Search - Madcon :: So Dark the Con of Man

This is what Norwegian Hip Hop sounds like

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 09/29/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had never heard of Madcon until early last week when I was sent an email by my cousin Chike urging me to check out their song "Beggin". When I finally got round to doing so, I fell in love with it. It's an upbeat fun yet soulful song that reminds me so much of Gnarls Barkley, and it made me seek out their CD and also read up on them.



Madcon (an abbreviation of Mad Conspiracy) are a Norwegian Hip hop duo comprising Tshawe Baqwa (Kapricon - of South African parentage) and Yosef Wolde-Mariam (Critical - of Eritrean & Ethiopian parentage), and their rousing rapped/sung style (one usually sings while the other raps, but both are rappers) reminds me of Gnarls Barkley, Fugees, Unklejam, Black Eyed Peas, or Outkast.



"So dark the con of man" is their sophomore disc and it features a mish mash of musical influences; Reggae on "Blessed" and "Let it be known", Latin on the samba-tinged horn sprinkled "Life's too short", the Santana channelling "The way we do thangs (featuring Timbuktu)", and the beautiful guitar drenched "Let's dance instead", and even Soca on "Suda suda".



"Beggin" is actually a remake of a Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons song, and it made #5 in the UK. In a similar vein is the bouncy "Back on the road (featuring Paperboys)". "Hard to read (featuring Noora)" is more downbeat with a deep throbbing bassline. Closing is the lilting biographical "Me and my brother" with acoustic flourishes, so seventies soulful.



What a wonderful album. Thanks Chike!"

Solid Album

JRS | USA | 02/05/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I didnt really know what to expect from Madcon. I was very pleased with the album. First impression was good. I see a lot of similarities between them and Outkast, maybe a little BEP. There is a track in the middle of the album I could have sworn was Eminem. Anyway, good album over all. Some of the slower tracks drag, but are still pretty cool.

*I'm not a big hip hop fan, but listen from time to time. So, my opinion is that of someone that doesn't listen to this genre of music very often."