“I love reintroducing the songs that I know and love to another generation.”
—F. Carpé
An interesting artist landed in my inbox this week; Fantastical Carpé, shortened to F. Carpé made his way onto my watch list, and likely for a few reasons he didn’t expect. First some context, he’s a 27-year-old devout disciple of hip-hop from Oakland, California. He’s self-produced and has a great sound that seems to draw from an eclectic blend of heads that came before him.
He credits names like Dilla, Common, Lupe, and Pharrell. When I listen to him, though, I thought about Oakland native Saafir [and his no-pen freestyle flow], LA producer Madlib [with his jazzy/scratchy loops], and his alter-ego Quasimoto with his choppy yet intricate song arrangement. I began my trip through his Soundcloud by listening to his project F-am, and was enthralled with his seemingly off-the-head style at certain points, the sometimes sporadic/ jarring beats with obscure samples woven in, and the overall structure. Tracks like the Beatles sampled “Money,” the jazzy “Love Machine,” and the standout “The Family,” really show off what he’s capable off.
Hip-Hop is my way of expressing the things that I can’t always articulate. It’s poetry for the soul.”
—F. Carpé
Some tracks that you should use to “introduce yourself” to his sound is the über soulful “Yes I,” and “Workin,” which seems to be a staple of his live sets. Start there, and see where it goes — he has lots to explore. The more I tried to put my finger on it, he reminds me of MF DOOM; not to say that he conceals his identity in any way, but similar to the villain on his pre-Madvillain gem MM…Food, he takes chances. His music as a whole has a certain weirdness to it, which when played as a collection has numerous moments of gritty brilliance. He’s very much a “method to the madness” type of artist.
This is headphone music for real heads — I’m talking music lovers who like to float on clouds, bump dusty jazz loops, and give local and underground artists a chance. So put on your Raiders cap, put on F. Carpé, and let it ride while you spend the afternoon cruising in the sunshine. Hit his Soundcloud.
Early
https://soundcloud.com/fcarpe/yes-i-do-it-smoove-najee-amaranth-of-oakland-mind
