Bluebird - Rip USA [Bonus Tracks]

All Music Guide

The idea of a politically charged Canadian rapper might sound comical to chauvinists below the 49th parallel (seriously, how many lyricists can drop references to former prime minister Brian Mulroney in their rhymes?), but Montreal MC Bleubird has no time for naysayers. A whirling mix of high speed, occasionally brutally funny, rhymes that manage to recall both Chuck D and Jello Biafra simultaneously, set to tightlypacked beats filled with unexpected samples, oddball sounds and occasional bursts of fullon random assaultive noises, RIP USA (The Bird Fleu) is as petulantly inyourface as early Eminem, but Bleubird is far less selfobsessed. His targets are entirely external, from government figures to the global entertainment industry (most effectively on "Switchblades," which is ironically the most accessible and catchy song on the album) to some segments of the hiphop audience itself. Although members of the Anticon collective coproduce a few tracks here, the buzzy lofi sound and quirky ...stylistic choices of RIP USA (The Bird Fleu) present Bleubird as a cheerfully idiosyncratic loner with little interest in fitting in even with the outcasts and misfits of hiphop. The hectoring lyrics and vocals occasionally tip over into a preening "everyone sucks but me" showboating, but for the most part, Bleubird manages to be more entertaining than obnoxious. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less