This article originally appeared in The Local Voice #208.
To download a PDF of this issue, click here.
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The Green Seed’s new release, Drapetomania (pronounced druh-pet-oh-may-nee-uh) has all the gusto and urgency of a debut. Brimming with lyrics of fury courtesy of emcees R-Tist and C.O.M.P.L.E.T., the stabbing attacks of dynamic DJ duo FX and Jeff C, and a lush soundworld layered with rich textures and trunk-rattling beats. Drapetomania is a feast for the ears—a Loveless for heads steeped in Buhloone Mind State (and vice versa).
R-Tist has long been a fantastic producer—one who mixes MPC mastery with live instrumentation. Still, joining forces with the production crew at Birmingham-based label Communicating Vessels—namely producer Jeffrey Cain, engineer Kyle Ginther, and mastering guru Paul Logus—has taken his beats to dizzying new heights. You’d be forgiven for thinking that Drapetomania wasn’t the product of the Dirty South rather than the blunted grit of J Dilla’s Detroit or the otherworldly productions of Lex Records. But Drapetomania is no homage—it’s a unique blend of heart, laughter, and guts.
Speaking of Lex Records, Drapetomania is also a feast for eyes thanks to the astounding artwork of enigmatic art collective EHQuestionmark—the design collective behind much of Lex’s output, including records by Shape of Broad Minds, Neon Neon, and DOOM.
In fact, it was EHQuestionmark who suggested the album title: Drapetomania is a bit of 19th century pseudoscience—the “disorder” causing a slave’s urge to flee. The idea of drapetomania inspired the eerily psychedelic minstrels that adorn the album’s artwork, which looks especially striking as an LP. With that last conceptual detail in place, Drapetomania gained extra heft as a work of art, though none of that matters without the strong material that lives within the grooves.
Vinyl was always in mind when The Green Seed created Drapetomania. Not only does The Green Seed want listeners to revel in the warm sonics, they want to take them on a ride.
Drapetomania often contemplates bondage—artistic, romantic, etc.—but, ultimately, it’s a soundtrack to Freedom… And whatever comes next.
