02 August 2010
Professor Green could very well be the UK’s version of Eminem; with his tongue-in-cheek lyrics, snide digs at pop culture luminaries, an unsettling past and notoriety gained from a rap battle, Green almost has him pegged.
This being said, his debut album Alive Till I’m Dead is more radio ready than Eminem’s first effort Infinite. His interpolation of INXS hitNeed You Tonight and Beat’s International’s Dub Be Good To Me(previously written by The SOS Band) demonstrates a cheeky, modern hip pop twist within his music, with Just Be Good To Greenfeaturing Lily Allen singing the hookline to great effect.
Alive Till I’m Dead is an interesting collection of songs; there’s no one theme and emotions vary with the tempos of each track. There’s the catchy Kids That Love To Dance, featuring the sultry Emeli Sande, in which Green's vocals take a backseat, mainly because Sande’s voice is so rich with its domineering subtlety.
Monster (featuring Example) has a completely different feel altogether. On the surface it’s a hip hop track with a catchy middle-eight; but the lyrics paint Green in a slightly twisted manner – “Crept up behind but she turned and scream/ I can’t believe that she got away/ think of all the love that we could have made.” Your feet are already tapping before you realise what the song is about; this is half the seduction.
The album travels from rap ballads about his troubled childhood through lost love and fun love, before arriving on the deaths of both his father and great grandmother in the final track Goodnight. Undoubtedly the most earnest track on the album, Goodnight is the only song performed by Green alone (excluding subtle backing vocals from an uncredited artist). Green still refuses to sing even though the limelight is solely on him for this one but his vocals are strong and emotive enough for this to be unneeded.
Professor Green has the prescription for success in a plethora of genres with Alive Till I’m Dead. At times it’s cheesy enough to be pop, smutty enough for hip hop lovers and even tilts its hat to electro and dubstep. With all bases covered effortlessly, Green is one to watch.
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