Rating:
  Review Date: October 10, 2007
  Website: Y Society Website
  Label: Tres Records

Y Society “Travel At Your Own Pace” Album Review
“Travel At Your Own Pace” could be the perfect title for the debut by Y Society, as group members Insight and Damu the Fudgemunk are simply traveling at their own pace throughout the course of this album. They go their own way in terms of beats and lyrics, thus offering something unique and unexpected to the listener, and the result is good hip-hop that challenges the genre’s norms and expectations.

Y Society seems to have a lot of fun creating their music. This can be seen in almost every track of “Travel At Your Own Pace,” in which Insight’s lyrics and Damu’s production work off of each other to create a feel good album. Tracks like This Is Anintroduction, Good Communication, Scientists and Dizzy are just fun to listen to, and provide great platforms for the two artists to display their respective skills on the microphone and turntables. Such tracks show Y Society’s ability to inject hip-hop with a much-needed sense of positive energy and fun.

Other parts of the album allow Insight and Damu to demonstrate their collaborative skills by communicating back and forth with lyrics and cuts. In Command, Setting The Example, and At My Own Pace are skillful songs that create a back and forth effect between emcee and deejay. Insight creates dialogue by speaking with his rhymes, and Damu seems to respond by speaking with his hands in a musical communication technique mastered by very few in hip-hop today.

The Lyrical “Go Your Own Way” Philosophy
But most of all, the duo does an excellent job lyrically reinforcing their whole “go your own way” philosophy to the listener, often encouraging us to travel at our own pace as well. On and On and Hole in Your Pocket challenge the listener to remain positive despite failures and financial hardships. The following verse from Hole in Your Pocket tells the story of a man whose material desires brought about dreadful consequences:

A family man with scams – he’s out of the loop/ But he needed money fast and not an inside scoop/ Checks the pocket of his suit to write down information/ Apply the face in the conversation and empty the savings/ Certain that this 20 grand bet he was placing/ Would calibrate his debt too and his life would be changing/ He played hooky with the bookie after placing his bet/ So he own him 20 thou but now he facing his threats/ The last thing he remembers fellas came to collect/ As he slowly gained conscious with a fading effect/ Tall man with bloody hands fixed the tie on his neck/ And the accountant who was counting got shot in the chest/

Other songs cover everyday issues and near-existential concerns. Puzzle and This Advice comment on common issues such as the unnecessary need for money, power and fame. The following verse from This Advice advises youth on staying away from negativity created by these needs by asking a lot of existential questions:

What are we here for?/ There must be more than grades or scores/ Obeying laws, staying employed, confrontational wars/ Some are sacred and pure who remain poor/ Where’s the golden doors?/ Some feel they’re open ’cause they slowing our shore/ When hope was the cure many ignored through the Betty floors/ Steady jobs, lost marriage, divorce, grownups immature/ The core of the problem is a mystery / Decisions affect history/ Persistence leads to victory/ Some wish to injury/ These kids we don’t relate to – but what does it mean?/ Hip-Hop connects us yet it’s strange / That respects change/ Ask ‘em what they want to be when they grow up / Who molds them? ‘It’s outta control’/ Is what they say to themselves when they get old/

And some tracks even get a little political on you, criticizing our society, media and leadership. What’s Next and How Many of Us both take jabs at the news and its tendency to deceive the public on issues such as violence, war, religious rivalry, sexual harassment, youth crime, global warming and healthcare policy. The following verse from How Many Of Us rhetorically questions social behaviors and societal norms:

How many of us watch the news and knew we had been deceived?/ How many leaders stand firm for a cause they believe?/ Have a goal and achieve or know the right time to leave?/ How many drivers saw police and lowered the speed?/ How many grows with the team or took control of a dream?/ Said they didn’t have an attitude and knew they were mean?/ All involved with petty schemes, steady robbed or was a fiend?/ Took supplies from a job home for personal means?/ At night be wearing t-shirts that are purple and green?/ Felt the sap on your arm in your sleep and screamed?/ Woke up mad since reality was really a dream?/ Grabbed the glass that was dirty ’cause you thought it was clean?/ Realize we have eyes and similar size brains/ Or work hard and still struggle to gain/ See we don’t need a referee the recipes are the same/ See the more we have in common means the less we complain/

Lyrics, themes, beats, scratches – Y Society’s “Travel At Your Own Pace” contains them all, and is a great debut release that should impress old school purists and new school movers alike with boom-bap-based jazzy production and progressive modern day lyrical contemplations. The album makes the listener feel like individuality is cool and going your own way is the only path to take. Give it a listen and you’ll see what I’m saying. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. Intro
2. This Is an Introduction
3. Never Off (On & On)
4. Hole in Your Pocket
5. This Advice
6. Good Communication
7. Scientist
8. Dizzy
9. How Many of Us?
10. Puzzles
11. What’s Next?
12. In Command
13. Setting the Example
14. At My Own Pace
15. Peace I’m out the Door
16. Never Off (On & On) [Insight Remix]