Number 30 - Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030

 Number 30: Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030

Way past the millennium

Release: May 23rd, 2000
Genre: Hip-Hop
Favorite Tracks: 3030, Virus, Positive Contact

 

Where I heard it: 

Some of my first experiences with hip-hop just so happened to be selections that are revered as underground classics. It was like a novice mountain climber successfully ascending Kilimanjaro. As part of this education, Del the Funky Homosapien was one of the most integral artists in developing my taste for rap music, offering a glimpse of the tongue-twisting wordplay that has always been a hallmark of his style. Most famously, Del contributed legendary verses on the songs Clint Eastwood and Rock the House featured on the debut album of the Gorillaz. I heard Clint Eastwood on the radio for years before I made the association that Del rapped those lines; while in fact, the connections are even deeper than that. Gorillaz was co-produced by a DJ named Dan the Automator, who convinced Gorillaz mastermind Damon Albarn to feature Del on the record based off a previous collaboration a few years prior: Deltron 3030. I first heard of this group while exploring the multiple stage names of Del the Funky Homosapien in early 2012, who I often heard referred to as Deltron by the few people I discussed him with. It's not surprising that this eponymous one-and-done project flew under the radar of many hip-hop heads, given the duo of Del and Dan both prefer to delve into the underground scene. However, it's criminal that this landmark album hasn't garnered the praise and recognition it deserves. Deltron 3030 has aged like a fine wine since its release at the turn of the millennium, offering one of the most unique experiences hip-hop has ever seen to this day.

 

I used to be a mech soldier but I didn't respect orders
I had to step forward, tell them this ain't for us
Living in a post-apocalyptic world, morbid and horrid
The secrets of the past they hoarded
Now we just boarded on a futuristic spacecraft
No mistakes black, it's our music we must take back
~ 3030

What to expect:

Even among the treasure trove of legendary underground hip-hop albums like GZA's Liquid Swords and DOOM's duo with Madlib Madvillany, Deltron 3030 stands out like a sore thumb for its meticulously constructed narrative that follows throughout the album's runtime. This progressive style of rap is rare to find within the genre, garnering the label of 'hip-hopera' that hearkens to the popular formula seen throughout the 80's with rock music. Characterized by overarching concepts and enthralling storytelling, rock operas are much more common than rap operas due to their ballad-type arrangements and multi-instrumentation. Unperturbed by the status quo, Del's remarkable rhyme structure is the perfect narrator to the tale of Deltron 3030, which follows the titular character Deltron in the dystopian apocalypse of 3030. The theatrical and symphonic elements present in traditional opera assist Del in weaving intricate stories that recant the perspective of an escaped mech soldier looking to exact his revenge upon the oppressive world government that enslaved him. While the plot of Deltron 3030 is extensive, you shouldn't have much trouble following along in the moment. For one, nearly every song off the album is followed by a brief interlude that sets the scene for what to expect as the story unfolds. Secondly, Del's vocal delivery tends to have a stronger emphasis on its pronunciation, making even quick raps like in Positive Contact extra comprehensible. Due to the album's fictional nature, Del's expansive range of lexicon is utilized to its fullest, creating bars that are truly unique in the all-encompassing scope of hip-hop. In tandem with his trusty wingman The Automator, Deltron 3030 lays down futuristic beats that conjure imagery of mechanical hellscapes like those of H.R. Giger. The musical IQ between MC and DJ develops an impressive natural chemistry that allows for a collaborative creative direction which takes both artists into consideration. Like their name implies, Deltron 3030 were years ahead of their time dropping their eponymous debut, in what has since became timeless classic in underground hip-hop.

 I wanna develop a supervirus
Better by far than that old Y2K
This is 3030, the time of global unification
Break right through they terminals, burn 'em all
Slaves to silicon
Corrupt politicians with leaders and their keywords
FBI and spies stealing bombs
Precipitate their plans in their face and catch the fever
Everybody loot the store, get your canned goods
Even space stations are having a hard time
Peacekeepers seek to take our manhood
Which results in a form of global apartheid
~ Virus

Why it's my favorite: 

Del's mouthful of tongue-twisting rhymes has always been the reason I've considered him one of my favorite rappers of all-time. He knows exactly how to rock a rhyme in order to get his point across, whether that position is whimsical or serious. Throw a rapper like this into the environment of a hip-hopera that demands continuity and consistency, and they absolutely flourish. Del is as comfortable as a freestyle rapper on Deltron 3030, pulling from multiple inspiration points to contrive immaculate bars that also somehow transition into each other. In the same vein, Dan the Automator's sample work frankensteins together snippets of obscure music clips to produce industrial grooves that sounds nothing like its source material, yet flows together so seamlessly that one could easily be fooled into believing these beats were completely original. These avant-garde tactics all help preserve the careful execution of Deltron 3030's ultramodern concept. Deltron 3030 demonstrate pure artistry by painting pictures of a distant future that shockingly resemble the same social dilemmas of tyrannical governments and racial disparities we experience in the present day. There's an underlying message within Deltron 3030, warning listeners that universal apocalypse isn't as far as the year 3030 should humanity continue on the path they're on. For me, that chilling reminder comes in the prophetic song Virus, which has taken on an entirely new meaning in the wake of the catastrophic worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. The details of confusion and panic are eerily similar to some of the stories we saw in 2020, despite Virus initially describing a large-scale digital hack. Many of the bars throughout Deltron 3030 resonate with me in this same way, serving as an uncanny premonition of where we're headed to in the coming years. Both musically and conceptually, Deltron 3030 has struck a chord with me that I certainly won't forget in the centuries to come until the year 3030. We'll see how clairvoyant Del really is then.