Weekly Release Spotlight: Sims
Posted on 2/14/2011
Sims
Bad Time Zoo
[Doomtree]
Bad Time Zoo
[Doomtree]
It has become rare to find a hip-hop record with a cohesive vision. Especially in mainstream, major label rap, the huge cast of producers and guests can make an album feel like a collection of singles rather than a consistent artistic statement. Fortunately, Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree doesn’t produce “mainstream” rap, and Doomtree mainstay Sims isn’t as interested in thumping his own chest as he is in telling us about what’s weighing on his mind.
Sims uses the themes and imagery from Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Veldt” as a common thread to tie Bad Time Zoo together. The story is about an affluent family that buys a virtual reality nursery for their home. The nursery exposes and exacerbates their children’s violent tendencies by creating a disturbingly realistic African veldt that (spoiler alert!) the children eventually use to kill their parents. It seems that for his second full-length Sims is similarly concerned with corruption and savagery born out of modern urbanity. His rhymes are complex and hyper-literate, expertly juxtaposing gloomy descriptions of the titular Bad Time Zoo with vivid stories about his life in the Twin Cities (a bad time zoo in itself). Sims flow is also commendable; his recent in-studio with us shows his ability to switch from reflective story telling to blistering double-time raps on the fly.
The album was produced entirely by Doomtree’s resident super-producer Lazerbeak, which gives the album a unified sound without becoming one-note. Lazerbeak crafts bangers, sinister ooze and beautiful near-cacophony with equal panache, but the whole album is held together by well-deployed jazz horns and excellent vocal samples. Their close collaboration creates an album with a refreshingly complete vision that doesn’t sacrifice excitement, and they make it look easy. Just another day in the Veldt.
The album arrived February 15 via Doomtree, in standard and deluxe editions (although both versions come with an insert that you can cut out to make three origami animals!), you can check out Sims’ recent in-studio right here, and there is a release party for Bad Time Zoo featuring practically the entire Doomtree roster at the Fine Line Café on February 19.
Sims uses the themes and imagery from Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Veldt” as a common thread to tie Bad Time Zoo together. The story is about an affluent family that buys a virtual reality nursery for their home. The nursery exposes and exacerbates their children’s violent tendencies by creating a disturbingly realistic African veldt that (spoiler alert!) the children eventually use to kill their parents. It seems that for his second full-length Sims is similarly concerned with corruption and savagery born out of modern urbanity. His rhymes are complex and hyper-literate, expertly juxtaposing gloomy descriptions of the titular Bad Time Zoo with vivid stories about his life in the Twin Cities (a bad time zoo in itself). Sims flow is also commendable; his recent in-studio with us shows his ability to switch from reflective story telling to blistering double-time raps on the fly.
The album was produced entirely by Doomtree’s resident super-producer Lazerbeak, which gives the album a unified sound without becoming one-note. Lazerbeak crafts bangers, sinister ooze and beautiful near-cacophony with equal panache, but the whole album is held together by well-deployed jazz horns and excellent vocal samples. Their close collaboration creates an album with a refreshingly complete vision that doesn’t sacrifice excitement, and they make it look easy. Just another day in the Veldt.
The album arrived February 15 via Doomtree, in standard and deluxe editions (although both versions come with an insert that you can cut out to make three origami animals!), you can check out Sims’ recent in-studio right here, and there is a release party for Bad Time Zoo featuring practically the entire Doomtree roster at the Fine Line Café on February 19.
Stream: Sims - "Burn It Down"