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Album review: Birth, School, Work, Death by Hyro da Hero
by Kelly Chapel
Posted on November 20, 2012
Hyro da Hero
'Birth, School, Work, Death'
Released: May 29, 2012
Tracklist:
1Grudge
Grudge2The Worlds Stage
The Worlds Stage3We Still Popular
We Still Popular4Man in My City
Man in My City5Ghetto Ambiance
Ghetto Ambiance6Sleeping Giants
Sleeping Giants7A Conversation With Hip Hop
A Conversation With Hip Hop8F**k You (Say It to Your Face)
F**k You (Say It to Your Face)9Section 8
Section 810 Beam Me Up Scotty
11 System Overload
Hyro Da Hero is a Houston-born hip hop artist now living in Los Angeles with a completely unique sound. His most recent album, “Birth, School, Work, Death” is unlike anything I’ve ever heard—it combines rap verses with hard rock music and creates something totally new and unexpected. These are usually aspects I’m begging for while listening to new music and these are areas that Hyro undoubtedly delivers on.
The album opens with the song “Grudge,” which after listening to, you can immediately tell that this is not going to be a mainstream hip hop album at all. Hyro has a harsh, aggressive sound both musically and vocally which is almost over-the-top in this particular song. It sounds like he’s trying to prove himself, which of course, all musicians are; it’s just not something you want the audience to be so blatantly aware of.
The song “The Worlds Stage” is where we can first hear the rock influences of the music that become so prominent in the rest of the album. This rock sound is especially notable in “We Still Popular.” I actually really like the music in this song; everything seems to build on each other in a really salient way combining typical hip hop sounds and classic rock music to make something new.
“A Conversation with Hip Hop” is much less abrasive than the rest of the album and again, is a really skillful combination of genres in the music. My favorite song of the album though, goes to “Fuck You (Say it to Your Face).” The music in this song is unexpectedly catchy which, based off of the rest of the songs, is something I would guess Hyro wasn’t aiming for.
Something I didn’t go into detail about in this review (but something that certainly shouldn’t be overlooked) is that all of the songs are loaded with messages in the lyrics. Again, this is an area where Hyro really separates himself from a big majority of artists, in any genre, who are just looking for a hook to appeal to the masses.
There are parts of this album that just miss the mark for me completely, but overall I’m impressed with the level of creativity to create a sound like this. It’s definitely not an album that will appeal to everyone, and it wouldn’t be my first choice of music to listen to on any given day. That said, the way the album pulls influences from different genres and does so in a truly new and interesting way is something worth merit in itself. Hyro Da Hero created a no-holding back album in “Birth, School, Work, Death” and if you’re a hip hop fan it’s definitely worth giving a close listen to.
For more on Hyro da Hero please visit:
Click the album cover to check out Birth, School, Work, Death on iTunes.
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