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Goldie Lookin Chain
When I listen to Welsh rappers Goldie Lookin Chain, I'm pretty sure I'm missing 75% of the joke -- mostly because, well -- I'm not Welsh. But that remaining 25% is still pretty amusing, what with the goofy sports togs and the poking fun at US hip hop culture and the random references to Penelope Keith and Felicity Kendal and the whole goofy stoner vibe and all -- so I can't imagine what it must be like to be completely in on the joke.
(I must admit that Google's been very handy in helping me clarify some of slang involved. For instance, I now now that 'soapbar' is a really low-grade chunk of hash that looks like ... a bar of soap. It's all been very educational. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to integrate the GLC catch phrases "Clart!" or "safe as fuck" into my vernacular yet, but "You knows it!" is gaining popularity in my day to day conversations. Sadly, I already knew what a BBC Micro was.)
I think I decided the GLC were totally awesome when I heard the clarinet loop (!) on "Self Suicide" -- which gives it a weird kind of klezmer feel, oddly enough. Or maybe it was the stuttery early 80s hip hop vibe on "Roller Disco" -- or the Har Mar Superstar-esque earnestness of "You Knows I Love You." Or possibly it was when I heard they'd self-released seven singles through their website and the group's meteoric rise to popularity in the UK generally pissed off the ultra snobby contingent of the music press across the pond.
Far from being just a novelty hip hop act (and taking cue from The Streets and Eminem), the GLC traffic in jovial yet biting social commentary -- especially on tracks like "Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do" and "Soap Bar". But just in case you thought things were getting a little too serious (oh, as if!), there's always the fantastically vulgar and amusing "Your Mother's Got a Penis."
Goldie Lookin Chain - Guns Don't Kill People, Rappers Do
Goldie Lookin Chain - Roller Disco
Goldie Lookin Chain - Your Mother's Got a Penis
The offical Goldie Lookin Chain website. Their debut album, Greatest Hits, doesn't seem to have a US release date planned (that I could locate), but it is available on iTunes and the UK pressing is available from Amazon.
Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 02.25.05 at 1:29 AM
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