Philly Music - Electric City

Electric City, "Computer Rock" (YSI link)

Electric City, "Cannibal" (YSI link)

I've come to realize that whenever I try to structure this site, it's a total bust. I just don't do well with planning ahead and making weekly posts on a certain topic. The best example is my effort to make a weekly post dedicated to Philadelphia music, which never got rolling the way I had hoped. It was my fault, as I just get caught up in whims and was trying to make sure I had good Philly music to share

Electric City are a great way to get back to highlighting the great music coming out of my city, Philadelphia. Both members of the group, DJ Skipmode and MC Flipside, are integral parts of the city's hip-hop community and lifelong residents. It's a little-seen concept anymore, as hip-hop has become big business and labels scour scenes for new talent. A grassroots scene that is less intent on getting signed and hitting it big just doesn't exist much anymore. These are guys throwing the monthly at the Khyber, helping sites like 215hiphop.com, putting up the fliers and helping to give our city a unique sound and scene.

Blah blah blah, right. What about the music? It's very good, that rare underground hip-hop that doesn't bore me to death or make me want to laugh at the lectures about 'real hip-hop.' It's definitely got its focus on the past, owing its sound to the 'classic' East Coast period of DJ Premier, while also highlighting the lyrics like most East Coast rap. Personally, I love "Computer Rock," the title song of their EP. It's on some of that "What you know about hip-hop" shit that normally wears thin, but this song is so catchy and fun that it seems to be using the references as a source of inspiration. Like, you should check out these early 80s people who made party music, an essential message for all the serious hip hop fans out there. Of course, the title and reference to all sorts of hip house artists like definitely doesn't hurt in trying to appeal to me.

"Cannibal" is a more personal tale, about a terrible girlfriend and the pain she causes our boy. Again, it sounds so much better than the description, as the skills and talent of the duo allow them to break through any limits their influences provide. It reminds me a lot of the first time I heard Jurassic 5 or some of the other West Coast groups of the 90s, incredibly lyrical, fun, traditional but never boring.