" which has a pretty groovy video.