Topher Lafata A.K.A. Gold Chains is one step closer to creating what true hip-hop lovers consider a cruel and wicked beast. Mixing IDM technology, adding deafening basslines, and delivering eclectic rhymes, Young Miss America may be the start of a new music revolution. If Cex’s Being Ridden attacked the wall between hip hop and laptop technology with a hammer, Gold Chains’ debut album is pounding down the wall with a wrecking ball, using tremendous force and intensity. Unfortunately, this style of intelligent hip-hop may not be a successful commodity with true hip-hop aficionados. But while we patiently wait for Def Jux to release something new, exploration into a new sub-genre may be the best equivalent.
Gold Chains offers a fresh and unspoiled look at the surprising and youthful metamorphosis of hip-hop. And this is accomplished with nothing more than the typical stance of old school hip-hop braggadocio, touching on themes from money, sex and drugs. But with the accompanying soundtrack, Young Miss America’s stature is truly menacing and inventive, exposing us to the manic and often genius mind of Gold Chains. Sadly, his mind wonders off track on occasions, but nevertheless, the album continues to proceed onward with vigorous intensity.
Gold Chains’ Young Miss America is a delightful hybrid of the old and new. But unlike the awful and distasteful cross between R&B and hip-hop, Gold Chains new and improved music formula may finally give hip-hop the indie respect it truly deserves.
1. Code red
2. Several times defined
3. The game
4. What are we looking for
5. Much currency flows
6. Nada
7. Revolution
8. Young Miss America
9. Break or be broken
10. Citizens nowhere
11. Let's get it on