(The Essence / Inertia)

Jazzy hip-hop from New Zealand

Solaa’s funk/soul/rap blend of tunes is catchy, danceable and has no substance at all, like a beer that’s all foam. If you want to turn your brain off and shake your stuff this is fine and dandy, but don’t try listening to the lyrics because all that spiritually uplifting, ‘You can do anything if you believe in yourself and free your soul and keep on smiling and don’t drink or smoke or anything’ Oprah-rap stuff might ruin it for you. It’s certainly not impossible to do positive, upbeat, jazzy hip-hop; you just need some lyrical substance to back it up. What Solaa have instead is more like a collection of hippy signifiers about love and nurturing that hit the right notes but don’t really say anything. Steps In Time is nice enough for background music, but it’s no De La Soul or Blackalicious, and it clearly wishes it was.

JODY MACGREGOR

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