Love is the theme of THEM FIGHTING WORDS PRESENTS: Anti Love Theory and it’s universal theme makes this project that much more accessible to, well anyone you love, be they Hip Hop fans or not.  Cobain samples from a cornucopia of sources, throwing in classic references to popular love songs from artists as diverse as the Beatles, The Carpenters, Smokey Robinson among snippets of Flavor Flav on Flavor Of Love and Alicia Keys among others.

While the geographical love shoutouts dispersed throughout the project are important to the theme the ones not back by Cobain’s production can take one out of the continuity of the project.  That said it’s one of the most well thought out projects I’ve listened to in a long time.

Standouts for me include: “Baby (Fireworks)” this one thumps hard and it’s my favorite by far, followed by “Birds > Butterflies (Affection)”, “Honeymoon Phase (Bliss)”, “Words of Wisdom (Appreciation)” and “Memories Fade (The End)”.

I asked Shade Cobain a few questions about this project.
Besides love, geography is also a major theme in Anti Love Theory. You’re all over the map.

 shadecobain:  oh yeah!

The acronym for the title is short for Atlanta and you even sample “Close To You” by Carpenters. What’s the story behind that?

Haha!!! Well atlanta is going to be my new home. and there’s alot of things in Atlanta I need to be close to. The music scene there is dope. I went there for the A3C conference and they showed me so much love there. More than they do in my hometown. You caught that….dope.

What is the Theory of Anti Love?
The theory is that people have to take the good and bad in that experience of love. Also, it’s not just hugs and kisses. Only the strong can endure true love. But that’s just my theory…haha!

From the title one might expect an anti love theory to be more…anti love.  “Anti Love Theory” is kind of…lovey?

It’s whatever they get out of it. but i named it that, because there’s a lot of people that is anti-love. That’s because they wont open their hearts to it. Me included.
You can say, it was my personal experience with love, but at the end of the day. Everybody needs someone to love them, in order for them to flourish as a person.