Double K and Thes One put it nicely when they say that they are "not MCs, producers or DJs," adding, "We are B-boys, and we do all of that naturally." That D.I.Y.
attitude has a number of beneficial effects, among them an unusually intimate connection between the rhymes and the beats, and also a less quantifiable sense of down-to-earthiness that comes naturally to artists who do all their own crate-digging, mixing, scratching, engineering, and production.
Throughout this album there's a pervasive sense of a group that is focusing on the verities rather than wasting time with tired chest-pounding or empty celebrations of the bling.
People Under the Stairs have a penchant for funky jazz loops and first-generation hip-hop constructs; check, for example, the easy-rolling electric piano groove of "Roadbeaters" or the complex but relaxed jitter-beat of "Outrun." Even better is the unabashedly old-school celebration of "Drumbox," which is delivered in a blunt rapping style that harks back directly to the Last Poets and Grandmaster Flash.
And then there's "SF Knights Remix," a distressingly brief beatbox interlude.
If life remains in hip-hop's stiffening corpse, it's because of groups like this.
Highly recommended.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YieldC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 2 | Plunken' EmC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | RoadbeatersC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | Fly Love SongC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 05:48 | 13 MB | 30 MB |
| 5 | DrumboxC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 04:08 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | O.S.T. RemixC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | YoC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | SF Knights RemixC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 00:37 | 1 MB | 3 MB |
| 9 | Take the FruitC. Portugal, M. Turner | People Under the Stairs | Play | 03:11 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 10 | LA Song (Sensitive Mix) | People Under the Stairs | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 39 mins | 89 MB | |||||
| 39 mins | 210 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double K | Cut |
| 2 | Josh Dunn | Cover Illustration |
| 3 | Casey Nefcy | Mastering |
| 4 | Pattyfingers | Design |
| 5 | People Under the Stairs | Primary Artist |
| 6 | C. Portugal | Composer |
| 7 | Oliver Riley | Liner Notes |
| 8 | Thes One | Engineer, Mixing |
| 9 | M. Turner | Composer |
People Under the Stairs
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |