Indie Music: Young Goats "Goat Life Vol. 1"

by Germar Derron

Hip-hop hypocrites will hate this album. Right now there's a legit battle for the soul of hip-hop. Your uncle, and his friends, spin Pac and Biggie like it's 1994. When they occasionally Roger-Rabbit down from Mt. Real Hip-Hop, they might press play on Cole or Kendrick. But times are changing. At the next barbecue, tell them they sound like their parents, and their parents' parents. Call them hip-hopocrites. Tell them to embrace this new era. On Goat Life Vol. 1, Young Goats fully embrace all of the best genre-bending and blending of today's music.

Personally, my favorite genre is California Rock. So, I know west coast when I hear it. I'd coin Goat Life Vol. 1, "Cali-hop." Every track feels easy-breezy and carefree. Similar to an experience with the Beach Boys, or Rooney, when you're listening, you smell that salted water from the ocean, and feel the sand in your shoes. Young Goats sound like if Rae Sremmurd grew up in Los Angeles. But they're also much more than that.



The album doesn't hide its shades of pop, EDM, and dancehall. And it parades a contrast between old school lyricism and new school melodic frenzy. Often, verses are delivered jagged and off-kilter like Blueface or Silkk. But then, that same song might feature lines and verses that are traditional, historical, hip-hop and R&B. The obvious audible nods to DJs and producers (including Pharrell Williams and other huge EDM hits) are obvious, but not criminal.

Picking nits? It needs polish. I bet this whole collection KNOCKS at a show. But as an MP3, on some laptop speakers . . . .  The next pieces to add to the team should be a remixer, and a mastering engineer. That addition should push "Goats" from SoundCloud to terrestrial radio.