Giant The Artist – HiberNation

Giant The Artist – HiberNation: The MixTape – Review

Ahhhh the mix-tape; is there a genre with more potential for incredible atmosphere? I’ve got one on right now – I’m checking out Giant The Artist and his new release HiberNation and it’s everything I was looking for right now. Well-mixed and some incredible choices for samples, you add that to a tremendous flow and ability on the mic and you’ve found yourself right where I am now – chillin deep in HiberNation.

GTA comes out swinging quickly. After a quick intro to let you know he’s comin, “Now Or Never” shows an absolute mastery of lyrics spit into the mic in an intense start to what becomes what a true mix-tape should be all about; variety. True mix-tape mastery though? It takes variety AND consistency. It takes the ability to take the listener from one genre to another from sample to sample but retain that signature that still makes it undoubtedly recognizable.

And Giant The Artist is doing that every time he mixes a beat or steps to the mic.

“Do It All Together,” instantly switches up the vibe to a pop/R&B vibe that works so sickly well you’ll start to wonder exactly which of this guy’s skills he considers his number one strength! Get me an interview with GTA someone – I wanna know honestly, how you can jump from musical branch to branch like this with so much ease! This track flows like Bacardi and Coke on a Friday night.

Again switching up the genres and styles of samples through “Person I’ve Become” and “One Step Closer” – Giant remains true at the mic with a dedicated & focused flow each and every verse, driving hook after hook into your ears. His metering is absolutely dead-on though, as an MC, whenever you hit that one stutter…that one syllable too many in a verse, it’s completely noticeable; and you won’t find that ANYWHERE on this mix-tape.

No shit – I’m saying Giant The Artist is literally lyrically perfect.

One thing I also really dig about the whole mix-tape genre as a whole as well is that feeling that you’re listening to the underdog somehow. I’ve never really understood it, I think it’s a music that has all the advantages any music could possibly want – but I’ve never been pushed OFF by it either…somehow it’s a vibe and an attribute that I can appreciate and it’s one that many of these mixtape artists seem to commonly share. Listen to a track like “Perfect” and you’ll hear those themes & that struggle…that push vs. pull, and ultimately, the rise above and overcoming all the odds.

Without a doubt this guy can make the most of any sample of style and as soon as a new flavor starts through the music I’m stoked to see where he’s going to go next. “Practice What You Preach” is another amazing example of owning your track; GTA is all-confidence here and he should be – his skills drip out of tracks like this, simply overflowing with entertainment value and memorable hooks.

“On My Own Grind,” one of my favorites on the mix-tape with a cool, chilled-out vibe and old-school flow, it also shows that Giant The Artist isn’t afraid to mix it up, adding effects to his vocals for the hook in the chorus and demonstrating that he understands how he wants to sound in these tracks just as well as he understands when to bust into them.

I have had what I will call the pleasure of listening to many mix-tapes since I first started this thang, the chronicles of which are all documented alongside this review here in our history; and I can say without hesitation that this has been the most enjoyable ride through a sound-collective I’ve had. For real – this is the pinnacle of mix-tape enjoyment and it has all the necessary ingredients in skill, diversity & consistency to make it hold up over time.

That being said, I’m gonna to my best to wear that third track right OUT! “Do It All Together” is the summer-jam I’m looking for you know? I keep picking my head up when I hear that track, it a guaranteed winner along with so many others here in HiberNation. The album dives into some heavier emotional territory as it heads towards the end – “Eye Of The Storm” and “36 Hours” are a killer back-to-back set of songs that pack a real punch on the way to the end of this album through relatable lyrics and genuinely smart beats on point in the background.

“Paradise City,” second to last track on this mix-tape is a fantastic summation to this effort and a perfect snapshot of all the things GTA does best; his rhymes have emotion. He might be perfect on the metering at all times, but he’s no robot – this is a voice that your ears will want to follow willingly wherever it goes and this track is every bit the proof of that. HiberNation….this entire mixtape has exceeded every possible expectation that I could have had in this genre. Awesome.

Be sure to check into what Giant The Artist is up to – official page: http://www.gianttheartist.com/

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