Northern State

“Away Away”
from the album Can I Keep This Pen?
2007
iTunes

MP3 – “Away Away”

Breaking away from their previously restrictive major label home base, hip-hop trio Northern State went into the studio label-free with producers Chuck Brody and the Beastie Boys’ Adrock and crafted Can I Keep This Pen?, an album that may be their best to date. No wonder Ipecac Recordings snapped them up. Carefully recorded and infused with a sense of freedom and wit, the girls show off their ever-increasing rap skills on tracks like “Good Distance” and the political diatribes “Cowboy Man” and “Cold War.” And, for the first time, they add singing to their repertoire, most notably on the prettily-harmonied “Away Away” and the catchy “Good Distance.” It’s not only an accomplished blend of hip-hop, pop, and skillful electronic beats (only one of the songs features real drums, although you’d never know it); it also shows what determination and talent can do, label or no.