Published on October 12th, 2018 | by Guest Contributor
0Watch Kulagina. Watch 206collab.
Hip hop eccentrics 206collab – rappers Flip+Skip and Eno, DJ/rap wunderkind JPlatnum, and soulstress Tiffa – are shifting into a new level of game with their second full-length album, Watch Kulagina. Inspired by Nina Kulagina, a Cold War era spy with psychokinetic powers, the 206 effortlessly consume listeners with dizzying lyricism and hypnotic beats.
Which is no surprise considering their reputation for crowd control. Pushing out from hometown Sydney in 2002 to burn stages throughout east coast Australia, the group is famed for exceptional stage presence and ludicrous antics. 206collab’s acclaimed debut, What You Waited Years For, hit store shelves in 2006 and landed them national radio and TV, and positions as support artists for the likes of local heavyweights Blissneso and The Herd, to internationals Pharoahe Monche and Jean Grae (USA), Classified (Canada), and Killa Kela (UK).
Their sophomore album demonstrates a significant progression from WYWYF, doubling down on their stylish brand of hip hop, with increased mic mastery and a thematic coherence through Kulagina. The music has a raw energy that pervades a diversity of moods across the album – from the heavy opener Hit the Ground Cunning and outlandish The Experts, to the cheeky TITA (The Things I Think About When I’m Watching You Talk) and nostalgic Why It Was So.
Tiffa brings a soulful dimension that perfectly complements the twisted humour of the rappers, her hooks offering wisdom amid rhetoric steeped with perverse braggadocio.
Eno and Flip+Skip banter back and forth as if second nature, their colourful personalities shining, and their poetic command evident;
“We’ll keep face in the face of ineptitude,
and play with others’ heads like this a game of Guess Who?,
It’s Eno and Flip & Skip, two hedonists
who bred hubris in the name of heroics.”
(The Paradoxx)
JPlatnum joins permanent mic duties with a dexterity that is astounding on his first appearance. He also endows cuts, including scratching an entire verse on The Experts, along with the majority of production.
No strangers to collaboration, Watch Kulagina admits an impressive array of beat contributions from Nebs (Kerser, That’s Them), Jacob Giles (1NF0), and newcomer Kean, plus emcee features from Sydney stalwarts LookUp with Proper, and freestyle king Nick Knowledge on an inspired remix of 2006’s JJJ radio single, Deadly Concoction. Sonic zaniness and a world-class polish are realized by Australian mix/master genius Danny Golightly (INXS, Australian Idol).
“206collab gets props for their production, now on par with the rest of the world… you can feel the energy of their live show trying to burn through.”
(Ben Chinnock, Drum Media)
With the release of Watch Kulagina set to be a major event in hip hop music, 206collab will be promoting the album with a slew of music videos and social media stunts drawn in the same psychic theme. Excited to unveil their new sound, the crew expect its entrancing qualities to captivate music observers everywhere, guiding their minds to deep thought and their bodies to the dancefloor…
Watch Kulagina.
206collab’s Watch Kulagina is being released October 15th on iTunes, Spotify, and more.