The Four Owls - Nature's Greatest Mystery [2011]

One of the best things about hip-hop is that it exists worldwide; sure, many of the building blocks of the genre were born in American ghettoes and cyphers, but it holds a unique relatability in struggle that has caused the genre to take root in every other country. However, like anywhere, there are the purists; those who don’t seek to innovate the genre as much as perfect the older ideas from the beginning. You see this a lot in other genres like Metal, where American metal today is a far cry from the late 70’s and 80’s, but countries like Sweden and Norway are putting out music that is like a time capsule of sound, and can often be hard to distinguish from vintage material. London is one of the biggest cities for hip-hop in the world, with genres and sub-genres crossing and blending to create an entirely unique form of hip-hop. Some of the most true-to-form hip-hop nowadays come from some of the most unlikely places, and The Four Owls were at the forefront of a city-wide movement in London to bring back the dusty, sample-based hip-hop that people grew up on in the early/mid 90’s. Nature’s Greatest Mystery is their debut album, a singularly important piece that people gravitated to as a seminal piece of UK golden age revival.

To this day High Focus remains one of the most respected labels in underground UK Hip-hop

Boom-Bap seems to love rap groups: duos, trios, nine motherfuckers assembling like Voltron, etc. The Four Owls happen to be, as the name implies, four emcees, all of whom are apart of multiple groups individually, both before and after Nature’s Greatest Mystery. Verb T, who is known as “Bird T” within the context of the Owls (all four members have different “Owl names” by the way) is by far the most learned member, having been distributing music since the mid 2000’s. His style is more obtuse and cerebral, utilizing shifting rhyme schemes and personal lyrics; he fits the bill of the “enlightened owl” more than any of the members. BVA (“Rusty-Take Off) is the most technically skilled member of the group, with a relentless, aggressive flow and a killer presence on the mic. I would compare him to Jaykae with his shouty delivery and amazing rhyme schemes. “Big Owl” is Fliptrix, the anchor of the group both sonically and logistically. You see Nature’s Greatest Mystery is the centerpiece of High Focus Records, founded and headed by Fliptrix in 2010, so his presence here is an informal leadership role. His voice is the most accented of the four, deep and London-ed, slower but more methodical; he hadn’t been rapping as long as the other three Owls, but his connections in the industry were long, and his plan for the label grand. Lastly we have Leaf Dog, “Deformed Wing”, and the sole producer of Nature’s Greatest Mystery. His rap style is definitely on some Ol’ Dirty shit, with weird warbly vocals that are almost sing-song and a cadence and flow that switches up constantly. He may not be the best rapper of the group, but he is far an away the most unique, with his high-pitched slurred voice. The four are all excellent rappers in their own right, and all have the gift of thoughtful wordplay. There are a few more focused tracks, and all members are able to stick to a topic in a way that those 90’s emcees were so well known for. But, the key to what makes this work, and what made so many groups from that golden era work so well, is the sense of competition that you can sense in these bars; it’s clear that all four Owls are pushing each other to come up with the best material they can write, and that raw energy come across on the microphone.

Leaf Dog is the lone producer on Nature’s Greatest Mystery, showing a deep mastery and understanding of what made the beat-making legends of the 90’s so revered. The clear and obvious influence here is DJ Premier, who is paid homage to time and time again on the record with quality vocal samples laid over crisp drums and walloping boom-bap kicks. Leaf is a master of the vocal chop, with tracks like All My Life, Not Like Before, and Burning Vapour demonstrating his skill in lacing a track with an engaging soul sample, while also not being too distracting. The album also rewards deeper listening with better quality headphones, as Deformed Wing is seemingly somewhat of a perfectionist, layering his beats with intricate instrumental details and quirks; it’s like imagining what detail Pete Rock/Preemo/RZA could have come up with if they had more than a couple tracks to work with on their old equipment. These songs, even though they’re all grounded in boom-bap, contain a surprising amount of variety; Original is a slick cut backed by a spectral female droning on, while Three Hits To The Dome is a completely different street romp with a banging bassline and an aggressive as fuck flute sample. Out Of Me is a cut that sounds like it could have come straight off of Supreme Clientele, with it’s high-tempo guitar licks and it’s tight vocal loop; it’s just perfect to spit bars over, which overall is Leaf Dog’s greatest strength as a beatmaker.

Leaf Dog has made major moves in American markets, with a whole project with Tha God Fahim, and including multiple features from Griselda members on his LP with Datkid

There is a song in particular that needs shine, that’s one of the group’s most famous song, their best song, and one that perfectly closes out this album; Life In The Balance. It really personifies the theme of the group, one of four renegade emcees smoking weed, thinking about the mysteries of life, spitting mad bars, and trying to make the best out of this fucked up life we’re leading. All four Owls (and Jam Baxter on the feature) are in top form on this track lyrically, and all four deserve shine for different reasons. Bird T comes with the personal bars, about how he feels lost in this wild world, evaluating his responsibilities and how depression can put you in an inescapable rut. Leaf Dog speaks on the inspirations for change in his life, and what would drive him to learn more about the world around him and the things you can do to have in impact on the world. Flip dives headfirst into the esoteric nature of life; the conspiracies, the stratification of peoples, and the cyclical nature of life. BVA drops the hottest verse on the entire album here, truly discussing the balance of the world, explaining how nothing exists in an of itself: the good or bad things of this world often happen as a reaction to other good or bad things that happen. He states “without bad there’s no good, without wood there’s no fire, without the hood the posh house price wouldn’t be higher; no stronger no weaker, no stupid no deeper, no dick droppin rubbish there’s no work for street sweepers”. You might write this off as “woke”, but this song and it’s poignancy pulls off that “woke” angle almost perfectly with it’s immaculate lyrics. Hell, even the beat, the beautiful pianos mixed with the rolling boom-bap drums, perfectly encapsulate the reflective and meditative lyrics; it’s one of my favorite instrumentals of this decade.

Nature’s Greatest Mystery is an album that people might be surprised came out so recently, because it’s heart is many, many decades old. It draws heavily from a time in hip-hop where only the best acts made it overseas: Biggie, Wu-Tang, A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr. Boiling down these acts and perfecting what made these artists so enjoyable to listen to, and then throwing that London twist is what make The Four Owls such compelling artists. Leaf Dog continues today to be a figure in this movement that was started a decade ago, but the other three don’t often make it over the pond for any sort of American traction. The greatest mystery is why the group never got the shine here in America that they deserved, especially given their second album features some production from DJ Premier himself. Do me a favor: pull up Nature’s Greatest Mystery, get your substance of choice ready to go, and take flight with the Four Owls.

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