Paying homage or culture vulture?

We've witnessed a bevy of artists coming out of late with a retro 80's vibe. I'm not mad at that. Why? Because we've seen this before. We've seen acts like Snoop Dog or even the neo-soul movement glorify the 70's and late 60's. That's what generations of aritsts do. They look to the past for inspiration because oftentimes these very sounds painted an audio-biography, if I can borrow the term from Novel, of their earliest artistic influence. What about these younger acts that weren't around for the 80's, you ask? I don't know. It's a fad. And what of it? Does that kill their individual artistry? Does that change the lyrics, the instrumentation? No. It's presentation, it could be marketing or it could just be fitting in. Many would love to dismiss acts like The Cool Kids because of their content, their look. Maybe their lyrics aren't groundbreaking (they aren't bad either, btw) but if you are intending to sleep on these VERY young cat's beats, then you are making a mistake and you are missing the point. There is something there. It's tangible. You can feel it in the soles of your feet while you unwittingly tap your toes- you can taste it on the tip of your tongue as you mouth the hook. Don't lie, I see you. I was recently put onto another young Atlanta act that is into this sound, this look. They call him Life the Great. What he claims to be doing with his free album The Ultrasound, available for download on his myspace page, is to propose a metaphor. He is looking to channel the energy, the validity of a bygone era's music. The Ultrasound is supposed to be a method, a tool for traveling backwards in time and changing the the direction of the future of music. Back to the future, yes. That would explain the Delorean. And yes, he wears alot of dukie gold chains, members only jackets and old school sneakers. That much is obvious. Is it costume for what he purports to be a period piece of sorts, a one time only concept album or is he clever enough to make money off a movement with marketing? Who knows? Again, what does the music say? Can Atlanta bear the thought of yet another retro Hip Hop act or is his voice needed, salient, super fresh? Decide for yourself: