Band of the Week

Wax Tailor

If you have had your fill of "gangsta rap" (8ball-Three-6-Snoop-Young buck, and so on), but you still have a passion and an idea of what hip-hop should sound like, then you should be anticipating the quick return of the hip-hop producer from Paris, Wax Tailor, as much as I am. JC Le Saout, aka Wax Tailor, made is his debut last year with highly respected album "Tales of the Forgotten Melodies", and he hasn't stopped making beats since. Sure there are other Dj's out there keeping true hip-hop alive, but it is Saout's ability to tell a story that sets him apart for the rest. Maybe he can't cut like Roc Raida, or blend like Z-trip, or manipulate sounds like Kid Koala, but Wax Tailor takes you on a journey and keeps your head bobbing every step of the way.

At one time I would have classified Wax Tailor's music as downtempo, but with this release, Hope & Sorrow (5/07 Lab-oratoire Records) he really moves beyond that genre into more of a soul or funk sound. The beats still creep with a smooth limp, but it's the added elements (horn, guitar, flute, etc) that really make this record shine. Another added element too many of these songs is the amazing guests he has managed rope in this project from the jazzy rhymes of Voice on"The Games You Play", to the power vocals on "The Way We Never Lived" by Sharon Jones. I would not say that Wax Tailor is redefining hip-hop, but he is taking it in another direction. It is a direction that is more positive, and more laidback then many others in the game today.




The Tune (mp3)
The Games You Play ft. Voice (mp3)


Bonus:
Hope & Sorrow Tailer (mp3)
Que Sera (mp3) (from Tales of Forgotten Melodies)

To Preorder Hope & Sorrow go here.

For more information on Wax Tailor visit his website or go to his myspace page where you can stream the entire album.