Sure, But Is It Hip Hop?

Hip-hop and folk/country have never been the most amorous of bedfellows, even though this unholy matrimony doesn't sound that terrible on paper. Both have early roots in storytelling and feature their fair share of malcontent, tough-talkin' bards, but overall the combination of the two disparate styles has made for some unremarkable albums by gimmicky artists. It's doubtful anyone need be reminded of Bubba Sparxxx or Uncle Kracker.

So when it was revealed that Li(f)e, the latest album from East Coast rapper Sage Francis, would be outfitted with little in the way of traditional hip-hop production, but with accompaniment from experimental trad-folkers Califone and producer Brian Deck (Iron and Wine, Modest Mouse), ears quickly perked -- if a little skeptically -- in anticipation of how this project would eventually pan out.

Not that Francis is a stranger to taking a more organic approach to hip-hop. 2005's A Healthy Mistrust included a twisted back-porch jam with beloved alterna-rube Will Oldham, and two years later Human the Death Dance had the rapper teaming up with former Be Good Tanya's Jolie Holland on a pair of tracks. And even though a few bars into Li(f)e, on the Jason Lytle (ex-Grandaddy) accompanied fugitive-on-the-run ballad "Little Houdini", Francis forcibly exclaims, "This ain't no country western song" -- and it certainly ain't hip-hop as we know it.

But despite the previous forays by Francis into neo-traditional folk and blues, Li(f)e is an album unlike any he has released to date. Its strong supporting cast -- ranging from Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla to esteemed composer Yann Tiersen and the late Mark Linkous -- is an impressive guest list in and of itself. Walla's input alone adds the most meat to the record, a bit surprising given his less-than-brawny pedigree. The two tracks he co-wrote with Francis, "Three Sheets to the Wind" and "London Bridge," are the album's most direct and hard-hitting. The former deals with addiction and the trappings of life on the road, while the latter, which musically recalls the Streets' "Fit But You Know It", takes a swipe at the current crumbling world empires rather than uptight birds.

Whether this alteration to Francis' songwriting is permanent or simply a slight detour from his tried-and-true is anyone's guess, but in an era when hip-hop demands innovation (as it has for nearly a decade) Li(f)e is a welcome respite from the current stock of overhyped young, moneyed fratboys with unwarranted record contracts.

Although to argue that Li(f)e doesn't even fall under the rubric of hip-hop is also completely reasonable -- with nary a Honeydrippers or Skull Snaps sample (or any samples for that matter) in sight -- but there's no doubt that this is Francis' masterstroke, regardless of the genre generally attached to his name.

The whole of Li(f)e can be streamed here. Sage Francis appears at the Biltmore Cabaret on May 31.