Black Cinema: The Fly Deathbed by G Fam Black & A Dusty Cinema

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this new wave of underground hip hop that calls back to the heavily lyrical 90s East Coast sound. One recent example of this, G Fam Black and A Dusty Cinema’s collaboration Black Cinema: The Fly Deathbed uses jazzy samples and heavy drums to build this beat that sounds like a modern update to A Tribe Called Quest. At the same time, the vocals depart significantly from the Slick Rick type flows that defined New York in the 90s, using a much grittier delivery in a much lower register to underline some of this record’s darker themes. That being said, for all of Black Cinema’s grit, the beats here give way to moments of remarkable beauty, giving this record a serious flair for the dramatic. All in all, this is a fantastic fusion of old-school and new sounds, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what these people do in the future.

-Michael