Album Review: To The Audience by Al Rakhun Feat Bunker Youth
Back in '91, Germany wasn’t exactly the first place you’d think of when it came to hip-hop and electronic music blowing up. But then came To The Audience, a joint effort between Al Rakhun and Bunker Youth that still feels like an underground gem begging to be rediscovered. Released via Planet Core Productions (with some help from Dope On Plastic), this album blends gritty hardcore hip-hop with pop rap sensibilities and dashes of electronic experimentation. It's raw, unapologetic, and kinda ahead of its time.
The record kicks off strong with "Live Motivator," a track that grabs your attention right away. The beat hits hard—it’s got this industrial edge mixed with old-school boom-bap vibes. What makes it stick? Probably the energy. You can tell these guys weren’t just phoning it in; they were out to prove something. The lyrics are sharp, full of bravado but also dripping with attitude. And yeah, maybe the production sounds a little rough around the edges compared to today’s polished stuff, but that’s part of its charm. It reminds you that hip-hop didn’t always need flashy studios or big budgets to hit hard.
Another standout is “Really Never Had A Gun.” This one flips the script a bit—it’s less about flexing and more introspective. The flow here is smooth yet unpredictable, almost like the MCs are daring you to keep up. There’s a tension in the delivery, as if every word carries weight. Paired with haunting synths and minimalistic percussion, it creates this eerie vibe that stays with you long after the song ends. Honestly, it’s tracks like this that make me wish more people knew about this album—it’s not just noise for the sake of noise; there’s thought behind it.
Artwork-wise, PAN nailed it. The cover perfectly matches the vibe: dark, edgy, and slightly chaotic—just like the music inside. It’s the kind of sleeve you’d pick up at a record store just because it looked cool, only to discover gold underneath.
Looking back, To The Audience might not have gotten the shine it deserved back in the day, but that doesn’t mean it fades into obscurity. If anything, albums like this remind us how diverse and boundary-pushing hip-hop was even before the internet made everything accessible. Listening to it now feels like finding a hidden time capsule—a snapshot of two artists experimenting without worrying too much about fitting into any box.
And hey, here’s the kicker: knowing this dropped in 1991 makes me wonder what other forgotten treasures are lurking out there. Maybe someone should dig deeper into those German vaults… who knows what we’ll find next?
