Sab Francisco-based artist James Moore who goes by the name RpxSB released a popping hip-hop album, ‘Creatures-ACT lll: JOPO’’, the third part of the three-act, triple-heavy album, on The 9th of September. It’s made up of 8 songs and is released by their independent label, Vibeland. Roddy Picante and Stay Bizzy are childhood friends who decided to take their craft of making music more seriously after high school.
Their name is also part of their mantra, ‘’rock plaid and survives bullshit.’’ The album is a hip-hop genre, with themes that delve into real-life issues and encounters, so it’s safe to say it’s extremely relatable to all of us. Similar artists who made the same type of music are Dom Kennedy, Earth Gang, and Odd Future.
We’re all about the third and last album Creatures act lll. First of all, the artwork of the album is really catchy and artistic. There is a graphic character of a clown that looks happy but kind of dead because the theme of this album is the idea of a come-up after going through a rough patch of anger and sadness, then acting like nothing matters and drowning in vices and then at last rising from the chaos and mess and embracing that nothing matters still, yet everything does. The overall sound of the album is really chill with light melodies.
The tone is positive and mellow which matches the lyrics that speak of resilience from many issues that one has probably faced in their life whether it’s a depressing job or difficult personal relationships. The vocals of both rappers are really bouncy and the bars are smooth and on point with the music. There is a cloud rap inspiration, the music is the kind that you wanna listen to at 6 am in the morning. The musical arrangement of most tracks isn’t extremely complex but resonates deeply as rich sounds as you listen. There are a lot of synthy, wavey beats and old-school hip-hop smooth beats that include saxophones and xylophone sound effects.
It really feels like you’re floating on a cloud. Notable sounds are sound pieces of children’s voices in some of the tracks, and vocals at the back of the tracks that are humming tunes.
The order of the songs tells the story of resilience from a totally depressing phase. Starting with the song ‘Bad lemons’, the artist is telling us to make lemonade out of lemons anyway. The names show positivity from the start and then go to a little bit of a darker tone since the album is also telling us to face the hard realities. ‘ Friday night at tootsies’, ‘Big city blues, and ‘coast to coast, mostly talk about working a job you don’t want to, hitting up women you don’t actually want to spend your life with, and traveling out the city to free your soul. Some of the end’s tracks like ‘Jaded’ and ‘Sprinkler system’ is all about exhaustion and continuity. This album is one hell of a ride, something real with a twist of coolness and chill vibes for your mornings or evenings.