Spectreview: Pink Siifu & Fly Anakin – Flysiifu’s

Released: November 13, 2020

Hip-Hop/Rap
(“Experimental Rap”)
(Soul/Jazz)

-WITCH HAZE-

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“Got my mind right, money right, leave me alone”

In April, Birmingham rapper Pink Siifu released NEGRO, one of the most incendiary releases of the year. Meanwhile, Fly Anakin’s young career already has MADLIB declaring him as “one of the illest MCs” alive right now. A collaboration between these two increasingly-vital voices already bears enormous potential, especially considering Siifu’s particular mercurialness. Did any of us think that FlySiifu’s wasn’t gonna slap?

It’s the extent of that success, however, that makes a mark. NEGRO, for all its razor-sharp thorns, functioned like something of a jumping-off point for Siifu to introduce himself to a newly-expanded audience with a fresh set of ears. Anakin’s already lugged hype around in spades as an MC even before anything that could be considered a defining project. A twenty-two track soul-rap extravaganza backed by myriad producers and paced to perfection, with any luck, may just be the ticket for these two visions to break out into a new echelon of hip-hop notoriety.

FlySiifu’s is positively intoxicating, with the laconic Siifu and the hungry Anakin running through smooth, verdant beats as if in a victory lap. It feels aligned with the so-called “experimental rap” sound popularized by Same Rap Songs, but nowhere close to such impenetrability. Despite its bakers’ dozen of guest producers, the record swims in a focused, heterogenous, soul-oriented vibe largely free of the dirt and grime caking records of its ilk. From the lo-fi current of Lastnamedavid’s “Runthafade” to Playa Haze’s spiral of smoke and interior brick walls in “Richard Pryor” to the lush vibraphone ascendency of “Clean,” you’re treated a smorgasbord of transportive sonics that doubles as a carousel of talent both under-known and established.

Siifu and Anakin deliver this banquet as a loose concept album in which the two men own and run a vinyl store, the kind that sells physical game discs and doesn’t care if you buy anything. The concept, support by some classically-entertaining skits peppered throughout, allows the rappers an opportunity to revel in the grand lineage of Black music, akin to how a record shop’s contents transcend time and fashion (At FlySiifu’s, Stevie Wonder and KeiyaA could be uttered in the same breath). Moreoever, it provides a healthy dose of levity and a freewheeling spirit to Siifu and Anakin’s virtuosic performances.

And they are virtuosic, right from the get-go; under palm-tree shade, “Kin’tro” hits the pavement running with a dual of stanzas that recall a dream mash-up of Kendrick and Rhapsody. “Open Up Shop” is similarly dense, as are the relay races in the saxophone trills of “Rick James” and the lysergic “Razberry”. Siifu plays the chameleon of the two, switching between vocal colors and flows where it fits the moment, whether it’s the conversational terseness on the Liv.e-featuring “Mind Right” or the confident bounce of MADLIB’s nostalgia “Time Up”. Anakin, in contrast, stands out on several tracks, including the cascading “Suitcase Special” and the capstone of “Dollar Mr. Dream,” with an unmistakable resonance and a fleet-footed cadence. Without a doubt, this is his breakout moment.

At forty-four minutes, FlySiifu’s passes like a breeze but holds a wealth of incredible material packaged in immaculate production. It’s also more than the sum of its parts: between Pink Siifu’s subversity, Fly Anakin’s technical prowess, and the blessed contributions of its guests, the record presents a formidable new alliance as notable for their chemistry as their individual weights. Mandatory listening.

Highly recommended for hotboxing the inventory room.