Abdominal: Leader of the New Old School

Abdominal's comic take on beats rhymes and life are well worth a listen; collaborating with the likes of DJs Format, Fase and Ugly Duckling, Toronto born MC Abdominal has gradually made a name for himself as a welcomed alternative to the bling and Bentley world of mainstream hip-hop.

May saw the release of his debut solo album Escape the Pigeon Hole. A healthy mix of jazzy beats, old school B-Boy storytelling, up-tempo instrumentals and estranged poetry, it has been warmly received as much for its lyricism as for its humour. Have you been happy with the response of the critics and the public towards the album? "For the most part, yeah. Reviews have been predominately positive, with a few not so good ones sprinkled in to keep my feet on the ground. I don't get too caught up in all that stuff anyways. I'm proud of the record and believe that I have made the album I wanted and needed to make, so nothing a critic says (positive or negative) is going to affect that."

Did you feel any pressure to deliver? "Not particularly. I always approach my music with an attitude of have fun and stick to my vision first; commerce second. I make the music I want to make and have faith that other people will be interested in it."

Abdominal Workout is the second single to be released from the album. A hectic exercise in lungpower, the track grabs you by the scruff of the neck and demands you give it a smile; "speaking economically this is probably the most syllables on any LP in your whole god damn collection." It is as funky as it is catchy and flaunts Abdominal's creative strengths to the full as the bass and lead guitars drive the song along, cheekily complimented by some keyboard mischief and drumbeat tomfoolery.

What made you decided to release Abdominal Workout as the second single over more soulful tracks such as Open Relationship? "It's funny you mention Open Relationship, as we were considering it for the second single, just because it is so different from my normal stuff but the problem was the length of the track: it's almost five minutes long."
Abdominal Workout is evidence of your standing among what some 'genrephiles' have labelled the new old school. Do you see yourself as belonging to this particular pigeonhole or is pigeonhole now a dirty word? "Never heard that term before actually but I guess it kind of fits. I mean I don't sit around trying to be 'old school' or anything like that. I just grew up being a fan of a certain type of hip-hop and I guess that aesthetic naturally creeps into the music I make. So I do end up rocking over a lot of 80's and 90's sounding beats, just because they sound good to me. But I also have some 'newer' sounding production on my record. Check T.Ode, or Sex With Girls for examples. Basically, if a beat sounds good to me, I'll fuck with it."

Pedal Pusher, the first single to be released from the album had an unusual focus, namely about bike couriers. Keen to avoid hip-hop clichés, Abdominal prefers to rap about his open relationship over his rep. What made that track special for you? "They're all special to me to be honest, but we chose Pedal Pusher for the first single because we felt a lot of people might relate to it because cycling's pretty universal... and it's not the typical subject matter you usually find in rap music, which I like."

His collaborations with DJ Format on 2003's Music for the Mature B-Boy, and 2005's If You Can't Join 'Em... Beat 'Em produced some quality fruits, i.e. Fast Food and Ill Culinary Behaviour. Have you any plans to return to the studio and would it be in the collaborative realm or to work on a solo project? "Definitely. My goal right now is more to promote and tour my new album but I'm always thinking ahead to making more music, that's all I know at the moment."