Day After Forever, The

Old school flavor hip-hop/party rap from a local Oakland crew. Beats have lots of old funk lines in them, but are also mixed with sleek-sounding jazz fusion. Lyrics are almost overwhelmingly positive, but they do keep it pretty fresh—lots of narratives and interesting articulation. Sounds a lot like N.E.R.D.
FCC Clean TRY: 8, 12, 6, 11

1. 30 seconds of samples of alarm clocks going off. Like Pink Floyd’s “Time” except a lot less dramatic.
2. Super fresh big band samples. Very energetic. Really nice breakbeat section at the end of the song.
3. Funky fresh synth line (think Dam-Funk) paired with high stuttering beats. A perfect party anthem. 30 second piano instrumental at the end.
3. Super-polished love song featuring smooth vocals from Silya. Lots of lyrics about the whole “should I kiss her, should I not…” type of thing.
5. Upbeat song about life in general—there are lots of ups and downs but it just keeps going on. Deep bass lines. Smooth jazzy piano.
*6. Very percussive with distorted organ-piano lines. Aggressive, in-your-face lyrics.
7. Slower tempo. Lots of xylophone and background soul vocals. Very optimistic lyrics.
*8. Just what the title suggests: a cruisin’ down highway 101 life is good anthem. Excellent complex production.
9. Another “I-feel-like-a-million-bucks” anthem. Deep bass bombs and gentle Stratocaster guitar picking. Lyrics about falling in love with a girl and running away forever.
10. Lots of “clap-your-hands-now-people” stuff with a shimmering synth background.
*11. Little flute segments keep it very smooth and jazzy—like some sort of super-peppy elevator music I wouldn’t actually mind listening to. And there is whole wealth of vocal samples in the background. The lyrics mostly concern summer block parties, girls, and Oakland.
*12. Life narrative—deals with a lot of social problems. Sharp drumming, a bit of organ, bouncy basslines. Nice little jam section at the very end.
13. Gentle piano with muted beats and lots of effects. Very fun and articulate lyrics that cleverly reference everything from Star Trek to Public Enemy. Lyrics generally concern how despite the relentless ticking of time, we still should remain proud and envision a bright future, etc.