(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
"Pretenders get Dikembe, slapped up in the facial..."
Hello again, Twin Cities! Welcome to the fourth edition of Singles Mixer!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Singles Mixer format, we ask one of our regular contributors to give a listen to a new single from a Minnesota artist and give us their thoughts.
This time around we asked TCDroogsma to give us his thoughts on the new single "C.R.E.A.M. Dreams" by Greg Grease from his upcoming album Cornbread, Pearl & G.
TCDroogsy, what'd you think?
I'll put it out there right away, I'm not super-familiar with Greg Grease. In fact, my best knowledge of his work is his stellar collaboration with Mike Mictlan on the SNAXXX's highlight "WZRD SCIENCE." However, after hearing that one, I was certainly intrigued and vowed to make a concerted effort to check out Grease's work.
Well, as luck would have it, he has a new album on deck (December 11th, to be exact). "C.R.E.A.M. Dreams" is the debut single from that album and it's a breath of fresh air.
C.R.E.A.M Dreams by Greg Grease
Lyrically, Grease isn't telling a new story, just putting his twist on tried-and-true hip-hop grindin' song. It's actually really refreshing to hear somebody look at the hustle to break even from a "Man, I'm tryin' my best..." standpoint rather than the "All I do, all day, every day, is hustle..." When he drops the couplet, "Escape to lakes & vacant West, blazin' eighths and playing chess, penny loafer, sweater vests, Miles Davis spins and reps..." it's clear that, just like the rest of us, Grease is just trying to make enough to get buy and find a little peace in mind.
The beat for the track (and I sincerely apologize for not knowing who's responsible for the beat) lends the track an almost Disney-ish level of fantasy. It knocks in its own way, but the looped flutes and strings definitely add a different perspective to the lyrics. Rather than presenting this day-to-day grind as a hard knock struggle, the beat lends the song a "journey is its own reward" type of vibe. And really, with 2013 on deck, an enjoyable journey and peace of mind is the new "Rich Forever."
Final Score - 4/5
There you have it, everybody. Four out of Five for "C.R.E.A.M. Dreams." Again, Cornbread, Pearl & G is out this coming Tuesday (Dec. 11th).
For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma) and on his personal blog Flatbasset. Evidently he thinks he can review movies now. Sure buddy, why not?
Of course Newest Industry also lives on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1). Give us a follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we also have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us "like" is the best way to support what we do. We'd like to get some new sweater vests someday too.
