“I ain’t gonna do it like he’s done, I’ll do it like I do, who’ve I gotta lie to” fig. states on the ferocious “Idea” near the opening of the “Figure of Speech” mixtape. Doing exactly that over the course of 12 tracks offered here, we get one of the most distinctive voices currently active in welsh hip-hop over a medley of Minas produced cuts that gives us a comprehensive look at what the Caerphilly MC can do.
Themes of ambition woven with the distractions and hinderances that come with the chase, fig.’s signature sound lends itself brilliantly to the softer production in this project. On cuts like “Umm” his heavy tone captures a tiredness from the aforementioned chase as he attempts to keep focus. The dreamy nature of the melody accentuates the topic with fig. calling himself out his lack of concentration. The same can be said for “FIESTA” with a verse that drapes over the Spanish guitar questioning his luck with the love he’s found, a theme that is continued with the following “Hold” where you’ll find a couple of gems in the second verse. Of the softer, somber selection of tracks available, “Bullseye” is a highlight with more misty production lending itself to a pensive verse. My one minute complaint is I would have like to have heard this last in the run, but I’m very much nitpicking.
As mentioned at the start, “Idea” is ferocious in terms of its bars and its production. fig. matches the gritty beat here with punchy lines taking the place of the usual smooth delivery. It’s another highlight and definitely in the conversation for the top track of the project. Another change of pace here is the garage-infused “Way Up” that’ll be a welcome addition to his energetic live sets with “Static/Looping” also falling into that category. There’s an urgency in the delivery on this one synching with the cut up vocal sample as there’s almost a desperation to achieve the goals he’s set for himself.
Throughout the mixtape there is reference to substance, none more than on the back to back duo of “Freefalling” (with the project’s only feature coming from Razkid) and “Diesel”. The former documents the pairs need for stress relief whilst the ridiculously memorable latter sees the playful horns evolve into an emphatic score for the hook as fig.’s hook sinks into your brain with each repetition. An anthem whether the subject matter relates or not, this is the project favourite and performed live is astounding as I saw at FOCUS Wales earlier this year.
A thought whilst listening to this was that fig. could quite easily get away with a flat out boom-bap project that would undoubtedly be laced with the same depth and quality of writing present here. However, we get a sound as ambitious as his goals here provided by the ever dependable Minas and it gives us a latecomer for one of the best releases out of Wales in 2022. I hope that the confections discussed in this project don’t hinder his progression too much and if they do, I hope they end up being a talking point on the next project because I certainly want to hear more.
Figure of Speech by fig. is available for streaming on November 25th
Written by Dave Acton