Hypermode is a new album from hip hop artist, SC4Real. This release contains 20 invigorating and dynamic tracks. Featuring retro-futuristic synths and a worldly ambiance, the presentation is simply epic. The mix is fresh and loud, hitting hard right from the opening bell. The audio quality is excellent as well. It’s tough to even overstate just how melodic and cool the synth-driven beats are. They’re so entrancing they almost make you forget this a hip hop album and not the Flash Gordon soundtrack. They’re just very theatrical and powerful.

Though the pacing varies from track to track, the sound is very action oriented and maintains a consistent level of intensity. Listening to these recordings is like hooking yourself up to a brain boost machine. You have to be ready absorb all the energy. He does leave some room for a chill mode though. Some songs like Now Or Never have an ambient and ethereal vibe, while other jams like Alive have more of a smooth and classically groovin’ aesthetic. The euphoria inducing Cool Talk is one of the standout tracks musically.

SC4Real has an impressively disciplined and focused delivery. His pacing is modest, and he doesn’t try to show off or get too flashy. There is still plenty of passion there though. His creative usage of vocal layering and backup vocals enhances the recordings by a factor of 3. Rebel Forever is a good example of a track that is catchy and hypnotic, owing to SC4Real’s strategic lyrical repetition and the power of suggestion. The final song on the album, Big Dog, with its instantly memorable “background bark,” is a surprising sleeper hit and has the potential to be a viral sensation. Yeah that’s right, you’ll want to listen to this album all the way through.

There have been so many stellar indie hip hop releases in 2020, that saying “this is one of the best hip hop albums of the year” is starting to sound like a cliche. However, Hypermode is very good. This is the kind of music that major labels should be putting out. It’s not even about getting back to basics or anything. Hypermode is a solid and complex 21st century release, that is actually ahead of its time.

For more info:

https://tidal.com/album/155073569
https://music.apple.com/us/album/hypermode/1531554659