Tommy and Richie Present Billy Controller 7 Buck 65
Music

REVIEW: Tommy and Richie Present, Billy

by Darcy MacDonald

“I’m no rap conservationist but sometimes what’s-old-is-new again is truly fresh, and Billy’s gene pool is rejuvenating.”

Tommy and Richie Present, Billy (Controller 7 and Buck 65)

Comin’ straight outta San Jose, CA and Sackville, NS, respectively, the duo billing themselves Tommy and Richie are actually more widely recognized as producer Controller 7 and rapper Buck 65. And while I’m not too sure who Billy is, I can assure any fan of classic hip hop mixes and golden-era experimentalism (think Prince Paul’s heyday with Stetsanonic and De La Soul) of a payoff for taking this Soundcloud trip, which dropped innocuously on May 1. Richie leaves the beats to Tommy while handling the mic and turntables, freeing him up for a return to his early Language Arts-styled roots, leaving behind somewhat misled attempts at grandiosity that his last LP proper, Neverlove, pretty much dropped the ball on. I’m no rap conservationist but sometimes what’s-old-is-new again is truly fresh, and Billy’s gene pool is rejuvenating. 8.5/10 Trial Track: “I Used To”

Tommy and Richie Bandcamp

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by Darcy MacDonald

Contributor
Darcy MacDonald has been with Cult MTL since day one, a decade ago. Which means today, he’s a middle-aged white guy (albeit one more interested in other people’s ideas than in his own). He was previously a columnist and reporter for Montreal Mirror, and has also created content (FKA “written”) for RBMA, Noisey, Montreal Gazette, The National Post and probably some other great places he’s forgotten about. Music, culture, community and miscellaneous questions in search of answers all come across his desk, sooner or later.