Professor Green- At Your Inconvenience, Virgin Records
Audio CD: Rs.395/-
It isn't very common for artistes to churn up albums back to back but that's exactly what Professor Green has done. It wasn't too long ago that his debut album “Alive Till I'm Dead” created Hip-Hop ripples around the globe and the English rapper is back in full form already.
There are bound to be comparisons between his two offerings so to appease the mind that's wondering how different “At Your Inconvenience” is, well, for starters, it's a lot more emotional and lyrical. In some way, we seem to get to know Professor Green as a person and artiste better on this record.
The opener is the title track which was first released as a promotional single. The track sees Green disparaging the music industry, which he claims is conquered by dance music. It's laced with his customary tongue-in-cheek humour.
Next up is “D.P.M.O.” which has a tiresome zonked stagger to it. “Read all about it” feat Emeli Sande is a phenomenal track, not just because of Sande's refined vocals but also because it's here that Green talks about the accusations his stepmother made against him about trying to make the most of his father's death. He raps ‘family is something you've never been to me/ in fact making it harder for me to see/ my father was the only thing you ever did for me'. This is his second collaboration with Sande.
“Trouble” feat Luciana features Green's versatility. The track has a steady bass line and the beats are atmospheric. The next track is “Spinning Out” to which Fink lends his polished vocals. It's the kind of song you'd expect to her doled out at an old English pub.
Party people will most definitely love “Remedy” which has an elevated tempo, lending to the elevation of the sound of the album itself. “How many Moons” is the kind of song through which the artiste tells his enemies not to mess with him. Hard-hitting lyrics and a recallable chorus characterise this number. “Avalon” feat Sierra Kusterbeck has an Alternative Rock flavour. It makes you believe that Professor Green is trying to prove his dexterity at alternating between different genres of music on the same record. “Astronaut” makes for an emotional number with the rap star lamenting the real life story of a heroin addict who sadly lost her life. He sings: ‘‘A stove she only uses to heat a spoon/for her the only way that she can reach the moon.”
It is easy to identify with “Never Be the Right Time”, if you've ever had a relationship that didn't work out.
“Today I Cried” is one of the most powerful songs where Green acknowledges that neither fame, nor wealth can eradicate his personal problems. “Forever Falling” feat Haydon is another emo-rap offering and the closer “Into the Ground” is a light-hearted track where his tongue-in-cheek humour resurfaces, making for a fitting end.
Other tracks on this album are “Doll” and the Hip-Hop track “Nightmares”. The album has an edginess that wasn't so evident on his first album. Given that Green has experimented with a host of genres, and it is no small feat for a rapper to incorporate acoustics too, it's well worth taking a listen to “At your Inconvenience” at your convenience!
