Some really conscious, soulful, and entertaining hip-hop. Gift of Gab has fantastic lyricism, covering a good amount of topics. Take "Sky Is Falling" for example; he raps about a ton of global/social problems, accompanied by a TV show theme-esque chorus which depicts a catastrophic world downfall. Another great example is the title track, in which he lays down (e.g. "Amazin' phase your days your hazy ways my Blazin' Arrow / The rays that range from Asia way to Rio de Janeiro" / etc.). And on top of all that, he has a very versatile flow -- violently fast when he wishes ("Chemical Calisthenics"... crazy shit), sometimes slow, and maybe even satirical at times.The work of Chief Xcel (the DJ/producer here) isn't really anything new, but it's something I enjoy. West coast hip-hop, soul, R&B, and funk thrown into a blender.
74 minutes of hip-hop is kinda long for me, and a couple of songs on this album don't catch my attention as much as the others. Still worth checking out, if you want to look into hip-hop with some thought-provoking subjects and lyrics.
Listen to:
- Blazing Arrow
- Sky is Falling
- First in Flight
- Make You Feel That Way
- Chemical Calisthenics
- Release (features guests Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against The Machine fame, Saul Williams, Lyrics Born, and Sela Kerr)
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