It’s become more and more common that singers, rappers and most recently drummers choose to partake in a musical project at the polar end of their regular outputs. For musically broad minded Rhode Island rapper Theo Martins, his latest mixtape dabbles in numerous dancefloor remixes and club favourites. As his catalog suggests, he has proven capable of handling various projects – will this latest offering provide one too many cringeworthy moments?
From Depeche Mode to Daft Punk to Kanye West, Sincerely Yours, The Dance Floor flips numerous heavyweight tracks with extra bounce added through Martins’ more-than-capable, solid rhymes. A slowed down version of Daft’s ‘One More Time’ is given a heavier beat but still holds onto its Europop appeal, with ‘Take You There’ also providing more futuristic funk. Its difficult to critically analyse the lyrics on Sincerely… with as many upbeat bangers on hand.
The only real downside to this ten track party is when the New Yorker treads into the ‘Black Eyed Peas robo-pop’ category and feel less appealing than other works. Martins’ take on Depeche Mode’s classic ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ results in this falling whilst ‘Power’ is overproduced, with the mesh of Kanye’s ‘Power’ with ’80s dance outfit Snap’s being too much for the ears to take in. But the indie disco rhythms of ‘Cult Logic’, ‘Slow It Down’ and ‘Final Fantasy’ ensure that Martins’ ode to the dancefloor isn’t in vain.
Not the mixtape to introduce newcomers to Theo Martins but an entertaining little collection which fans of his will welcome, even if for a shot period. Whilst its longevity arguably won’t last until the end of the year, what is provided is enough floorfillers to keep numerous crowds on their feet for some time.
Theo Martins’ dabble with dance is a satisfactory attempt, as his charm and charisma over all types of beats is a lot more successful than numerous artists’ attempts to experiment with the genre. Sincerely Yours… The mixtape holds an appropriate signing-off gesture for its title, as it won’t be long before long the impressive rapper will return to pastures more familiar to him and his growing followers.
Download: Theo Martins – Sincerely Yours, The Dancefloor [Mixtape]