Splendor & Misery - clipping. (2016)
a run through four decades of the hip hop underground
I suppose it’s arguable how “underground” Daveed Diggs is. He was in the original cast of Hamilton, ffs. He also starred in the tv show Snowpiercer, which started out, at least, as fantastic hard sci fi (I tend to pretend it got cancelled after the first season)
Diggs’ association with producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, though, is definitely not mainstream. The beats are full of slick electronics angry industrial noise. The lyrics are about as high-concept as you’ll find.
This particular record is a concept album about “the sole survivor of a slave uprising on an interstellar cargo ship and the onboard computer that falls in love with him.”
If you, like me, love concept albums but don’t love following closely enough to appreciate them all the time, here’s a great explainer
Diggs’ flow is awesome, always dialed in and full of great wordplay.
The music is futuristic but also works in a lot of American song traditions to underscore the Afro-futurist take on the sci fi story.
It’s difficult to single out individual tracks, although Air Em Out is probably the closest thing to a single on here. A Better Place is a great and coherent closer.
