Michael Petrow I Don't Watch TV... Mixtape

Being a blogger, especially one that covers Hip-Hop, comes with good and bad. Most of it lies on what's in your inbox... somedays, I have a backlog of fire to sift through and figure out what's fit to post. Other days, I'm getting inundated with numerous "freestyles" over the same industry beats.

You get gems, you get duds. Another thing you get are new artists who are sure you've never heard what they've done, which is always something that piques my interest, for good or ill. At times, you might hear something that, while not immediately unique, will really be something against the grain. On the flip, and in Michael Petrow's case, you'll get the expansion of an idea that I'd heard previously, which makes me wonder if I'm that much of a nerd, or if your boasts were just inflated.

Judging by homey's 908 area code, I'm guessing he's a Jersey boy, which affords him a consideration. His I Don't Watch TV... mixtape, though... see, he hit me like "this one, is unique...i promise. It samples all sorts of tv shows and i rap over tv themes". Now, being a student (nerd?) of Hip-Hop, I could go on about how the MoodSwingaz flipped The Cosby Show theme song on "Primetime", or I could even speak on MF DOOM flippin' a theme from Scooby Doo on "Hey!"; hell, the remix of Mr. Vegas' "Taxi Fare" features the intro to the Taxi theme before it kicks off. I don't think I've heard a whole tape of theme song-flippage, but by no means is it a "unique" concept.

I'm not mad at the ambition, though, as he's sampled popular shows like The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Simpsons and other shows. Some work better than others - while the theme from The Sopranos has a pretty interesting loop in it, some of them fall flat. I do wish he had picked some more interesting themes to sample; the theme to House is a Massive Attack classic, but its pretty easy to rap over - as is The Sopranos theme. I can "see" rapping over those easier than others, if you smell what I'm stepping in. Petrow definitely goes in, with this project sprawling over 12 tracks, but his actual flow isn't really one that I'd be looking for on another project.

Only other gripe I have with this is the title. You don't watch TV, so you make a project flipping TV theme songs? The cover features homey inside a TV... why not Stuck In TV Land or something? Just my own personal thoughts.

In the end, I'm all about giving people shine, especially when its shit that's definitely against the grain, and Michael Petrow seems to be rapping to the beat of a different drum. Pick this up and see what you think.

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