Free by Oloff | Album Review

A Review of the U.K. Rapper’s latest project

Listen to Free: Apple Music | Spotify

Oloff is a British rapper that channels a ton of grime, ambient and experimental music into his songs. the results are as dizzying as the album cover for Free, his latest release. Oloff is a musician that Josh Herring tipped me on to earlier this week and is somebody who I had no prior knowledge of up until now. Normally I would check out some past projects or singles from new artists but this time I decided to dive straight into his new album with no preparation.

Ultimately Free showcases an artist whose avant-garde ambitions of off-kilter rap come to full fruition in a way I have not heard before in quite some time. Despite some bumps along the road, Free is a psychedelic delight that I think those who enjoy rap’s left-field sounding side are going to appreciate.

Production wise this is something right up my alley. Elements of grime, drum n bass, and industrial music characterize Free, and it’s incredible to hear Oloff rap on some of these beats. The opener “What Does It Matter?” kicks things off with its fast pace and triumphant horns and sounds quite accessible, akin to something that Slowthai would rap on. Songs like “The Problem” evoke boom-bap with its pounding drums, yet mixes things up with its chopped-up vocal sample that plays throughout. The album’s more obscure instrumentals offer up my favourite parts of Free. The project’s title track sounds like a ConductorWilliams beat drenched in LSD, making the song feel like a trippy experience.

Lyrically, Free is an introspective look at the rapper as he confronts himself and the world around him. “What Does It Matter?” paints a nihilistic picture of his own existence as Oloff repeat’s on the chorus: (“What does it matter anyway? When it’s gone, you’ll be gone, you’ll be splattered into space.”). He acknowledges the mundaneness of life on the bass-heavy “Stuck in Motion”, and the addiction of our own vices that leads to our unhappiness on “The Problem”.

“Photons” delves more into Oloff’s lifestyle, particularly critiquing the party and drug culture he’s not fond of (“I was never fond of dancing, I’m better poor off starving.”). “Free” is another examination of himself as he looks for motivation to keep his rap ambitions going, while also challenging his own self-loathing that he’s become victim to. The more upbeat “Strange World” sees Oloff rap in a more positive light, encouraging others to look for the good things in life, no matter how boring it may seem. (“Everything sounds, the same. You don’t know what you’re missing.”). The song’s reverb-heavy outro ties right into the album's closer “Slowly”. Easily the most subversive song on here. it starts off as a slowed-down, psyched-out rendition of “Unchained Melody” over a somber synth beat. The song’s second half transitions into a typical grime beat as Oloff raps to his heart's content, once again questioning life as we know it.

While I did enjoy a bulk of this album there are some unsavoury bits here. Notably in the material itself, as I found a majority of the lyrical matter being repeated over again, perhaps a little more expansion on that could have been done. The mixing is also something worth mentioning, particularly on “Slowly” as I found it hard to discern Oloff’s vocal’s with the song’s experimental production.

Overall though, I’m glad I gave Oloff’s Free the time of day. It’s been some time since I’ve last heard of a rapper (especially of the underground scene) willing to push some boundaries and express some creative freedom. Whether or not this will be everybody’s cup of tea is subjective, but ideally, if you’re music taste is open to it, and you don’t mind something that’s a bit more left field to what you’re used to, I’d say give this album a listen.

I’m feeling a 7/10 on Oloff’s latest album Free. He’s certainly caught my attention and is somebody I’ll be keeping an eye on for future releases. This album was a short, but sweet trippy experience that I hope will get more people on the Oloff wave.

Final Rating: 7/10

Favourite Tracks: What Does It Matter? Stuck in Motion, Photons, Free, Strange New World.