A lot of question may rise when you see that there is a rap group from Reno Nevada by the name of “Who Cares” with an album called The LP. Shit sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? Where are they from? Who Cares! What do they sound like? Who Cares! Will you like it? Who Cares! The list can go on and on but Who Cares is quite an interesting concept. Who Cares is an emcee by the name of Borg One who may remind you of Sage Francis, but is coupled with a jazz saxophonist and a keyboard player (hey, that’s not  hip hop! Who Cares!) to create at an interesting atmosphere for today’s rap snooze fest. So with that comes their entry into the game with the simply titled The LP.

   The LP is quite an interesting album musically. With songs like “It Takes Place In October” coasting along with calm keys caressed against sparse drums, it becomes apparent that this Reno collective is much more than your average crew. After Borg’s introspective verse, the beat breaks into a beautiful instrumental and opens the floodgates for the rest of the album.  “Much To Do About Nothing” is yet another example of organic production providing the tailwind to push along Borg’s heartfelt calls of “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking for reasons why I’m standing here unhappy.” Also interesting is the storytelling within “The Ghost of Friday Night.” Borg spills into a narrative about a woman’s love interest and the man that eludes her.  Even the cool as ice “Hear You Breathe” moves along well and keeps the album grooving in the right direction.

    Sometimes it may seem like Borg’s passion in his delivery is fighting against the production but at the very same time it actually fits the group’s persona. It seems as if this whole album is fighting to be heard. From Borg’s passion to the unconventional Sax player, this release isn’t something considered regular by hip hop standards.  But at the end of the day it is hard to escape the “emo” tag that many will put on this release. Nonetheless it is a very solid first effort by Who Cares and apparently if you don’t like it “Who Cares?”