Nottingham produces incredible music with a very distinct local character. There's a certain atmosphere and sensibility which pervades the work of its musicians, people like Catmilk, Lace Thief or Drew Thomas. One key member of the local scene for around 20 years has been Cappo, a hip-hop artist often labelled 'legendary'. Rightly so. His brand of rap is cerebral, deep, hard-hitting and exploratory. And his latest work is a perfectly packaged example of what Cappo is all about.
Across the nine tracks of the "semi-autobiographical" album ‘S.T.A.R.V.E’., Cappo delivers a richly-layered commentary on society's ills from an intensely personal perspective, drawing on literary tradition as well as hip-hop history and trip hop inspirations.
The release of this album comes only a few months after Cappo shared an expansive and intense work called 'Canon'. It was released in three parts, covering three concepts: pain, escapism and absolution. He described it in an interview with LeftLion in January as "a deeply personal record, covering themes such as mental health decline, the long-term effects of grief and trauma, my experiences of various forms of addiction, and how I have come to understand the concept of masculinity in the modern world, especially in relation to how I have chosen to raise my children."
Wow. You can sense how much emotional energy Cappo would have expended on creating 'Canon'. And yet, instead of taking a well-earned break, here he is half a year later with another far-from-lightweight creation. The depth and thought which has gone into ‘S.T.A.R.V.E’ far surpasses many other albums I've heard recently. It's a thoughtful, intelligent record: at times deeply introspective ('Slow Poison'), and at other points open and hard-hitting ('Wi(n)dow'). There's raw storytelling (the 'TERRACE' interludes; 'Strongbow') and cinematic drama ('Jar'), always infused with earnest vocals, careful beats and subtle melodic flurries. The overall sense is of something immensely brooding and dark: we're invited to plumb fathomless depths, with Cappo as our, very well-qualified, intellectual guide — Dr Paul Adey, aka Cappo, holds a PhD from Nottingham Trent University.
I'll come back to a few of those tracks in a moment. First, I want to talk about the care which has gone into the physical product. Cappo's label Plague kindly sent me a vinyl copy of the record: it's in 10" format, a stunning transparent red vinyl disc nestled in a high-quality sleeve. On one end of the black outer sleeve is a wide piece of grip tape (instead of the card or paper "obi" that some records have), a surprising addition which to be honest provoked a bit of unease. What is that coarse piece of sandpaper doing so close to the vulnerable, unblemished vinyl?
'S.T.A.R.V.E.' represents the concept of isolation, and is also part of a trilogy of albums, and apparently Cappo wanted to isolate this record from the other two, hence the choice of a different disc size and the grip tape. "The record would also need to be isolated from others in the collection so the grip tape didn't damage their sleeves," Plague told me. (It's also giving a nod to an infamous sandpaper sleeve which Factory Records used for an album called 'The Return of the Durutti Column' - this page tells the story.)
All of this could come across as nothing more than a pretentious bit of marketing if it wasn't coupled with music that reflected the concept so effectively. Cappo could never be accused of gimmickry.
The record's opener 'Jar' is built on a lonely 3-note piano riff, which floats in an echoing space; that’s coupled with a surprisingly rapid beat and enigmatic lyrics. Here, and on later tracks, Cappo uses sampled spoken words as part of the track and interacting with his own vocals. In the second track, ‘Drip’, those words are delivered crisply, almost clinically, by a female voice; this gives the sense of participation from a third party observer, taking part but also staying safely apart from the main scene. It’s very clever and very effective.
After the ‘TERRACE III’ interlude (a hurried, anxious voice note in which the message of isolation rises rapidly to the surface), we meld into ‘Void’ - a short, intense track with forceful rapping, emotive strings and a superb extract from Ralph Ellison: “I not only entered the music but descended, like Dante, into its depths…”.
Then, it’s ‘Wi(n)dow which mixes more intellectual extracts with hard-hitting and very modern commentary:
“Woke up early then I prayed to HOV
Put the Fjallraven jacket hood up
On my physical like it’s a robe…”
“Woke up early then I prayed to HOV
Put the Fjallraven jacket hood up
On my physical like it’s a robe…”
On the vinyl version, this is the natural break as we flip to side B. Here the intensity ramps up another notch: first, the ‘TERRACE II’ interlude which is particularly real, every vocal nuance telling a story in itself - the last line stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it; then, ‘Strongbow’, which is an extremely real narrative of daily struggles with mental health and of a search for understanding and support. The ending perhaps leaves room for hope, and the choice of quote here is inspired. As is the Apollo-missions-era sample which leads us into ‘Slow Poison’, the kind of sound you’d normally hear in very different musical context. This is a lengthy track, raw and unflinching, absorbing and immersive.
It makes way for the final Terrace interlude which finds our protagonist still struggling, repeating the theme of isolation from family and friends but also revealing moments of lucidity and some element of faith - a spark of human persistence.
The last track is ‘Writeful Owner’ which at times is almost calming as themes of rebuilding seem to emerge. As it fades away, you’re left unsettled, enlightened and uncertain, but realising that this album has been something of a gift, sharing wisdom and insight, while inspiring a real mixture of emotions.
‘S.T.A.R.V.E’ is a great piece of art which carries a message and helps you understand Cappo as a thinker, but also as a do-er: a careful analyst who puts thoughts into tangible actions. Pen to paper, sounds to wax. Keep this one on your radar as I get the feeling there’s plenty more to come.
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