Out of the Diplo and Switch production machine comes the newest of genre busting femme fatales. Amanda Blank represents Philly storming in with a barrage of 80's inspired hip hop and new wave beats. To call her a retread of Santigold or MIA would be an unfair write off. Busting out of indie kid's speakers in 2005 on Spank Rock's 'YoYoYoYoYoYo' cult fave "Bump", Amanda not only ripped Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas a new hole for selling out, she delivered a flow reminiscent of J.J. Fad's Supersonic, re-injecting a much needed dose of fun into contemporary hip hop. The production is a bit industrial but never gets in the way of her delivery. She starts out punk on "Make It, Take It" and then spits verbal bullets at dominating men and wallflower women that "can't handle it, to get off the floor..." over the bouncy, ass- shaking, glock-cocking "Something Bigger, Something Better". She mines all that is good about the 80's and for proof look no further than the two 80's cuts she reinterprets- Vanity 6 and L.L. Cool J. Her interpretation of L.L. Cool J's "I Need Love" is a nice gender flip that splices Santigold's vocal from her Alt-Rock Anthem- "I'm A Lady". (A demo version exists on Santogold's Top Rankin' Mix tape.). It's her mining of the Vanity 6 cult gem "Make up" that deserves major props. It's interesting to hear the song re-emerge as a cold and controlling droid monologue supported by industrial funk. It's the flip side to Vanity's decorative wall-fixture, sex kitten reading. The menacing robo-grind is counter to Prince's warm- fantasy- eye-candy, arm-trophy feel of the original. It serves as a reminder on how womens' roles in music have changed from the era these songs were conceived in. She could easily read you the riot act like Roxanne Shante or Lil' Kim one minute- "Lemme Get Some"/"Gimme What You Got", or be vulnerable on songs like "A Love Song"/"DJ"/"Shame on Me". She's in good company (with mavericks like M.I.A., Santi White, Spank Rock, Diplo and Switch) so if this LP doesn't quite match the expected success of her cohorts, I get the feeling we'll be hearing more from Amanda "Just take me home" Blank.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Amanda Blank- I Love You
Out of the Diplo and Switch production machine comes the newest of genre busting femme fatales. Amanda Blank represents Philly storming in with a barrage of 80's inspired hip hop and new wave beats. To call her a retread of Santigold or MIA would be an unfair write off. Busting out of indie kid's speakers in 2005 on Spank Rock's 'YoYoYoYoYoYo' cult fave "Bump", Amanda not only ripped Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas a new hole for selling out, she delivered a flow reminiscent of J.J. Fad's Supersonic, re-injecting a much needed dose of fun into contemporary hip hop. The production is a bit industrial but never gets in the way of her delivery. She starts out punk on "Make It, Take It" and then spits verbal bullets at dominating men and wallflower women that "can't handle it, to get off the floor..." over the bouncy, ass- shaking, glock-cocking "Something Bigger, Something Better". She mines all that is good about the 80's and for proof look no further than the two 80's cuts she reinterprets- Vanity 6 and L.L. Cool J. Her interpretation of L.L. Cool J's "I Need Love" is a nice gender flip that splices Santigold's vocal from her Alt-Rock Anthem- "I'm A Lady". (A demo version exists on Santogold's Top Rankin' Mix tape.). It's her mining of the Vanity 6 cult gem "Make up" that deserves major props. It's interesting to hear the song re-emerge as a cold and controlling droid monologue supported by industrial funk. It's the flip side to Vanity's decorative wall-fixture, sex kitten reading. The menacing robo-grind is counter to Prince's warm- fantasy- eye-candy, arm-trophy feel of the original. It serves as a reminder on how womens' roles in music have changed from the era these songs were conceived in. She could easily read you the riot act like Roxanne Shante or Lil' Kim one minute- "Lemme Get Some"/"Gimme What You Got", or be vulnerable on songs like "A Love Song"/"DJ"/"Shame on Me". She's in good company (with mavericks like M.I.A., Santi White, Spank Rock, Diplo and Switch) so if this LP doesn't quite match the expected success of her cohorts, I get the feeling we'll be hearing more from Amanda "Just take me home" Blank.
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