Just Plain Ant – What Did You Expect? (Just Plain Sounds)
Just Plain Ant’s latest album is one of the best compilations of work that I have heard in the RVA thus far. This album defines all angles of our local Hip Hop scene, from the soulful samples to the lyrics brought by many local talents in RVA. Just Plain Ant (aka Anthony Gillison) has a very authentic and retro style of production that he uses, and every artist on it brought their A game. I totally can vibe with this album.
Just Plain Ant – What Did You Expect? (Just Plain Sounds)
Just Plain Ant’s latest album is one of the best compilations of work that I have heard in the RVA thus far. This album defines all angles of our local Hip Hop scene, from the soulful samples to the lyrics brought by many local talents in RVA. Just Plain Ant (aka Anthony Gillison) has a very authentic and retro style of production that he uses, and every artist on it brought their A game. I totally can vibe with this album.
What Did You Expect? starts off with local emcees BC Music1st and Emphasys of The New Juice Crew repeating “It all gotta start somewhere” throughout the track–a great and memorable intro. Then local emcees Nyce and Just Plain Sounds’ own Due Justice show us how they live their life on the track “The Mvmt.” The next track is a track featuring Official Freeze of Charged Up Enterprise entitled “Sniper.” This track is one of my personal favorite tracks on the album. It states how your problems can be the things that shoot you down. “You gon’ let him shoot you down” is the chorus, and it is an easily relatable track.
The next track is a track that has a “Salsa dance” meets J Dilla vibe called, “Samba De Triste” featuring local emcee James Dangle, who is also a member of JPS. This is a very smooth and sensual track, reminiscent of the song “Naima” off of Dangle’s album One Time I Knew. Then there’s “Raw Shit” featuring local emcee Joey Ripps and James Dangle. Like the title says, this track is raw. Punch lines and lyrical content definitely makes this a hot track. “Sad Day,” a track by local emcee Drano, is a short love story describing the heartache before, during, and after a relationship. “The Sleaze Theme” is a track featuring local emcee Sleaze; it’s a very jazzy theme song, which starts off with a sample from the 70’s character Dolemite. Sleaze brings out his inner pimp and makes you laugh with lines like, “I aint loving these hoes at all, but it really aint a party unless hoes involved.” “Fly” features JPS artist Nyce. She gives us her melodic side as well as displaying her emcee skills. This positively-focused track tells everyone that they can achieve and accomplish their goals only if they just believe in themselves.
“Patina” features BarZ BlackMon of local band Photosynthesizers, as well as up and coming songstress Amber Yholeata. This is a dope track. It shows that BarZ BlackMon has amazing tone and vocabulary, and can keep you listening for more. “Lord Help Me” is a track featuring local emcee Octavion Xcellence, who is 1/3 of Suburban District. This is a pretty dope track with a soulful sample to match. “Is This Mine?” featuring Sleaze, is a track where he states “The World is mine, but I don’t want though.” Closing the album is “Roses” by songstress Sunny Harmonica (aka Samantha Hewlett Reed) of Photosythesizers/Beast Wellington. This beautiful song explains how you can just enjoy life by embracing the simple things and keeping your head high.
Throughout the album, Ant has a lot of beat breaks; after a song, a clip of a beat that he has produced will play. This addition was a great idea. It brings to mind influences such as J-Dilla, DJ Premier, or even a litte Kanye West. This album is a must listen, and overall great, with many local talents in the mix. Just Plain Ant has the skills comparable to most greats in the Hip Hop game. This Album proves he is a producer with an ear for many instruments as well as a drum pattern. I still don’t get why he calls himself “Just Plain”–his overall style speaks otherwise. Definitely buy this album.
