Artist Spotlight: Ardamus - When Nothing Goes Right

While the naive masses have been salivating over D.C. native and Hip-Hop newcomer Wale's trendiness and ready willingness to make radio hits they are simultaneously and ignorantly overlooking the headier acts from around the area, causing this blogger to ponder a few things....One, does the new generation of Hip-Hop fans in D.C. really get what the culture is all about? Two, do they really grasp that it's something you live and not a product that can be sold and so forth? Three, is there a new hot bed of untapped talent in the District? And if so, who then, if not Mr. "Nike Boots", should the kids be checking for there?......I'll answer that last question myself cause' it's the only one that I'm 100 percent sure on....ladies and gents, the answer would have to be rapper/producer Ardamus....and he'll answer the rest....

I'm a fan of Underground/Indie Hip-Hop and while the genre probably has seen better days I won't say it's on the decline...Nope, in fact I think that it's pushing forward into interesting new formats. Guys are blending and melding other genres into the Hip-Hop aesthetic and not only coming up with exciting new sounds, but also adding to the creative pot and reworking past techniques. Ardamus is no exception, and in many ways is one of the more successful tenants in the house of "genre bending". On what I'm to believe is his debut project (although I doubt it) "When Nothing Goes Right" Ardamus isn't afraid to go anywhere in his production or rhyming....at times sped up samples cascade against bold basslines and thick hand claps while he spits introspective verses about his life and opens up ("What's Wrong With Me"). Other times we find Ard reppin' for his town masterfully as he takes you on a virtual tour of D.C. on "The District" with fellow 202er's DJ Eurock and Keyote as a great Piano flip brings their words to life. Pretty dope Indie Hip-Hop stuff for the most part on here until tracks like "Maybe It's You", "Who Rolled It" and "When Something Goes Right" come and slap you in the mouth for actin' so damn brand new.....

Meshing intricate and absorbing sounds with soul singing, flutes, bells, twanging guitars and everything else you can and can't think of, Ard's arrangements and ideas for "When Nothing Goes Right" is to say the least, stimulating. That fact only adds to Ard's extracting narratives, which always match in tone and subject matter. Not a dazzling lyricist, but much in the same way as a Murs or Slug, Ardamus is an emcee that speaks so truthfully you stop listening and start feeling his music....relating to his story...That friends is what Hip-Hop needs at this very moment...A representative that is more in tune, more true to life....Ardamus may be a transplant to the Chocolate city, but somehow he's managed to capture it's voice better than any previous artist hailing from the area to date....

-BIG D O








Intro
When Nothing Goes Right
Say To The Heart
Give It Up
Gotta Get It
Interlude 1
DrinkSmoke
Super Drugs
Who Rolled It
What's Wrong With Me
The District feat. Keyote and DJ Eurock
You're On Your Own
Interlude 2
She's a Liar feat. Multiple Man
Maybe It's You feat. Edith Sodolo
When Something Goes Right feat. JuJu