“Burners” begins with circa 1994 beats updated into a classier, more ethereal backdrop to smooth, yet still intimidating rhymes. Despite ditching the lo-fi edge that defined the sounds of the Wu-tang, Fudgemunk manages to retain the aggressive and sinister quality in the sound that made old school hip hop so intoxicating. As the song progresses, sounds are layered more thickly in the background, and in general progresses much more in the style of Gang Starr than Wu-tang, eventually turning into a drugged out, low-key dj set.
The choice to end the song with a dj set raises questions about the song’s frequent use of ODB’s line “burnin hot” from the 1995 song “Brooklyn Zoo”. The words were originally delivered in ODB’s boisterous and unhinged style, in short a sort of musical polar opposite from the groove that “Burners” spends about the last 5 minutes of the song on. It seems almost like an unintentional statement about the replacement of old school hip hop’s edginess with a turn to passivity, either in the form of consumerism, or in the case of “Burners”, drug use and mysticism.
Whatever the case, in sum the track is well worth a listen and delivers a fresh perspective on classic sounds.
-Mike Dranove