Album Review: Lock In

Reem Nabhani & Liam Dargaville are rap duo HEAVY. Having only been together for a short time Heavy are blazing an impressive trail, playing 2015’s Chronophonium, Laneway & Splore Festivals. They are currently following up on their 2014 release Tasty with a brand new album called Lock In.

If you took the quirky alt rap vibe of Coco Solid, the down beat slow tempo trippy feel of @Peace and the marijuana-centric lyrical approach of Cyprus Hill and mixed them all together with a teaspoon of Gorillaz and a cup of untethered originality you would get something that tastes like Heavy.

The new album has 12 songs, the majority of them around 2 minutes long. I’m in two minds about this approach. On one hand easily digestible bite sized morsels of music can work really well for rap music. But on the other hand the songs seem to be purposely avoiding any serious use of structure. I could imagine the albums short bursts of music being strung together in a live situation to make a great live set. Although I thought the songs could definitely have been developed a lot more for the album. But what it does give us is a series of taste tests of what Heavy have to offer.

The way Reem Nabhani’s high pitched aggressive female vocals cut through the bass heavy tracks, the use of pitch shifted vocals and quirky old school video game like synth textures come together to make Heavy’s distinct sound. Beat maker of the group Liam Dargaville and guest rapper Elvin Alfaro aka LVJ also lend a hand with the vocals and the song Goin’ In makes nice use of the male and female elements in a trippy @Peace like floaty chorus.

Kush Mansion featuring LVJ is the stand out track for me. Reminiscent of the group Gorillaz the two verse song has impeccable flow and feel and is the track you’ll have on repeat.

To me Heavy are the hippies of NZ Hip-Hop. They give off a psychedelic hipster kind of vibe with their dress style and musical ambience and this alternative stance is proving alluring with audiences. I heard a couple of people mention them before I was sent the album for review including seeing them on the bill with quirky alt rapper Randa. 

To keep it simple. I like their sound. I like that they’re on the alternative end of the Hip-Hop spectrum. They’re definitely intriguing and I’m pretty keen to get along to a live show to check them out. If you’d also like to check them out, they have their album release tour happening this May and you can view the tour dates and cities here.

The album is for sale on Bandcamp for an amount synonymous with stoner culture $4.20. So If you’re looking for new stoner anthems this is the place to get em.

Check out Lock In by Heavy here.