Booty & the Kidd – Heart of it All

By Ryan G

You might think that when you hear a name like “Booty and the Kidd” this artist is being intentionally crass. Not so. Ohio State students Tyler Butts and Nick Reinmann have been quietly been building a local reputation as up and coming hip hop artists and they landed on the name to poke fun at themselves (with a last name like “Butts,” you have to deal with what the universe dealt you the best you can, no?).

What we have in their debut full length release is a classy collection of hip hop jams sure to get people grooving, albiet in a slightly more chilled out way than you might expect.

“I sin in all my verses / I put curses on myself” Tyler Butts begins on the opener “Fire,” a subtly aggressive piece with a guitar riff sample that would be staring me down in an alley if I had to personify it. The tension (which is a fun tension) increases with the eerie melody sampled in “Studio Apartment,” which takes me back to being perturbed by hearing the X-Files theme on TV as a little kid. You laugh, but that’s the comparison that comes to mind (though I’m 99% sure this was unintentional). Why do I bring this up? Well, besides being honest about where the music takes me, I think this is testament to the creativity behind the composition efforts of Booty and the Kidd. In fact, this record gives me a very similar feeling to hearing the album A Lesson Unlearnt by Until The Ribbon Breaks, an alt-R&B act that recently relocated from Wales to LA that has befriended Run the Jewels.

An interesting moment pops up in “Get” when I hear the line “I’m trying to be honest but I’m running out of things to talk about” as the song segues into an autobiographical segment. It’s fortunate that the band sets a tone with the music itself is being a little more laid back because their audience might otherwise be distracted from the message being conveyed. I think back to the phenomenon of people ignoring words in favor of partying to a beat, which Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” addresses quite cleverly. Booty and the Kidd prefers to not risk their message being lost in the beat, but manages to be pensive without being a downer nevertheless.

Heart of it All, an album whose title undoubtedly pays homage to the duo’s home state, is memorable and one that I will likely be digesting for some time.

Score: 4/5

Booty and the Kidd: Facebook | bandcamp

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