Katastrophe – The Worst Amazing
Katastrophe – The Worst Amazing
Poetry is a tricky form of writing. For some, it’s confusion beyond definition trying to understand some of the great poets’ best works. While for others, analyzing and studying a short five-line poem to death creates the finest reward imaginable. When you’re the kind of rapper that started out as a poet by competing in poetry slams since 1997, I think it would be justifiable to expect great things. Unfortunately for Katastrophe’s Rocco Kayiatos, he’s proven that even the strictest writing lessons don’t always pay off.
The over-bearing role that his MCing takes on is enough of a struggle, let alone the multitude of styles that flash by on The Worst Amazing. Kayiatos’ music leanings have been sharpened since he first hit the scene in 2002 as a producer/rapper but it appears as if he’s tailed off in terms of overall ability. And in various facets, he’s dived off the deep end – check out that weird cover – because by and by, there’s much to work on.
Strange, off-the-wall lines seep through every corner of this lost album. “Crybaby” climbs up the stairs with a countdown that reaches, “So if you don’t mind, don’t mess with mine, ‘cause I may be fine ‘til you step out of line.” Perhaps, rather than attempting to write a rhyme for every stanza, Kayiatos would do well by simply filling the music with intelligent wordplay. The enunciation of the last few words, strongly emphasized, only further puzzle the questionable rhyming.
The album’s seventeen tracks leave one flabbergasted as to what Kayiatos was thinking with so much unnecessary music. There’s the insincere style of “Sigh,” with it’s forgetful flute and acoustic guitar, the inessential film soundtracking on “Tunnel Vision” where Kayiatos questions, “What the f*ck is a wonderwall?” and even loud, annoying, grimy dubstep on “Left, Right. Okay.” Sure, it’s nice to have diversity but give me a tight, cohesive twelve songs instead of an overtly sprawling mess of a listen any day.
And even when the album starts off with a catchy beat and roll on “Till its Gone,” Kayiatos kills it (in the wrong way) when he drops ridiculous lines like, “You don’t know what you might miss, so I’ll go out and put it right like this.” By the time you get to the all-encompassing welcoming of a jazzy piano and hi-hat on “Tickled Sick,” it’s also safe to say that it’s far too late. Maybe next time, Kayiatos should try his hand at only producing the music, and then hire a steady engineer to oversee the entire project. Versed or not, musically-inclined or not, and grammatically-challenged or not, there needs to be some kind of common aim, a goal to reach. If it was to deliver a substantial amount of uninspiring music then- mission: accomplished.
“Big Deal” by Katastrophe
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