Album Review: 360 - Vintage Modern

360 is - without exception - the most charismatic Australian rapper in the game.

But so far he's never translated the energy he brings to rap battles and live shows on record. As a recording artist, he comes off blunt and straightforward. The nuance and character he shows in a more relaxed setting get lost somehow. Vintage Modern is a glimpse of hope.

White Lies opens proceedings. The beat invites introspection. 360 accepts and gets reflective, but also finds time to spit flaming one-liners about cable TV and his foreskin. There are other heavy moments though: Way Out is a drug redemption tale; Trouble, a gutsy confrontation of Islamophobia; Letters, a sober reflection. But you know what? The most honest and revealing bits of Vintage Modern are when 360 messes with his own delivery and moves past the straightforward style he's mastered. He's never been as experimental with bar structure as he is on Money. And he's never been as free-flowing with his own melody patterns as he is on Yesterday. Body Language sees similar boundary pushing.

360's charisma has long been dimmed by the recording process. As he moves through and past the style he's owned for a decade, we get a glimpse of a world where Uncle Six on record resembles the real guy we've come to love.