I-Power

I-Power: hip hop group, from Westburry, NY. Consist of - DJ MoFunk (Melodious Fonk, Modini) & P.S. (Pure Sound). I-Power is a real internet success story. Not meaning that they've had success on the internet (although they have), but theirs is a great case where the internet has succeeded. See, I-Power is a 3-man group from Westbury, New York. They only put out one, largely overlooked 12" in 1997, which was limited to 200 copies (remember, this was the '90s). It's been posted on several dope blogs, like Top-Notch and Crates of AG in this recent online movement to discover and preserve quality 'random rap'. And in 2009, the DJ/ producer of the group caught wind of the hype and the current limited vinyl movement, and pressed up 250 copies of a 12" of unheard, unreleased I-Power material from the '90s. That release was successful enough to spawn several more EPs and 12"s of unreleased vintage material throughout 2009. A dope group that had only one 12" release now has a whole back catalogue of rich material on vinyl (plus tapes, CDs, t-shirts, some dope slipmats and more). Now, in 2010, they've dropped their fifth release, the 'Systematic' 12". 'Systematic' was recorded in 1996 and Rawkus picked it up to release as a 12", but the crew's DATs were stolen and the 12" never happened. Fortunately, it's since been recovered and is finally seeing the light of day, limited to 200 copies. And, as with all the I-Power releases, all the tracks are produced by member DJ MoFunk. Musically, these guys are just what you'd expect an indie, '90s crew you'd never heard before to sound like: boom bap beats with simple, but head-nodding soundscapes laid over them. And the MCs take turns kicking style-flexing rhymes with simple hooks. On one hand, you can see how these guys didn't catch on with broader audiences... Neither MC has an unusual voice, nobody says any attention-getting punchlines or insanely complex wordplay; and the instrumentals are effective but low-key. This is simply quality, well-constructed boom-bap music made by people who know what the heck they're doing in every respect. The bass is deep, the drums crack and the MCs spit hard but with some attention to smart, but not showy, rhymes... ...Except for an unusual spoken word epilogue to one of the B-sides, 'Free Da Dome', which will definitely have you lifting the needle back for another listen. In fact, while 'Systematic' might have the more immediately catchy track, 'Free Da Dome' is my favorite here. It's like some classic Cella Dwellas material, minus the mystical content, with a well-chosen Group Home line for the hook ("and ain't nothin' in the world better than life itself"). This is one of I-Power's 12"s, as opposed to one of their EPs, but with three tracks, two instrumental versions, and a funky "'96 Bonus Beat", it's pretty well loaded for a single. And at $40, it falls somewhere in between a standard 12" price and the epic $100 limiteds. The cost will surely price out most casual hip-hop fans, but those inclined to spring for these releases won't find themselves disappointed with the music contained within. And let's not forget how lucky we are to have this music finally available to us at all. Another internet victory. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.