I must preface this post (no pun intended) with the fact that I was looking forward to this album so much before it dropped, and the fact that most people that listen to Hip-Hop sadly probably don’t even know who Elzhi is. Elzhi became a member of the Detroit collective Slum Village after Jay Dee left to seek solo endeavors. This might have been my most anticipated album of the year just because I had heard Europass (an Exclusive Tour CD) earlier in the year (which will easily also be in my top 10 for the year). On Europass, the majority of the beats are done by Detroit monster Black Milk (whom I’ve already had the pleasure of mentioning many times), and that trend continues here where Black does the majority of production, only two other tracks are produced by someone else (DJ Dez is one).
The album starts out with the Intro (The Preface), most people would normally just skip this, but I think it almost foreshadows how the rest of the album is going to be; great beats and a vicious liquid like flow “This is only the beginning, now everything I’ve been in is included though, it’ll be concluded in the ending/ I thank ya’ll for spendin’ your time, your nickel and dime or four quarters to get your pre-store orders.”. “The Leak” is the first track you hear and of course Elzhi comes out spitting razorblades “Everytime I drop something hot you hear the sirens peak/ It’ll make the water in the hose on the hydrants leak” to an incredible Black Milk beat featuring beautiful voice of Ayah. In a lot of the reviews that I’ve read no one seems to mention the song guessing game which puzzles me, because I think it’s one hell of a clever song. Elzhi spits pretty much the whole sentence and leaves a two syllable word unfinished open for interpretation, and then finishes the word with the opposite of what you thought it would be. Colors is one of the most vivid songs on this album and really shows where Elzhi can excel his rhyming and put a brush to the canvas. He uses an array of colors from the spectrum in every line of his rhyme “Now there’s some that’s dead from fightin’ over bread crumbs/Feedin’ head numb it’s a murder we call it RED rum/Got the boys in BLUE jackets lockin’ up the new youth/That sell PURPLES with BLACKberrys with the BLUE tooth.” Brag Swag might be the most lyrically inclined song I’ve ever heard, the first line sets the standard for the rest of the song: “The day that hell snows is the day that El folds/poetry’s well told/ entertainin’ keep niggas trainin’ like the rail road.”
The only problem that I have (if you even consider it one) is that they put the Fire remix on this official release. I think the original version of Fire that was on the Europass cd was actually better. The Fire remix is still very good and features an all-star Detroit cast (it features Black Milk, Guilty Simpson (who has collaborated with Madlib, J Dilla, and Black Milk), Fat Ray (Who already did a project with Black Milk earlier this year), Fatt Father & Danny Down) who spit catchy punchlines and metaphors.
All in all front to back this is an amazing album, I can guarantee that this album will be in my top 5 for the year, possibly even top 3. It is so refreshing for me to be able to hear about all of these guys in Detroit doing big things. I am very much looking forward to hearing more from Elzhi, he is quickly on his way to becoming the top lyricist in Hip-Hop and with a debut like this the top is just over the next ledge.
9/10
Take a listen to a couple tracks:
Brag Swag
Colors
Fire (Remix)
I was over at Pitchfork and read possibly the most disturbing article I’ve read this year. I have the preface that statement by saying that second most disappointing article was reading about Lil’ Wayne dropping The Carter III. Apparently Lil’ Wayne is going to drop another fucking album with the name The Carter III. WTF? Lil’ Wayne has to be the most un-original emcee I’ve seen in a great period of time. Let’s take a look at his last 3 record names: The Carter, The Carter II, The Carter III and now The Carter III again (not to mention that his next album after that is tentatively titled The Carter IV). I think that all of the media outlets that are praising him need to stop riding the hell out of his dick. The guy isn’t anything special, and the only thing that he has going for him is his beats (the ones on his album being made for him). A lot of people are calling Wayne “the greatest rapper alive”, all I can do is laugh hysterically at this statement. You mean to tell me that you were saying that when he dropped The Block is Hot? Were you saying Lil’ Wayne was the best emcee alive when he dropped 500 Degreez? The answer, as you all probably know, is NO. He drops TWO critically acclaimed albums and he’s the G.O.A.T., get the fuck off it. It sorrows me greatly to see that all we need to do is give Lil’ Wayne some mega-dope-dumbshit props to make Pop/Hipster Rap a genre.
MIND INVERSION 