Day One Ordinary Man Lyrics

Day One's underground hip-pop debut is the kind of literate yet accessible rainy-day disc that slowly insinuates itself into your life. You find yourself singing along to it even when it's not on the stereo, or trying to picture what a character in a particular song looks like in person. Ordinary Man borrows equally from the upbeat, lyrical hip-hop of De La Soul, the moody, intricate trip-hop of Massive Attack, and the melodic, laid-back storytelling style of Wyclef Jean. "In Your Life"--a positively sweet ditty with lyrics that wrap slice-of-life love stuff up with a taste of self-deprecating humor--is a musical update of Cornershop-style multicultural indie pop. The rhymes are wordy but slow; the beats are phat, dance-world-savvy, and downbeat; and the melodies are original (i.e., they're not all stolen from Sting or Bob Marley). It's quite a record. --Mike McGonigal