''Boss EP'' is the debut EP by Jewish hip hop band Shtar, released on December 5, 2012. It follows the band's debut ''

Infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions amo ...

'' (2010), and is the first of two EPs meant to precede their second album. The EP was promoted with two

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

s, "Overload" and "Gone Again", both co-produced by

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning engineer

Adrian Bushby Adrian Bushby is a recording engineer, mixer and producer. He works from his home studio in London, England and has recorded and mixed for artists including; New Order, Placebo, U2, Spice Girls, Feeder, Jamie T and Maxïmo Park. In 2008 he ...

. Jewish rapper Nissim (then D. Black) is featured on the song "Rabbit Hole", his first musical appearance since retiring in early 2011.

Background

''Boss EP'' was recorded at Redstone Recording Studio in

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

with

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

and band member

Brad Rubinstein Bradley Adam Rubinstein (Hebrew name: Binyamin Adam) is an English-Israeli Orthodox Jewish guitarist, songwriter, and producer based in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Initially gaining fame with the short-lived London trip hop band Lisp, he moved to Israe ...

. Additional production and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

on the singles "Overload" and "Gone Again" was done by two-time

-winner Adrian Bushby (

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

), who had previously worked with Rubinstein's original band

Lisp A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech. Types * A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lisping ...

. Rubinstein explained that "the majority of ''Infinity'' was recorded with just Ori and myself initially, and there was less live stuff going on. This is a little more 'band incorporated'. The band as it stands at the moment has been together for two years, so there's a lot more live stuff going on." Co-vocalist Dan Isaacs noted that his voice had gained "lots of flexibility" since recording the previous album. The title track, "Here Comes the Boss", is a

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅ ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

-influenced song with lyrics inspired by a verse from Psalm 24. Lyrically, the album explores more universal themes than ''Infinity'', including mortality ("Overload"), self-deception ("Rabbit Hole"), and

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...

("Wonderland").

Track listing

#"Gone Again" - 2:51 #"Rabbit Hole" (feat. D. Black) - 3:37 #"Overload" - 3:22 #"Wonderland" - 3:18 #"Here Comes the Boss - 3:01

Personnel

;Shtar * Ori Murray -

rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, songwriting,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

*Dan "Zaki" Isaac -

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Avi Sommers -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Tzvi Solomons -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

;Additional personnel *Adrian Bushby - production/

("Overload" and "Gone Again") * D. Black - guest rapper ("Rabbit Hole")

References

{{Reflist 2012 debut EPs Shtar albums Alternative hip hop EPs