With every project, SigNif gets better. This is something that I've said before, but I figured that at some point I'd have to stop saying that.
Her latest effort, an album called "Embracing Rejection," will not be the joint that breaks my string of high praise.
After her last jawn, "SigNificant Wizdom," I was fearful that she was about to get stuck in a rut of just being a dope emcee that began limiting her subject matter because of the amount of love that she'd been getting from her current sound.
This isn't the case with "Embracing Rejection," where she tosses a few different rhyme styles into her raps, the likes of which I haven't really heard from her. Not only that, but her wordplay and microphone approach are sharper and warmer than anything done prior to "Rejection."
The diversity of producers on this project helps the album to breathe and live as it morphs between its different tracks and sections. With production from talented subterranean beatsmiths like Sudan Life, HPthaHybrid, Sauce Fonda, Gee Wiz, Milwaukee's Haz Solo and others, there's a multitude of diverse and pleasing backdrops.
My only complaint about the album is that several of my favorite tracks happen to be the ones that are the shortest, and I wish that she would've taken those tracks a bit further. The Radio Raheim-produced "Simple" is a radio/video banger if ever there was one. I hope that 'Nif does an extended single mix with a dope chorus and at least another verse, and maybe a guest from one or two of her frequent collaborators in Milwaukee – like A.P.R.I.M.E. and/or Prophetic.
However, I suppose part of the plan is to leave the listener wanting more. In my opinion, she's done that.
You can get SigNif's "Embracing Rejection" for free through her Bandcamp page.
Born in Milwaukee and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Concordia University Wisconsin alumnus Poppe has spent the majority of his life in or around the city and county of Milwaukee.
As an advocate of Milwaukee's hip-hop community Poppe began popular local music blog Milwaukee UP in March 2010. Check out the archived entries here.
Though heavy on the hip-hop, Poppe writes about other genres of music and occasionally about food, culture or sports, and is always ready to show his pride in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
