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Tim Fite, 'Fair Ain't Fair'

Brooklyn rapper’s fifth album parks in the intersection of hip-hop, rock and country

By Tamara Palmer

Special to Metromix
May 5, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: Tim Fite first got a taste of musical popularity in 2001 as part of Little T and One Track Mike. The New Jersey-based hip-hop duo released “Shaniqua,” a novelty song about a wrong phone number that’s still the subject of amateur videomaking and fandom on YouTube. Now based in Brooklyn, Fite’s solo career has been far more serious, frequently taking on issues of consumerism, corporate greed and the end of the world. “Fair Ain’t Fair” is Fite’s fifth album (including his last full-length, the freebie “Over the Counter Culture”).

Why you should care: If you can’t decide whether you’re a little bit country or a little bit rock ‘n’ roll—or even a little bit rap—don’t worry. Tim Fite can’t, either, and this album is parked neatly in the intersection.

Verdict: There’s no easy digestibility here; Fite engages the brain as well as the ears. His criticisms of mass culture are ever witty, especially on a song like “Sing Along,” but he thankfully doesn’t come off as an annoyed critic all the time. The closer, “Line by Line,” is an exciting summation of this experiment, showcasing Fite as a real individual with simple yet provocative lyrics and an original sound.

X-Factor: Fite has a reputation for sampling from old, cheap albums, but many of the hip-hop-inflected, toe-tapping drumbeats on “Fair Ain’t Fair” happen to come from recording the student band at his former high school.

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